Hello all,

Ive been looking into upgrading my stock exhaust. Id like to improve performance and also make it quite a bit louder. Ive looked at old posts in the archive and most are 15-20 years old. Im wondering if anyone has some insight on the ocelot stainless steel exhaust, and if it performs better than it did 20 years ago (everyone said it was restrictive). Also, i read that people had issues installing it and getting it to fit right in 88’s. This will be going into a 88 formula. My car has 12k miles and not a speck of rust, so all the stock hangers will be in tact, if that helps. I will also be doing cat delete.

If the exhaust is still no good, what do you guys recommend for a muffler/system? Like i said i want it quite a bit louder so would likely remove the cat and replace muffler. I had a spintech from wcf in my old car and liked the sound, but think it could have been louder. I also kept the stock cat on that car.

Thanks in advance

If your car has only 12k miles, I would not replace the exhaust - it is a very good quality stainless steel from the factory. Probably better than is available in today's marketplace.
Remove the cat (for testing purposes only 🙄) and replace it with a piece of pipe.
It will improve the sound tremendously.

The best improvement in performance on the exhaust side is to port the exhaust manifolds and remove the restriction from the Y-pipe.

So if i get the cat delete pipe from the fiero store, is this all bolt in or is the cat welded to the exhaust?

It is a bolt in. one side is bolted the other will be clamped. Cat Delete

quote Originally posted by Spadesluck: It is a bolt in. one side is bolted the other will be clamped. Cat Delete

Yep. Very easy.

I have the Ocelot system that I bought from the Fiero Store many years ago. It fit onto my 88 Formula great and I really like the system. It has a nice rumble to it too, with dual outlets. I myself am totally satisfied with it and would recommend it.
I also ported the exhaust manifolds like olejoe mentioned above. This is major ! There are some nasty restrictions in there, and grinding them down smooth really improves exhaust flow. Removing the window side manifold is pretty brutal, but this improvement is totally worth it ! My job was easy because I dropped the cradle to have a complete engine rebuild with the F.S. Hi-Perfromance engine rebuild kit.
to bad you don't live close. I have a complete exhaust system Im willing to sell. It has the straight through cat delete pipe that runs into a cherry bomb muffler. The complete system is welded together and runs into dual chrome tips. The only problem if you wanted it is how would I ship it ?

While I got you here, another super improvement is to VENT OUT your hood. My Formula runs super cool because of that, and at high speeds is very stable due to no air build up under there. And with me living in Hotlanta ( Atlanta that is ) its a real plus because it gets super hot down here.

I have owned several Ocelot systems. (Just the aluminized - not the stainless - since I live in GA.)
The best sounding V6 Fiero I've ever heard was a cammed 3.4 with headers and no cat, through an Ocelot.
Performance over stock might be negligible. The sound is similar to "stock", only more-so.
They don't fit "perfectly" on an 88, but they are close enough. I would not hesitate to buy another one.

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Raydar
88 Formula IMSA Fastback. 4.9, NVG T550

Praise the Lowered!