2001 Chevrolet Cavalier performance muffler

KOLEC94

MEMBER
2001 CHEVROLET CAVALIER
2.2L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
190,000 MILES

I need a new muffler for my vehicle the one on my vichile has a crack all the way down the side of it. Then the resonator pipe hangar has broke off so I need to replace that to. So I can buy a new muffler and pipe pre welded ready to got but the one I have seen say you need a high flow catalytic converter. Now if I change the muffler and pipe out but not the cat would it cause damage to my motor or exhaust because I do not have a high flow cat?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

Nothing to worry about. Although it is very small, every part in the exhaust system presents a little restriction to the flow of exhaust gases. The muffler you're looking at has less resistance than that of the original one, but to take advantage of that lower resistance, you also need to have other parts that have low resistance.

Right now the engine has to push the exhaust gases through two things, the catalytic converter and the muffler. Once you replace the muffler, the engine will just need to work a little less to push the exhaust out, that's all.