# Is catback worth it



## blk00ss (Jul 14, 2012)

should be getting my 2005 GTO in another week or so. Would like more sound out of it. I'd love more performance as well, but is a catback worth the money from a power perspective? I ask because I'm now leaning towards just an axle back system. If no performance gains from catback I'll probably go with the 2nd consideration. And yes, I know HP #'s aren't much to begin with from a catback, but I'm curious of real world #'s versus just going the axle back route.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

Next to nothing on a stockish car. The stock system isn't "restrictive". The chant which should be in bold words at the top of the page are "spend about the same amount on LTs and you'll gain power (20-30 RWHP after tune) and gain sound". The only real gain on a catback would be from the X pipe but you can add that to your stock pipes if you want that.


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## danfigg (Sep 27, 2009)

*re*

all you would gain from an axle back is weight saving. The stock mufflers are a through style muffler but weigh a ton. I would be willing to bet if a long tube, cat back exhaust and the stock mufflers are dyno'ed, im sure the numbers would not be much different from any number of brand muffler that are available for the GTO. ------danfigg


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## jpalamar (Jul 22, 2008)

You could have an exhaust shop weld in different mufflers to change the sound and make it a tad louder.

If you want power, long tubes are the way to go.


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## blk00ss (Jul 14, 2012)

Thanks guys. Yeah, I'm aware of the gains when doing LT's. What I should have asked was how restrictive is the stock exhaust setup and is catback necessary to achieve a good sound and maybe a bit of performance. I'll be honest, this car may get driven once a week. I've done LT's 3 different times on F Bodies. It sucked, and it sounds like doing them on a GTO is even worse, and not sure I'm up for tackling that upgrade unless of course I can find a good shop locally that can do it, but they all seem to have gone away. We'll see


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## blk00ss (Jul 14, 2012)

Doing just mufflers is a possibility I am considering. Again, based on what I have heard, the flow master hush power seems to have a nice sound. It appears those mufflers are a straight through type design which would obviously flow better I'm guessing than a 40 series with internal baffles. Anyone have any experience with this setup or know anyone who has? Do they sound good in person? And again, I'm not a big flowmaster fan, but everything I have listened to keeps me coming back to them simply for the sound I am looking for.


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