Catted Midpipe VS. Offroad Midpipe

Is there are a difference in power gain between getting and O/R X-Pipe and a Catted X-pipe. Due to smog regulations I think i might need to get a catted pipe. Is a catted x-pipe same thing as stock mid pipe or a little better or is it just as good as an o/r x-pipe
 
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The powr difference will probably not be noticeable. No the catted x isn't the same as your stock mid. The stock mid is an H-pipe and i think it has like 6 cats in it (someone correct me if i'm wrong). On top of that its smaller diameter piping and has shatty bends in it. I have and o/r x and love it. It's way louder than a stock or even a catted one.
 
I'm willing to bet a o/r H pipe flows more than a catted X. Really, get the o/r because Catted sounds pretty much like stock.
my friends Fox sounds the same with Catted H as it did when it had just flows. a little bit louder, but thats about it. Then I got o/r H, and now he wants the same. He didnt want a loud car because it was an automatic, but now he feels diffrent. Why pay more money for less power? Just doesn't make sense to me unless you live in a state where they LOOK under your car for cats...in which case you need to make some friends
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5CY2NoMte68
 
I wouldn't say that a high flow catted pipe doesn't make it louder, listen to some clips on youtube and you can tell that they are respectfully loud. Sometimes an O/R pipe can make an exhaust TOO loud and sound horrible sometimes...mostly with a straight through muffler. I think chambered mufflers sound best with an O/R and a straight through muffler just depends on your taste. Honestly though, it makes the most sense to either get an O/R or just keep the stock H, catted mid pipes are way too expensive for what they do.
 
I'm not trying to get it for sound just for Smog reasons. I have a MAC O/R H pipe right now and yeah its loud and I like it but to many cops around here. I want to get a catted midpipe but don't want to loose to much power. Someone here is selling me a Magnaflow Catted X-pipe for $250 ...Are there quiet O/R pipes (H or X)
 
Is it safe to say that a Catted X-Pipe is the same a an O/R H-Pipe

Performance wise, close enough........sound is more noticeable. It's more so about the price to what you get. Sometimes high hp cars need some backpressure hence need some cats. It just depends, like I said most people get O/R pipes because you can get some for 100-200 dollars compared to 350-500 for a catted pipe. I'm not a legal person, but a catted pipe wont save you from getting a ticket because technically you can not mess with you cats unless there is something wrong with them from what I've been told.
 
Is it safe to say that a Catted X-Pipe is the same a an O/R H-Pipe

NO! There a basically two different designs available - an H or an X. This is the design of the crossover - the pipe that joins the two exhaust tubes (one from each side of the motor). The general consensus is:

An H sounds more like a older musclecar and generally works better with chambered mufflers.
An X sounds more like a NASCAR racer and generally works better with straight thru mufflers.

POWER DIFFERENCE has been tested ( I think it was a Ford Power magazine article in the past year or so) and the difference is minimal...even less than they thought it would be before they started the testing.

SOUND is the biggest difference and it is significant. An off-road midpipe can be around twice as loud as a catted midpipe (relatively speaking).
 
An H sounds more like a older musclecar and generally works better with chambered mufflers.
An X sounds more like a NASCAR racer and generally works better with straight thru mufflers.

just curious...are you old enough to remember muscle cars when they were around originally? no disrespect or slam intended, just wondering...

I am old enough to remember and I don't remember anything sounding much like a Mustang with a H-pipe and "flows"... that sound didn't become common in the 80's with the Pro-Street style cars

if you want a classic muscle car sound try no cross over and glass-packs ;)


sorry for the 'jack ;)
 
I'm not trying to get it for sound just for Smog reasons. I have a MAC O/R H pipe right now and yeah its loud and I like it but to many cops around here. I want to get a catted midpipe but don't want to loose to much power. Someone here is selling me a Magnaflow Catted X-pipe for $250 ...Are there quiet O/R pipes (H or X)

I think in your case, yes you should get a catted pipe. The X will be alittle more loud over the H. For 250 though I'd do it, if you want the cops not to bother you. I used to be worried about that, but after hearing so many freaking loud harley's riding around I think it's ok. Plus, a cop can't pull you over for the exhaust alone, it's a secondary and would have to pull you over for something else. Plus, I've yet to hear really anyone for the last 10 years that I've owned a mustang and been on these boards that they got a ticket for there exhaust.
 
just curious...are you old enough to remember muscle cars when they were around originally? no disrespect or slam intended, just wondering...

I am old enough to remember and I don't remember anything sounding much like a Mustang with a H-pipe and "flows"... that sound didn't become common in the 80's with the Pro-Street style cars

if you want a classic muscle car sound try no cross over and glass-packs ;)


sorry for the 'jack ;)
Yeah, I am old enough...42. I wasn't exactly in tune for the muscle car craze when some of the best hot rods were new (63-70), but in my high school days (80-84), Cherry Bomb glass packs were the muffs to have (interestingly, they've made a comeback recently)
I had a 1973 Mach 1 (yeah my first and now my latest cars were both Mach 1s - :D) but as we all know that was really more show than go. It had a 351 Cleveland backed up by a FMX auto, Keystone Klassic rims and custom dual exhaust, no crossover, with Cherry Bombs. (Originally, the Mach 1 came with single exhaust - go figure)

My buddys in high school had the following:

67 Mustang Fastback (black) - transplanted 351 Windsor, 4 spd toploader, air shocks (yep, gotta get that funny car stance!) and a nice set of rims, though I can't remember exactly what they were - chrome with wide tires in the rear, I do remember that much). Oh and it had headers dumping into header style (three bolt flange) glasspacks...again, I can't really remember what brand these were.

70 Boss 302 (green) - the joke of em all because his dad bought it for him and it didn't have the Boss 302 motor. It had a 351W and 4 spd. The car was beautiful, great body work, fresh paint and graphics, great interior, but that motor missing, ugh. Hardly a Boss 302 without the motor. Still, it had a dual exhaust setup with an H crossover and Thrush mufflers and sounded great.

68 Mustang fastback (white) - can't recall a lot of details on this one as he got it just before I moved to FL. It was an automatic and was more or less original, but these are just beautiful cars even in their original state.

I used the comparision (of H and X pipes) as many folks do (Muscle Car vs. NASCAR sounds). But you know what? A big part of the reason we can equate the H to older muscle cars is because that is all there was back then. I don't recall the X crossover even being in existance, though surely some people probably had it.
 
guess that's why they make more than one flavor of ice cream huh :D ...I think that both sound good, but the 5.0 sounds better and a lot less, for lack of a better word, "ratty" :shrug:

Yea, i guess everyone has an opinion, but even he agrees. He wasted all that money, and it sounds just like before (actually, it's not as deep as before) It sounds to me like you just like the way the 5.0 sounds in general. 4.6 growl and the 5.0 groan. I also like the way the 5.0 sounds better, but not my friends. I love the way it sounds, but If it was louder, then i'd like his better. Everyone says the 4.6 sounds better but i beg to differ; 5.0s have a kick ass sound
 
I used the comparision (of H and X pipes) as many folks do (Muscle Car vs. NASCAR sounds). But you know what? A big part of the reason we can equate the H to older muscle cars is because that is all there was back then. I don't recall the X crossover even being in existance, though surely some people probably had it.


I hear ya ;)

But I always though a H-pipe sounds like a pick-up truck and an X-pipe sounds like a performance car...maybe 'cause I grew up with as many sports cars and drag cars around...and nothing sounded better than a Boss 302 race car or a small black GT-40 (listen to the in-car sounds from the movie "Grand Prix" to hear what a GT-40 sounds like :nice: )
 
lol thanks for all the discussion guys. I'm very familiar with the sounds the pipes make aswell that the x-pipe has small edge over the h-pipe. I honestly prefer the h-pipe sound. Since i'm kind of force to go catted I was looking for an X-pipe that had cats to not loose to much power...Now if there is a lot of difference in performance/HP between a catted midpipe and a o/r midpipe then I'll just keep my o/r h-pipe since i have no interest in an o/r xpipe at the moment
 
Yeah, I am old enough...42. I wasn't exactly in tune for the muscle car craze when some of the best hot rods were new (63-70), but in my high school days (80-84), Cherry Bomb glass packs were the muffs to have (interestingly, they've made a comeback recently)
I had a 1973 Mach 1 (yeah my first and now my latest cars were both Mach 1s - :D) but as we all know that was really more show than go. It had a 351 Cleveland backed up by a FMX auto, Keystone Klassic rims and custom dual exhaust, no crossover, with Cherry Bombs. (Originally, the Mach 1 came with single exhaust - go figure)

My buddys in high school had the following:

67 Mustang Fastback (black) - transplanted 351 Windsor, 4 spd toploader, air shocks (yep, gotta get that funny car stance!) and a nice set of rims, though I can't remember exactly what they were - chrome with wide tires in the rear, I do remember that much). Oh and it had headers dumping into header style (three bolt flange) glasspacks...again, I can't really remember what brand these were.

70 Boss 302 (green) - the joke of em all because his dad bought it for him and it didn't have the Boss 302 motor. It had a 351W and 4 spd. The car was beautiful, great body work, fresh paint and graphics, great interior, but that motor missing, ugh. Hardly a Boss 302 without the motor. Still, it had a dual exhaust setup with an H crossover and Thrush mufflers and sounded great.

68 Mustang fastback (white) - can't recall a lot of details on this one as he got it just before I moved to FL. It was an automatic and was more or less original, but these are just beautiful cars even in their original state.

I used the comparision (of H and X pipes) as many folks do (Muscle Car vs. NASCAR sounds). But you know what? A big part of the reason we can equate the H to older muscle cars is because that is all there was back then. I don't recall the X crossover even being in existance, though surely some people probably had it.

Well said. I'm 44 and also had friends with similar cars. I also equate the difference in sound between the H and X pipes the same way you do. Pearl02.