Exhaust

[FutureEcotecOwnerAgain]

Does anyone know what the expected gain would be with a 80 series flowmaster muffler and 2.5 inch piping with an upgraded catalytic converter plus a warm air intake?

[Oldsmopimp]

Realistically....probly 5hp at most. The only thing u will really notice is the sound. and maybe a lil low end tourqe from the WAI.

[FutureEcotecOwnerAgain]

well why is it i hear from other people and their 4 cylinder cars that with intake, full cat exhaust and header they received about a 20 horsepower gain.? Does the header really give off 10 to 15 horses?

[Oldsmopimp]

well, u didnt say a header....
I know that on the 3400's headers make a huge diffrence, our exaust manifolds suffocate our cars. As far as the 2.4L or the Ecotec, Im not sure. But with a header, WAI, and good flowing exaust I still cant see 20hp. You would have to talk to someone with those mods that has dynoed their car. I know bdyman has a WAI, Header, and exaust on his ecotec but I dont think he's dynoed it.

[FutureEcotecOwnerAgain]

well i do see your point, but with cars in magazines and stuff i've seen 20 horsepower gains from wai, full cat exhaust and header. doesn't a full cat make a difference in flow and a good deep sound over just a muffler. what inch piping would be better 2.25 or 2.5?

[Oldsmopimp]

Dont belive everything u read in a magazine. Thats all marketing B.S they tell u to buy their product.

but in a nuttshell, 2.5 would be better than 2.25. And a high flow cat would help, although Ive heard our cats flow pretty well so its not nessasary. But the more restriction u can free up in the exaust system will generally help you. The faster the motor can push out the exaust gasses, the faster it can suck in more air and fuel.

[MikeSS]

I have a CAI, and a cat-back 2.5 exhaust into a magnaflow. I have a stock Cat and header, and although some people think you won't get much power from the set-up, I got about 20HP gain. I have not dynoed it yet, but in the 1/4 mile I run with the V6 alero's and grand am GTs and Grand Prix GTs.

I really want to dyno my car to see the gains for sure.

I do have a lighter Alero then a V6, but even a 20HP gain would leave me 10 shy of the V6 and way down on torque, but since the 1/4 miles are similar (some V6's are faster, some are slower) I would say that is an acurate measure.

HOWEVER, many say my car might be a factory frak since I was running faster then a 2002 Grand Am Ecotec with much more work done to it.

[Oldsmopimp]

Originally posted by MAlero@Aug 30 2004, 12:52 AM
I got about 20HP gain.
How do you know if u havent dynoed it? Im not sayin ur wrong, or b.s'in, but it just seems a lil much to me. Like I said, I may be way off...I'm not that educated on the ecotec...hopefully someone can post who has dynoed and help this kid out.

[bdyman]

mah nukkah!!!!!
he is right no need for a high flow cat at all, i had one on my car and no company that i know of makes a 02 sim for our cars yet, well the high flow cat just killed my hp, killed the rear 02 sensor and gas milage was poopty!!!
now i have a catco oem replacment cat big difference right away plus gm cats or any other cat flows great so stay out of the high flow cat area
and yes i have the rk sport header and 62mm tb and rk sport wai
2 1/2 exhaust pipe into a magnaflow muffler
20 hp?? maybe maybe not the only way you can tell is if the car was dyno`d and i have not done it
big difference??? oh hell ya there is a big difference in tourqe in my car throttle response??
alex is right marketing b.s. is all it is don`t believe what you see all the time

[MikeSS]

Originally posted by Oldsmopimp+Aug 29 2004, 07:57 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Oldsmopimp @ Aug 29 2004, 07:57 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-MAlero@Aug 30 2004, 12:52 AM
I got about 20HP gain.
How do you know if u havent dynoed it? Im not sayin ur wrong, or b.s'in, but it just seems a lil much to me. Like I said, I may be way off...I'm not that educated on the ecotec...hopefully someone can post who has dynoed and help this kid out. [/b][/quote]
Yeah, true, I guess I worded it wrong. I don't know if I have 20HP gain, but the improvements have let me run with cars 30HP higher (and 5-speed vs. 4-speed makes a difference too.)

I guess it could have a lot to do with better torque and the freer breathing causing better mid range punch, who knows.

I really want to go to a dyno, be cool to see what it does!

[FutureEcotecOwnerAgain]

so if i get the catco cat on my car than it will improve the flow and performance? because the exhaust shop i go to just started sellin catco so if it will help i will get one when i get the 2.5 piping. plus running with gagts and other cars like that will make me happy. but the 4 2 1 header from rksport is rather expensive but it is in the future picture for me and so is the wai from rksport.

[FormulaNERD]

you'd be better off getting the pacesetter header for 150 and keeping the stock cat with an aftermarket muffler.

[FutureEcotecOwnerAgain]

i believer pacesetter doesnt have a header for my 03 ecotec. they have one for the 98-02 cavy with the 2.2 but thats not the ecotec. why wouldnt a better cat work? i understand what your saying and all but i kinda gotta believe bdyman since he has an ecotec with stuff done to it.

[MikeSS]

Our Cat's are already pretty high flow. Unless you have done a bunch of engine work, or added boost, and have a header and down pipe, the cat is not going to give you much of a difference, if at all.

[FormulaNERD]

Originally posted by 03EcotecAlero@Aug 31 2004, 05:06 PM
i believer pacesetter doesnt have a header for my 03 ecotec.Â;-) they have one for the 98-02 cavy with the 2.2 but thats not the ecotec.Â;-) why wouldnt a better cat work?Â;-) i understand what your saying and all but i kinda gotta believe bdyman since he has an ecotec with stuff done to it.

it's not rocket science, just a google search.
high rev motorsports has the new pacesetter for the ecotec.

***NEW*** Pacesetter Ecotec Black Steel Header $166.54
J01092S

Pacesetter is proud to announce the release of their new Ecotec header! The individual tubes are 1-1/2 inches in diameter, the collector is 2-1/4 inches in diameter, has hook-ups for smog & engine management sensors, and is the black steel version.

This item is for the 02-up ECOTEC engine only

[FutureEcotecOwnerAgain]

i've heard sound clips of a catback exhaust on the 3.4 and i've heard it in person and it sounds real good. But does anyone know if the 2.2 sounds anywhere close to the 3.4?

[Final-Reality]

The j-body forums are chock full of people who are seeing ~20HP at the wheels (dyno proven) with nothing more than a set of cams. I guess the ECOTEC cylinder head flows pretty well and really benefits from hotter cams. Probably the best bang for the buck upgrade for the ECOTEC right now.

JBodyPerformance.com (http://www.jbodyperformance.com/3rdvalvetrainN.html) might be able to hook you up, and here is a thread (http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=2&i=266966&t=266966) with another custom grind showing great results. Just my recommendation before an exhaust system (which, by the way, would see greater gains with the cam upgrades, anyways).

[gxryan]

Wow thats some amasing power gains.