Cat delete, is it worth the money

[MarkN]

I have a lamonster cat delete without the baffle, stock muffler on my 2022 RTL. Absolutely love the sound! A nice in-line growl, if you want to call it that. Performance difference? Don’t really know. I don’t ride aggressively so that part doesn’t interest me.

[SkipH]

Why I'm gonna replace the cat converter with the "test tube" is after riding in 110 to 118 degree weather a couple of weeks ago testing out my new home built water cooled vest, as I parked in the garage, a very strong alcohol smell emitted from the tank. So strong that I had to leave the garage door open for an hour. I've had this several times before in hot weather and this time was the worse.

[AndysF3S]

I am planning on buying the MFI Stage 2 soon and understand that removing the cat will remove some of the back pressure and increase the noise which I am allergic to. I plan on staying with the factory muffler.

My question is has anyone run the MFI Stage 2 with factory cat and muffler and how does it perform? If you removed the cat and stayed with the factory muffler did it improve the performance noticeably and did it get noticeably louder or too loud?

I get the Thunder city baffles helping the bottom end and changing the sound but would prefer not to go that route. Who's cat delete do you recommend that is just an open pipe without resonator or baffles? 22F3S

If I replace the Cat and don't want to lose bottom end torque is the baffled pipe like the thunder city the only choice? I see they sell the baffles but don't see the pipe itself?

I have emailed Lamonster to see what they recommend with their LG 1330? They sell a perforated baffle LG1329 to tone it down. Has anyone run this combo with a stock muffler; how much louder is it? I know loud is subjective unless you use a dB meter but I would prefer near stock sound with increased performance which may not be possible?

[troop]

I am planning on buying the MFI Stage 2 soon and understand that removing the cat will remove some of the back pressure and increase the noise which I am allergic to. I plan on staying with the factory muffler.

My question is has anyone run the MFI Stage 2 with factory cat and muffler and how does it perform? If you removed the cat and stayed with the factory muffler did it improve the performance noticeably and did it get noticeably louder or too loud?

I get the Thunder city baffles helping the bottom end and changing the sound but would prefer not to go that route. Who's cat delete do you recommend that is just an open pipe without resonator or baffles? 22F3S

If I replace the Cat and don't want to lose bottom end torque is the baffled pipe like the thunder city the only choice? I see they sell the baffles but don't see the pipe itself?

I have emailed Lamonster to see what they recommend with their LG 1330? They sell a perforated baffle LG1329 to tone it down. Has anyone run this combo with a stock muffler; how much louder is it? I know loud is subjective unless you use a dB meter but I would prefer near stock sound with increased performance which may not be possible?

I liked this combo on my F3S with PV3/custom tune:
1.) https://www.baldwinironworks.com/pro...at-bypass-pipe I used the included baffle without the end cap with the stock muffler. Had a very nice rumble.
I watched Paul build my cat delete and install it at his shop in Sparta, Mo. He's only about 20 miles from Lamonster.

[SkipH]

I finally installed the Test pipe with baffle and it still sounds stock. It did however stop the alcohol/gas smell from evaporation.That top spring is a bit*h...

[BajaRon]

The top spring is definitely a marvel of engineering excellence!

[2dogs]

Successfully getting that spring on and off without spilling any blood can be a marvel in itself.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I am planning on buying the MFI Stage 2 soon and understand that removing the cat will remove some of the back pressure and increase the noise which I am allergic to. I plan on staying with the factory muffler.

My question is has anyone run the MFI Stage 2 with factory cat and muffler and how does it perform? If you removed the cat and stayed with the factory muffler did it improve the performance noticeably and did it get noticeably louder or too loud?

I get the Thunder city baffles helping the bottom end and changing the sound but would prefer not to go that route. Who's cat delete do you recommend that is just an open pipe without resonator or baffles? 22F3S

If I replace the Cat and don't want to lose bottom end torque is the baffled pipe like the thunder city the only choice? I see they sell the baffles but don't see the pipe itself?

I have emailed Lamonster to see what they recommend with their LG 1330? They sell a perforated baffle LG1329 to tone it down. Has anyone run this combo with a stock muffler; how much louder is it? I know loud is subjective unless you use a dB meter but I would prefer near stock sound with increased performance which may not be possible?

When I put on the Cat Delete pipe I didn't use the Baffle ..... Then I tried a home made Baffle ( modeled after the Thunder baffle ) & liked it, so I kept it on .... JMHO .... Mike

[BertRemington]

My experience with top spring is if you do the two side springs first then the top spring will fight and win. But if you do the top spring first then much less fight and you will win easily.

[RangerRick]

On my 2013 there was only 1 spring and it was a cinch hooking up with the tool RLS included

[AndysF3S]

I installed a cat bypass yesterday and had no problem with the springs (3) using the proper tool. I believe I bought this tool from skidoo accessories: it is about 19" long and has a couple of openings on the end for pulling or pushing the spring. It took a couple of minutes to remove the springs and about 5 minutes to install because I tried the top spring first and my pipe kept sliding out of the bracket; secured both bottom springs first and then the top spring with no slips or cuts.

The second pic is my lift that I used to install the pipe and the sway bar.

I installed the cat delete pipe without the baffle, stock muffler and did a couple of block rides without my helmet. I found the exhaust sound to be noticeably louder and more rappy. I will go for a longer ride with my helmet on to see if I can tolerate the new louder sound or not. If not, I will research a new baffle and or go back to the cat.

Removing the cat saved about 14 lbs (16-2) and the stock muffler weighs about 10 lbs.

The baffle that came with the pipe is about 48mm (1.89 in) in diameter and if installed with the end removed it reduces to 23mm (.90"ID). This baffle reduces the area of flow from 2.81sq" open pipe to 0.65sq" baffle installed with end open or about 23%. The back pressure would be almost 4.3 times that of the open pipe so for me that is a non-starter if I am trying to add a freer flowing exhaust. I don't know what the back pressure is of the stock system with cat and muffler so to be fair I don't know how the baffle installed with open end would compare back pressure wise. I realize that the baffle will reduce the noise level some but at what back pressure compared to stock? I will check out the Quiet Thunder Monster Baffles before I give up on the open pipe.

I have not ordered the stage 2 from MFI as Tuesday we have snow flurries in the forecast so riding season is pretty much over until late April or May

[AndysF3S]

I drove to the dealer and back this morning about 60km/40 miles to have my handle bar warmers installed and the temp. was -8C/18 F. The cat bypass without any baffles was loud especially when downshifting, WOT or blipping the throttle like the guys working on the bike got a kick out of. At steady RPM of 3500 the sound was much quieter and tolerable. Start working on the bypass next spring.