Guys with O/R X or H pipes - any law trouble? - Northern California Ford Owners

This is topic Guys with O/R X or H pipes - any law trouble? in forum Tech Talk at Northern California Ford Owners .

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Posted by ilya (Member # 6164) on :

I want a nice H-pipe for my '96 Cobra, but I don't want to pay $350 for a catted one. The O/R ones are about $150, so that's much more doable. The questions is, have any of you run into trouble for going catless? It's something like $1000 for each cat missing as far as I know. Is this too much of a risk to take?

Posted by Migs (Member # 5439) on :

I have Longtubes and an O/R X pipe 2 chambers and dumps on my 88 and have never been hassled for noise or anything.

Posted by hockeyguy713 (Member # 5354) on :

I have an offroad x on my 91 gt but honestly in my opinion the x pipes sound better on the 4.6 motors than the h pipes do. As long as you're not rippin by a cop you shouldnt have any problems. If you're cruisin by a cop just upshift to bring your rpms down and you're in the clear.

Posted by ilya (Member # 6164) on :

Hmm.. I live in San Francisco, so I might get harassed more than you guys. Also, what do you guys do for smog checks? Catless = failure, so do you just put the stock pipes back on?

Also, as for X vs. H, I have heard that H pipes make for a nice deep sound, while X's are raspier. I like the old school muscle sound, almost like the car is breathing.

Posted by uh0h50 (Member # 3125) on :

if you don't drive the car like an idiot, then you are pretty much safe from cops... from what i've learned first hand, performance wise the X's generally give more HP and sound pretty quiet at idle. At full throttle, they scream. As far as H pipes go, not as much HP as the X but do have that classic muscle car rumble throughout all RPM ranges, so are pretty loud at all times. I personally love the sound of an offroad H over the X.. I've had both.. good luck

Posted by two-gun kid (Member # 5891) on :

just dont be smashing right by a cop, they wont do anything if your just cruising by.
H pipes for the win.

Posted by slidewayz94 (Member # 3101) on :

don't forget some mil eliminators to turn off that check engine light when using an o/r pipe.

Posted by 92stangLX (Member # 3252) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ilya:
Hmm.. I live in San Francisco, so I might get harassed more than you guys. Also, what do you guys do for smog checks? Catless = failure, so do you just put the stock pipes back on?

Also, as for X vs. H, I have heard that H pipes make for a nice deep sound, while X's are raspier. I like the old school muscle sound, almost like the car is breathing.

I don't see why you would get harassed more in SF. SF cops hardly ever pull anyone over in my experience.

Just keep your stock H-pipe and swap it in when it is time for your smog.

Posted by TRIXSNK (Member # 2844) on :

Like everyone said don't drive like an idiot and you'll be ok [Wink]

Overall i tend to like that classic rumble an off road H and some 2 chamber flows give you.

On my 02GT i had a prochamber and flows which sounded probably the best of all my combos.

On my old 03 Cobra i had an off road X and straight through muffs and it sounded WAY TOO raspy [Frown]

I then switched to 3" flows and it sounded much better but i would have preferred a prochamber and flows again.

Just my taste [Cool]

EDIT: Never had any run-ins w/ the law.

[ May 11, 2006, 11:30 AM: Message edited by: TRIXSNK ]

Posted by RixSikCobra (Member # 5058) on :

I have Bassani O/R X and 2 chamber Flows(I agree Patrick, this setup sounds sweet)...NEVER been harrassed by cops, but has others have said, be cool around the police, don't give them any reason to harrass ya. On that note [Razz]

I was in the City a few weeks back and had an absolute blast gunnin' my car through all those narrow streets with tall buildings. It sounded SSOOOOOO badass [dance]

. I had everyone either "ooooooin and ahhhhhin" or pluggin' their ears-lookin' at me in disgust [patriot]

If I woulda gotten pulled, it woulda been my own fault.

Get your exhaust [patriot]

Posted by Lemonade (Member # 3692) on :

quote:
Originally posted by RixSikCobra:
NEVER been harrassed by cops

Rick, could this be due to your firefighter plate?!?! [Big Grin]

Lems

Posted by venomous99 (Member # 1917) on :

personally its not worth the hassle and taking the chance of getting fined. id like to have peace of mind driving if a cop happens to pop up rather than worrying about getting pulled over with an illegal exhaust...just gives a cop more reason to pull u over.
also, swapping pipes is not something i like doing every 2 years. spend the extra money for the cat pipe and call it a day.
the biggest thing i hated about the o/r exhaust was the exhaust fumes.

edit: to answer your question, yes ive been pulled over with an o/r exhaust even when i babied the throttle at the sight of a cop. luckily, this ssf cop did not look under the car for cats.

[ May 11, 2006, 02:32 PM: Message edited by: venomous99 ]

Posted by ilya (Member # 6164) on :

Thanks for all the feedback, guys. I think I found a great deal on a Mac catted H-pipe for long tubes that I can have an exhaust shop extend for my regular headers. This is possible and fairly easy, according to the seller.

Posted by 92stangLX (Member # 3252) on :

quote:
Originally posted by RixSikCobra:
I have Bassani O/R X and 2 chamber Flows(I agree Patrick, this setup sounds sweet)...NEVER been harrassed by cops, but has others have said, be cool around the police, don't give them any reason to harrass ya. On that note I was in the City a few weeks back and had an absolute blast gunnin' my car through all those narrow streets with tall buildings. It sounded SSOOOOOO badass . I had everyone either "ooooooin and ahhhhhin" or pluggin' their ears-lookin' at me in disgust If I woulda gotten pulled, it woulda been my own fault.

Get your exhaust

Try goin' through the Broadway tunnel next time [Big Grin]

Posted by 94gt (Member # 3060) on :

I had an bassani catted x and SLP Loudmouth 2's on my ol mach1 and I got alot of compliments... then I took off the cats (thanks to bassani's modular design, its a snap) and got alot more attention... lol

When I sold the mach and picked up my cobra, I swapped the o/r x over and it definantly made the stock crap sound better.... I'll have a nice bassani catback waiting for me when I get back.

oh, and if you dont have a SCT/Predator, dont forget the MILS!!! [Razz]

Posted by RixSikCobra (Member # 5058) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Lemonade:

quote:
Originally posted by RixSikCobra:
NEVER been harrassed by cops
Rick, could this be due to your firefighter plate?!?!

Lems

Posted by 95CALI-5.0 (Member # 6780) on :

I have a Bassani X with cats and magnaflows. Sounds wicked.

Chances are you won't get caught with the offroad x or h, but if you do the fines are not worth it.

Posted by BlownNOSMustang (Member # 158) on :

I picked up some HP with the O/R H-Pipe. Never had anyone look under the car.

Posted by Curt (Member # 6254) on :

They don't care about Mustangs, they are told to go after the ricers cause they are the ones who cause the most problems, my buddy at Roseville PD says not to worry

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