Straight Pipe 1998 Chevrolet K1500 5.7 Vortec

Does anyone know any small local shops that would straight pipe my 1998 Chevrolet K1500 5.7 Vortec here in Indiana? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. No emissions testing obviously where I live.

Any decent exhaust shop should be able to do it no problem.

Keep in mind though, if you delete the cats you're going to need a PCM tune to eliminate the check engine light from the rear O2 sensors not getting a proper reading.

Thanks df2x4. So as long as I have the rear O2 Sensors deleted I will no longer get the Check Engine Light? Just out of curiosity what are the most restrictive stock exhaust components on our trucks? FYI I currently have the stock 2 Catalytic Converter Setup with aftermarket Flowmaster Dual Exhaust Setup. However a lot of the actual pipe is starting to rust except for the Stainless Steel tailpipes witch a 45 degree angular cut. I also have been getting the pesky P0420 Code and instead of replacing my Cats with super expensive Cats again I want to delete them to avoid these issues from arising potentially in the future. I have heard that on our GMT400 Trucks the Stock Manifold and Y Pipe are very restrictive and should be replaced? Any other suggestions?

Seger said:

So as long as I have the rear O2 Sensors deleted I will no longer get the Check Engine Light?

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Not that simple unfortunately. Like I said, you'll need to have someone tune your PCM so that it no longer expects a signal from the rear O2 sensors at all. Otherwise you'll get the P0420 code and a check engine light constantly. I recommend Black Bear Performance.

You're right about the Y pipe being the most restrictive section on these trucks.

Google mini cats on here. Much cheaper option to take care of the 02 sensor

Thatfordguy said:

Google mini cats on here. Much cheaper option to take care of the 02 sensor

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Also a lot more work...

df2x4 said:

Also a lot more work...

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It can be done in less than an hour and costs a couple bucks. A tune well that's a little more expensive and takes a couple weeks to send in your computer and have it reflashed. Not saying that's a bad way at all as I'm into diesels and know how tuning works but for a tight budget and works just as well.

Thatfordguy said:

It can be done in less than an hour and costs a couple bucks. A tune well that's a little more expensive and takes a couple weeks to send in your computer and have it reflashed. Not saying that's a bad way at all as I'm into diesels and know how tuning works but for a tight budget and works just as well.

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Agreed, with the exception of one small detail. Most tuners (or at least a lot of them) will send out a tuned PCM with a core charge that's refunded once you send your factory one into them, so you don't have any vehicle down-time waiting for your tune like you described.

Wasn't trying to talk down on one method or another, just thought it was worth pointing out that the "mini-cat" solution is more involved from a manual labor point of view. Yes a tune will take longer and cost more, but you get a ton of other benefits that will make the truck much more fun to drive. Plus the toughest physical labor involved is disconnecting the battery before you unplug the PCM. Whole process is about 10 minutes start to finish. Those two reasons combined are why I always recommend the tune as a solution to this problem if you have the means. Just a cleaner, easier way IMO with lots of extra perks.

My recommendation is if you have the $250 to spend on a tune, email Black Bear Performance and enjoy the best $250 you'll ever spend on the truck. (With free alterations in the future if you so choose...) If not, then go with the "mini-cat" solution.