I have a obd-1 s50 turbo in my e30, have about 4000 miles on it, during that time I have been doing alot of tuning and the car was runing very rich, im wondering the condition of my cats, if they started to restrict any more air flow.

would you guys reccomend guting the cats for some straight pipe action? Think I will feel the performance gains?

thanks

You'll get better spool and probably some whp from putting in a track pipe. I saw my 16V turbo spool a few hundred rpm sooner by swapping out the cat, and on my sc'ed S52 I made an extra 12whp peak by putting in a track pipe.

Having a free flow exhaust will improve the response of the turbo.

If you dont have test in your area I would remove them and have a custom setup the sound does not have to be loud to produce power I know my car is quietier than a stock M3.

Only under acceleration you can hear it louder a very smooth sound. :)

Run a stright pipe from down pipe back to the muffler. Spools much faster, might experence boost spikes. You will notice a dramatic improvement in the top-end.

Yeah..no cats here and my car is quieter than a stock M3 as well.