hey guys. i just have a question about exhausts. i still have a stock single cat lt1 exhaust on my 95 z28. i plan on installing a flowmaster american thunder catback and a cutout on it soon. my questions are how do i uninstall the old stock exhaust and put the new catback on?? is it hard to do. i remember talking to somebody that said you have to unbolt a control arm for the pipe to go through? is that true? also with the cutout, where is the best place to put it? i think there are threee options
1. before the cat after the headers
2. right after the cat
3. right before the muffler

i want the most horsepower and the loudest sound so im thinking option no. 1. i live in kentucky and there is no inspection so i think i would be okay on the emissions. how loud would this be and how much performance gains should i b looking at. i think i have read some topics on here and ls1.com saying that people have gotten 7-8 rwhp and 7-8 rwtq with a cutout. im hoping to get some good power out of this. what kinda hp numbers are you guys getting with your cutout?? also give me your opinions so i can learn more about this! thanks! also i have looked for the cutouts and i just want a manual one with the three wingnuts and a cap. the electric qtec is too expensive. i have heard the flowtech cutout is a good one and not too expensive. how much would it be?? im looking into anywhere from 30-45 or so?? is that about right? i have looked at the jegs catalog and they have two cutouts listed, a jeg's cutout brand that is 26.99 for the 2.5" and a mr. gasket co. cutout for 46.99 but that is only 2". i would like the flowtech but cant find it anywhere. by the way these cutouts are on page 13 and 16 in the jegs catalog. im sorry for the long post but i have checked around at my local tire places that do exhaust and one place wants 150 to install the exhaust and 50 for the cutout. thats 200 plus the price of my catback and my cutout im looking at 500 or so bucks and thats too much for me im hoping to either install my exhaust myself and get the cutout on somewhere else or take it to a muffler shop that can install my catback and cutout for a reasonable pirce hoping for a 100 bucks or so. thanks guys! sorry for the long post, just trying to learn new stuff. my car is still all stock except for cags but i cant wait till my modding!!!

 

The cat back install was a piece of cake, and I certainly didn't remove the control arms. I just cut right though the intermediate pipe and unbolted it from right after the cat. It took us about 2 hours to do it, and it should've taken half as long but one bolt was a bitch to get off.

As far as the cutout goes, some people would say that before the cat is too loud. However that is where you'll get the most HP gain. Mine is right after the cat and I love it. Another option would be put an offroad pipe in instead of the cat, and then after that the cutout. Install of the cutout should be anywhere from $20-50....depending on where you go. They cost about $25.