# Straight pipe camaro **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** chevrolet, camaro\ **Created:** [January 2, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434 "2011-01-02T22:59:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chevyboy91](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/chevyboy91/32/2147_2.png) [@chevyboy91](https://community.cartalk.com/u/chevyboy91)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434/1 "2011-01-02T22:59:51Z")
does anybody out there know if it is illegal to runs straight pipes on a v6 Camaro ---
**Author:** ![chevyboy91](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/chevyboy91/32/2147_2.png) [@chevyboy91](https://community.cartalk.com/u/chevyboy91)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434/2 "2011-01-02T23:01:01Z")
does anybody out there know if its illegal to run straight pipes on a v6 camaro in tennessee ---
**Author:** ![jayhawkroy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/jayhawkroy/32/33_2.png) [@jayhawkroy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jayhawkroy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434/3 "2011-01-02T23:40:33Z")
If you want to keep it street legal and inside federal emission laws, yes. ---
**Author:** ![chevyboy91](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/chevyboy91/32/2147_2.png) [@chevyboy91](https://community.cartalk.com/u/chevyboy91)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434/4 "2011-01-03T00:00:29Z")
Tennessee does’nt have emissions law yet! my cat converter is already off and has a glass pack on it. but i have it at a garage and i had to cut the passenger side of the pipes off the get the head off and it sounds great but i dont know if it will be to loud. i dont think it will because where i live everybody just about has lound cars and trucks lol. ---
**Author:** ![andrew\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@andrew\_j](https://community.cartalk.com/u/andrew_j)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434/5 "2011-01-03T00:21:36Z")
It is FEDERAL law to have a cat converter. FEDERAL law trumps your states laws. ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434/6 "2011-01-03T02:54:12Z")
About 30 years ago a sheriff near Nashville had the cats cut off all his patrol cars at a local muffler shop. The federal fines cost the shop owner $10,000 per vehicle but cost the sheriff nothing. Shop owners in the south got that story in a print out from one of the exhaust parts suppliers and suddenly it was difficult to get a cat cut off. It seems that in some states it is still not illegal to drive with the cat cut off but it is illegal to cut the cat off. ---
**Author:** ![FoDaddy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fodaddy/32/717_2.png) [@FoDaddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/FoDaddy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434/7 "2011-01-03T13:57:38Z")
It’s probably not legal if you remove the catalytic converter, and you’ll get mocked loudly and often from the V8 guys. The 2.8L/3.1L/3.4L V6 sounds like a flatulent mosquito when you open up the exhaust. I wouldn’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434/8 "2011-01-03T14:06:52Z")
Those V-6s with straight pipes really do sound like a joke. The racket is similar to what I would expect if a Jake brake were installed on a Vespa. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434/9 "2011-01-03T15:21:36Z")
It is DEFINITELY ILLEGAL to remove the catalytic converts AND drive around without them if the car originally came with them. The trick is getting caught…especially if the state doesn’t require inspections. ---
**Author:** ![oblivion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3ab097/32.png) [@oblivion](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oblivion)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434/10 "2011-01-04T03:24:54Z")
Whether or not it is, what is the point? It sounds like crap compared to a V8, and will not gain you any significant performance. The first minivan you encounter will still probably smoke you. It may run slightly better at extreme top end, but will likely confuse the computer enough to run like crap at lower RPMs. And you won’t be able to hear anything but the obnoxious drone of your unmuffled engine all the time. I know you have another post asking about increasing performance on your V6 Camaro. Many have said that selling it and getting a V8 is the only way to improve performance. Unfortunately I agree with them. A longshot way of gaining performance on your V6 would be if you can find a supercharger for it, or add a nitrous kit. But many folks don’t consider HP gains from nitrous to be ‘real’ horsepower. And it will still only make you as fast as a V8, at the expense of reliability. If you want a fast car, start with something that’s already fairly quick. The V6 Camaros were for poseurs that wanted the look without the muscle. ---
**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/straight-pipe-camaro/59434/11 "2011-01-04T15:47:14Z")
Since Boots Randolph passed away I thankfully have no reason to go to Tennessee.