Punched out cat
 

me and a buddy of mine thought up the idea of punching out the cat in my silverado but im a little skeptical as to whether or not its actually a good idea. i was wondering if anyone had any input as to the pros and cons of doin it

What year?

2000.

If you punch out the cat the check engine light will come on with a PO420 code for cat efficiency. You will not be able to feel a difference in power anyways. Get a nice cat back kit and leave the converter. A engine needs some back pressure to perform properly.

yea i figured all it would do is make it louder i might just drop some money and get a high flow cat

I punched out the cat on my 95, I didn't notice any pros, the cons that I had was:
i see smoke now that the cat would catch and burn off, cold natured starts never had before, no improve mileage or performance, so don't do it.

Hi flow cats really don't make that much difference either. Got some on the Silverado that were slightly used at a dirt cheap price. (Found out that the muffler shop is making money off the platinum elements in the stock converters also...)
Anyway, punching them out is only a temporary solution for the problem of a clogged cat in vehicles that predate OBD.