No cats=trashy IMO

[Ateam]

After being stuck behind a big truck from the 90's today who clearly had no cat's in because its the first time I ever got stuck right behind someone in traffic and I would NEVER do that to other people with my car. It just smells trashy and cheap. Nevermind if you ever had a cop sit behind or a motorcycle cop.

Do yourself a favor and go smell it from behind in traffic and you may think twice.

[prichards516]

[MR///M3]

My e92 335i was completely catless and honestly the smell is way exaggerated by many people on here including you. It honestly just smelled like a go cart, I kind of liked the smell. Oh and a catless big truck from the 90's will smell different than our cars catless.

[rjd598]

ill have fun seeing you in my rear view mirror

[Dave07997S]

Originally Posted by Ateam

After being stuck behind a big truck from the 90's today who clearly had no cat's in because its the first time I ever got stuck right behind someone in traffic and I would NEVER do that to other people with my car. It just smells trashy and cheap. Nevermind if you ever had a cop sit behind or a motorcycle cop.

Do yourself a favor and go smell it from behind in traffic and you may think twice.

Agreed, thats why a lot of us just run the rear cats. Very little hp advantage to no cats vs. just the rear cats yet everyone gets to breathe.

dave

[smmmurf]

Loud exhaust is trashy, IMO. Car can sound good without letting everybody two counties away know you're coming. Like those people who put straight pipes on their Harleys and wake up the entire block (Santana Row in San Jose, for example). Muscle cars with straight pipes are stupid too.

Perfect example is a 458 Italia stock exhaust. M3 stock exhaust is gooood but heavy.

[Krozi]

Can't stand it either. But I don't care when it's not me lol

[pbonsalb]

Fortunately our cars are not old trucks. I am sure the old truck would have been awesome with a $5000 titanium exhaust, though. Fuel injection might have helped also.

I have run cars without cats for 20 years and never complained. That said, you need to tune the ECU to compensate for the best performance. Just removing a significant exhaust restriction with no other changes can result in a rich mixture for which the ECU cannot fully compensate. You cannot clean it up completely when running no cats, but you can make it a lot better with a tune. Whether it is good enough for you is up to you.

No cats plus a tune is the best power gainer for these cars short of forced induction. It is also illegal. The high flow cat version of the track pipes sacrifice some of the power gain, but are more emissions friendly.

The really loud rear exhausts some people run are more obnoxious to me than the slight occasional gas smell from no cats. But I like actual power, not just a more powerful sound.

[J08M3]

I agree with OP. Not for sound reasons, however it not too classy to have an overly loud car anyway in my opinion. But show a little respect for the people and the world around you. Unless you are on a racetrack in a serious competitive race with a track car only, you are only losing minimal power with cats.

[jeff@autocouture]

no cats= get more pussy

seriously, it doesnt smell that bad. i like the smell
and it makes supercharged m3s go faster, so supercharge your car

[L4ces]

I got to drive behind my car and that experience was one of the reasons I removed my catless xpipe. When my wife drove it at WOT, I was drenched in fumes, *my eyes burned and I noticed a weird taste. I often wondered why the gap between me and vehicles behind me were so huge during rush hour. Another car would fill the gap and then fall further behind or switch to another lane.
It was extremely rich and I didn't want to pay for a tune and have the same results.*
I hope to get some experience with HFC or perhaps I'll get a second OEM and remove the rear cats for the sake of better sound in cabin.

[SECRET M]

the smell of unadulterated exhaust gases is intoxicating to me. i don't mind sitting behind a big ass school bus as it's exhaust drops a large plume of diesel exhaust into the air. in fact, i love it even more when i see people's faces.. 'thizz' faces if it were. the reaction on their face as if they've accidentally swallow some poop is funny to me.

that said, it's bad for the environment, so reduction of that is always good for our future. however, if someone here recommends getting an electric car, i'm going to barf.

[Moxie]

Originally Posted by L4ces

I got to drive behind my car and that experience was one of the reasons I removed my catless xpipe. When my wife drove it at WOT, I was drenched in fumes, *my eyes burned and I noticed a weird taste. I often wondered why the gap between me and vehicles behind me were so huge during rush hour. Another car would fill the gap and then fall further behind or switch to another lane.
It was extremely rich and I didn't want to pay for a tune and have the same results.*
I hope to get some experience with HFC or perhaps I'll get a second OEM and remove the rear cats for the sake of better sound in cabin.

2 each their own - You wanna run catless, run catless. You don't like it 2 bad. If going catless will keep people off my ass - I'm there. Seriously - quit sniveling.

[Ateam]

People are missing the point. Who cares if YOU like the smell because it is not you that has to smell it the vast majority of the time. It is the people behind you.

And I would like to see where you get the number that less than 2 percent of people care about the smell. Anyone stuck behind a catless car may not "understand" it is from a car with no cats but it smells like straight polution and chemicals flowing through your vents into your car.

Add a super loud exhaust and to me it just screams rice mobile or boy racer with no respect for anyone else on the road. Immaturity is another thing it just spews.

TO each his own but have respect for the hundreds of people who are behind you in traffic on a day to day basis, just so you can have 3 extra horsepower and a loud sound.

[JDM3]

So i have to restrict horsepower to respect the people behind me that I don't even know? They have the choice of hitting the recirculate button on their climate control as I have the choice to take my cats off. It's a free country!

[J08M3]

Originally Posted by 1SICKM

So i have to restrict horsepower to respect the people behind me that I don't even know? They have the choice of hitting the recirculate button on their climate control as I have the choice to take my cats off. It's a free country!

well freedom has to end somewhere. your freedom to pollute the air imposes on other peoples freedom to breath fresh air. But if you don't give a shit, then that's of course your choice.

[E90///M3`]

this is too funny

i rarely drive my car with or without the cats so i could care less if people behind me get pissed off. and as a side note... i've gotten approximately 10 thumbs up from people i didn't know and ZERO complaints on the freeways or wherever i was at the time.

[Krozi]

There's a 90% chance the person behind you is an asshole who deserves it anyway so whatever lol

[mrkhanna16]

im a boy racer so i need the extra hp

[L4ces]

I'll admit to wrong doing in that I have gotten in front of an asshole and floored it to smoke em out. I think We've all had that moment where we wished we could blow up the asshole screwing up traffic, in the left lane with a 1/4 mile gap in front of him during rush hour. I would not do it again because it is bad bad bad. But for once, I was able send a message. Again bad bad bad and I don't condone that behavior. See, it can turn folks into monsters.

Originally Posted by Krozi

There's a 90% chance the person behind you is an asshole who deserves it anyway so whatever lol

[Dave07997S]

Originally Posted by J08M3

well freedom has to end somewhere. your freedom to pollute the air imposes on other peoples freedom to breath fresh air. But if you don't give a shit, then that's of course your choice.

Technically you are not free to remove the cats, it is against the law not only at many state levels but federal levels as well.

Dave

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by Ateam

People are missing the point. Who cares if YOU like the smell because it is not you that has to smell it the vast majority of the time. It is the people behind you.

And I would like to see where you get the number that less than 2 percent of people care about the smell. Anyone stuck behind a catless car may not "understand" it is from a car with no cats but it smells like straight polution and chemicals flowing through your vents into your car.

Add a super loud exhaust and to me it just screams rice mobile or boy racer with no respect for anyone else on the road. Immaturity is another thing it just spews.

TO each his own but have respect for the hundreds of people who are behind you in traffic on a day to day basis, just so you can have 3 extra horsepower and a loud sound.

^agree