I'm was wondering what would happen if I took the catalytic converter out of my '88 Ranger (2.9L V6) and replaced it with just a piece of exhaust piping and put a glasspack muffler on too. Would I get any power/mpg out of doing that? I could care less about global warming so I don't need to hear about how terrible I am for causing a tiny bit more pollution.

What would happen is you'd be breaking federal law, increasing pollution, and not doing much of anything to gain any performance by removing the cats. While you are obviously a really classy, mature, and educated guy to say "I could care less about global warming so I don't need to hear about how terrible I am for causing a tiny bit more pollution", it's not so much the impact you'd be having on the environment as much as it would be having a negative impact on the air we breathe. Yes, that's right, there are other people on the planet besides you.

By the way, to say "I could care less" means that to some extent, you do in fact care. So since you said you actually do care about the environment and pollution, leave your cats alone.

you wont gain anything from it besides having an obnoxiously loud truck. And like Jay said breaking federal laws and the pollution stuff. only reason i have straight pipes and glass pack on my truck is they were on when i got it and cant afford to get it all fixed yet so i don't drive it.

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'86 Ford Ranger Super Cab 4x4
2.9 V-6
6in Suspension lift
500 watt JL audio amp
Rockford Fosgate 10" sub
Kenwood kdcx492 head unit
New Holland Red

on the stock 2.9 you will actully lose more power because you lose the backpressure the cats provide to the motor. did it on my b2 and dyno'd it when i was at school and it was not worth it. put a good muffler on it (flowmaster) and that about all you can do to gain performace on the exhaust side besides headers

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2006 FX4 LEVEL II screaming yellow 15X8 ion alloy wheels with 31-10.50/15 michelle Ltx tires, daul flowmaster pipes, spyder auto headlights, pioneer deck with one 12inch sub, leer cab.

i took the cat off and mufflers all my diesel trucks

al gore is going to be knocking on your door any second now

Awesome! Because as we all know, diesels suck and don't make any torque unless you do that.

x2 on loosing power, did it on my sisters 2.9 and never was the same

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2002 Ranger Edge
Red, 4 door, 4.0, 4x4, 4.10 gears, 5 speed

1987 Suzuki Samurai
Rustoleum flat black, weber 32/36, 2 inch exahust, full soft top, and rear mini spool.

Ok thats what I needed to know. I like loud trucks and my neighbors are cool enough not to care. Glad to see Al Gore's little beotches are everywhere. I live in the country; the air is fine here and my little truck will never pollute like those big diesels do anyway. I would love the opportunity of Gore coming to my house... Lots of federal laws lose their significance when you consider the idiocy of those making them... Anyways thanks for the posts that were helpful. I knew it helped on the diesels but that's good info concerning the cat. on my truck. thanks

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1988 Ford Ranger
2.9L V6, 5 spd. Manual (220,000 Miles)
2" Lift

I for one like to breathe the air in my environment. I could care more.

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1993 stepside 4WD 5-speed 6 cyl 4.0

You tofu-farting tree-hugging fairies. As soon as any of the global warming is actually proven, let me know. And utahpredator, you can make up for removing your catalitic converter by shooting your dog. The "experts" and "scientists" have now proven that owning a dog has a bigger carbon footprint than owning an SUV.
And my favorite: cows farting is realeasing too much methane into the air... right... thats why the air on the ranch is so bad and all the air in Denver and LA is so clean. WAIT!!! Thats the reason for all the bad air in California and why they have all those "happy cows"!!! All the cows are farting themselves happy!!

you have no idea how ignorant you sound.
consider this: the cost of rising sea levels for coastal areas will be around $54 TRILLION by 2050. the rate of sea level rise has doubled in the past 10 years and will continue to rise. you might not care about coastal communities or anything because you probably live under a rock, and as we all know, in Kansas, god created the Earth in 6 days, and it is only 6000 years old.
you should read up on the facts before you say stupid shit like that. global warming is accepted by 99% of the scientific community and the VAST majority of the world. the only deniers are inhofe and his followers who have a grade school education

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08 Ranger Sport 2wd
aFe CAI, 30x9.5.x15 Grabber AT2s, U/D pulleys, flowmaster super 44

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
- John F. Kennedy

"Somehow the "god of the athiests" delivers more miracles than all other religion combined than..."

Not sure if you're poking fun or agreeing with me.

I'm just saying that regardless of what impact exhaust emissions may have on the overall health of the globe, it can have an immediate impact on the quality of our air.

This has nothing to do with being a tree-hugger. I'm not. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't bother to do our part, whether it's leaving our federally mandated cats alone or conserving energy in other ways.

It seems like some people feel that if someone cares at all about the planet, then that person is automatically viewed as a "global warming" "tree hugging" fanatic. I think that's ignorant. You don't have to be one or the other. There are shades of gray.

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ɹǝʌo ǝɯ dılɟ

Ok, my attempt to be funny has failed. Now to seriousness. I DO believe the earth is older than 6000 years (by a couple billion). I also believe it goes through cycles of warming and cooling. Ok, the ice is melting and the oceans are rising. That is fact. It has been melting for alot longer than we have had internal combutstion engines. Didn't the ice caps carve out the great lakes? They were alot farther north than that when the industrial revolution hit. I'm sorry that the water is rising, but I don't think if we all shut off our engines tomorrow that it will make any difference. I just don't see the earth as being that fragile. I have a lot closer connection to the earth than most, as I grow food out of it for a living. It is quite resiliant. I also know it is always changing. Erosion happens. With its ever-changing, it is ever-healing itself. I think we as humans have a very high opinion of ourseleves if we think we have the power to make that big of an impact on it.
Now, this is not what this forum is for, so I'm done with the subject.
Oh, wait, one more attempt at humor: We're saving everyone that lives on the coasts a trip to Vinice!

Nope, I'm not done yet. One for surfer:
Kansas and alot of the midwest used to be under a large sea. What did we humans do to cause it to change and go away??