emulator question

I have a 96 s/c that I'm going to do an exhaust setup on, I'm ordering a zzp h body downpipe soon with a cat and was wondering if I still need an emulator for a catted downpipe, does the cat have an 02 bung anywhere?

h20man wrote:

I have a 96 s/c that I'm going to do an exhaust setup on, I'm ordering a zzp h body downpipe soon with a cat and was wondering if I still need an emulator for a catted downpipe, does the cat have an 02 bung anywhere?

Well, putting a Cat on the car with an Emulator makes no sense, considering the Emulator is specifically made to fool the PCM into thinking that there's a Cat installed. You'd have to look at what you're buying to see if it has a bung. Chances are, it's a weld in Cat, and you have to use the bung that's on the original pipe. You're going to have to "Mad Max" it together.

EDIT: The downpipe you ordered bolts to the ORIGINAL Cat flange. You've also ordered a Cat, which IS weld in. So you definitely have to make use of the factory bung somehow. Don't waste your money on an Emulator if you're installing a Cat.

Thank you, I haven't ordered anything yet so should I keep my factory cat? I was planning to do a full exhaust downpipe back what do you suggest

h20man wrote:

Thank you, I haven't ordered anything yet so should I keep my factory cat? I was planning to do a full exhaust downpipe back what do you suggest

It depends on what your State Laws are. Personally, I'd save the money, get rid of the factory cat, and buy an Emulator. OR, if you're planning on having it tuned, you can turn off the rear O2 codes and don't need the Emulator.
If you want to be "planet conscious", just keep the factory Cat for now, install the DP, and then do a Cat-back exhaust. This way, there isn't any issues with the O2, the PCM, or the tree huggers.  

Realistically, you aren't going to gain anything noticeable by removing the original Cat, or installing a High-Flow version. Unless you plan on modding significantly more, there isn't a need for your exhaust to flow more than it will with a DP and Cat-back installed.

In Connecticut there is no inspection, so unless I have a check engine ill be fine. I have a 96 so I'm guessing I need my downpipe welded to the flange, I don't have access to a welder so exhaust shop is my only option sadly. I might be wrong but I don't think a shop can delete a cat by law

h20man wrote:

I might be wrong but I don't think a shop can delete a cat by law

No, they will not remove it for you....by law.

Yea that's what i thought, so its possible to have a 3inch downpipe welded to the stock cat?

Anything is possible. Read the description of what you're buying.

"ZZPerformance now carries a full length downpipe for the Bonneville/Park Avenue/Riviera.  

The OEM Bonneville downpipe is about 12" long and bolts to the front of the cat with 4 bolts.  The factory cat-back exhaust includes the cat on the H-Body car.  This is a weld or clamp in downpipe and ends right before the factory resonator."


"This downpipe can be ordered with or without a cat and is one piece."

I see, just making sure because the 96 Riviera is turning out to be an oddball everything is slightly different than the other years

I think the 96' has a different plug type then the 97+. At least I know for sure the front O2 sensor uses a different plug and not the square plug so even if you get the emulator you may have to figure out a way to wire it up.

96_Juggernaut wrote:

I think the 96' has a different plug type then the 97+. At least I know for sure the front O2 sensor uses a different plug and not the square plug so even if you get the emulator you may have to figure out a way to wire it up.

You are correct sir. I didn't even think of that   

Abaddon wrote:

96_Juggernaut wrote:

I think the 96' has a different plug type then the 97+. At least I know for sure the front O2 sensor uses a different plug and not the square plug so even if you get the emulator you may have to figure out a way to wire it up.

You are correct sir. I didn't even think of that   

I'm hoping the wires are at least the same color because I wanted to run the race gas compatible front sensor from ZZP. if the colors are the same it would be an easy switch

96_Juggernaut wrote:

I'm hoping the wires are at least the same color because I wanted to run the race gas compatible front sensor from ZZP. if the colors are the same it would be an easy switch

They are. I just looked at the schematics, and I saved the pics. PPL, PPL/WHT, TAN, TAN/WHT.
Whenever we get around to posting it in the proper place, I suppose it's some good info for the '96 guys, eh?

Abaddon wrote:

96_Juggernaut wrote:

I'm hoping the wires are at least the same color because I wanted to run the race gas compatible front sensor from ZZP. if the colors are the same it would be an easy switch

They are. I just looked at the schematics, and I saved the pics. PPL, PPL/WHT, TAN, TAN/WHT.
Whenever we get around to posting it in the proper place, I suppose it's some good info for the '96 guys, eh?

Awesome! We appreciate it

Yes thank you for the info, I'm gonna reuse my stock cat and 02 sensor, this may sound dumb lol but what would I need to run a single pipe with a flow master from the cat back

h20man wrote:

Yes thank you for the info, I'm gonna reuse my stock cat and 02 sensor, this may sound dumb lol but what would I need to run a single pipe with a flow master from the cat back

Personally I would stay away from Flow Master mufflers with these cars. They are a chamber design which not only in my opinion, is a horrible design, but they also been known to sound very raspy on the 3800 engine. Other than that to answer your question your just going to have to go to a muffler shop that can fabricate the exhaust from the cat back.

True, flowmasters sound good on v8s and thats about it. I did come across flow masters hushpower 2 muffler, anybody have experience with these from what I've read its not a chambered design so no hollow,raspy noise,

Or for 50 dollars on eBay they sell a diesel truck muffler with a straight through design

If you like a straight through design with a Magnaflow style I recommend the Full Boar mufflers I am runnnig. they are super cheap and sound really good, super mellow and no rasp as all. I even watched a video where they did a independent test and they out flowed magnaflow, however I'm sure a small increase in flow is not going to matter much. I'm using the "SS" line.
http://www.fullboarperformanceexhaust.com/servlet/StoreFront

I saw those before and was curious about them so they sound good? What's your setup are you running a 3in downpipe