I was thinking about ditching the catalytic converter in my Honda CRX 1991 Si edition and getting a strait line exhaust. Will my car be ridiculously loud because i don‘t want to hear it over my stereo system. Also i was thinking about upgrading my air intake (it is stock right now). 1. How much would each of these help in terms of HP and acceleration?2. How much would they cost if a found a gear head on craigslist?Thanks!! I wish i knew more about cars!
If you mean a CAT-back exhaust, then yeah, it'll be louder. A straight-line would be deafening. Whether or not you'll hear it over the stereo depends on how loud your stereo is. It only has 108 HP (my motorcycle has more.) to begin with, so the exhaust and a cold-air intake can boost it from there to maybe 120 HP. You won't notice a huge difference. Too many prices to even mention - it would start at around $700 base for the whole set (for something barely decent).
Straight pipes on your car are illegal. It would be too much of a pain to put a different exhaust system on every time you needed an emissions inspection. Your car would be louder, but honestly, with that 1.6L it would probably just sound like you had a hole in your muffler. My motorcycle engine is larger, I have straight pipes, and it is loud. That's with half the cylinders. However, the bike is still rideable. As far as HP or acceleration, it is negligible. Stock, your car has 108hp. Your power is probably even less since your car is almost 20 years old. Exhaust and intake will probably give you 5hp. They want you to think it will give you 20 for each upgrade but that is crap. Plus, you'll lose some of that power though the drive train. An intake you can easily install yourself. For exhaust, just get a muffler shop to do it. It will probably cost you $100-$200. I wouldn't bother with it, though. You won't notice any significant improvement.
You will get more pwer from your engine by ditching your catalitic converter but it will not pass inspection. If you are not worried about inspection then ditch it. You can also get a high flow one. The straighter the exhaust the more power. ( don't forget to go to a header.) Go to a cold air intake for more pwer or a K and N air filter. It may be a little louder but just turn your music up. It'll sound sweet.
