My girlfriend has a 2001 Subaru Legacy. Recently one of her catalytic converters went bad. She now needs to get that system replaced. She was quoted $1,200 from a trusted mechanic. I was thinking, she s going to have to put a good amount of money into this thing already, are there any options to just replace the whole exhaust with a freer flowing one? Hoping to get that and an intake and hopefully get a little more power out of the car. The only thing is, neither of us want it to be loud. In fact, the way it sounds now is perfect but I understand that a better exhaust may be a bit louder. What s can we get that is less restricting but not a whole lot louder that also is in about the same price range?
You can replace the entire exhaust system if you want, but you still need to replace the defective catalytic converter. New pipes and mufflers would add about $600-$800 to the price. Is a 14-year-old Subaru really worth putting that much money into?
If you live in Ca or NY then replacing the OEM emissions equipment with an aftermarket higher flowing CAT is a big no no. Now if your Legacy is turbo'd then you'd have to get the ECU tuned to run the high flow CAT properly. Would also need an ECU recalibration for the intake if turbo'd. The only reason you would have a $1200 bill for a new cat converter is if you drove a turbo Subaru. If that's not the case, then find a new mechanic. If you don't want a super loud exhaust go with 2.5 - 2.75 in piping.
Er no. You aren't going to get any more power out of 14 year old car with air filters and exhaust pipes. Save your money for the timing belt.
