legally no , but you can cut it out knock the guts out and put a straight pipe through it the law states it has to be on the vehical in louisiana it does not say anything about it being functional on the 2.8 you will gain about 2 miles to the gallon if you unrestrict the exhaust and intake

 

Cats are removed all the time. People will disagree but I would remove it.

 

Thanks to all.It is coming off.

 

You can get a high flow race cat if you have to have one.

 

And throw a Flowmaster 40 series on it for a much better sound!

 

Or as some guys call them: "dronemaster" lol.
I prefer turbo mufflers but thats just me.

*Edit: dammmmnnnn got me again! (old thread)

 

Removing a cat IS illegal, so is gutting one. But as an owner you wont come under fire for it.
Lets dispell some myths here :
Removing a cat wont yiel 1-2 miles per gallon increase in fuel economy, and they dont restrict exhaust flow.
Problems arise when you drive the vehicle with a fuel control problem or in poor tune . Raw fuel overheats the cat and melts it down.That is a restriction. If they restricted flow and caused a 1-2 mile per gallon decrease in mileage the auto makers wouldnt use them as they have MPG requirements to keep with the EPA as well as emmisions
A healthy converter (stock) will impede exhaust less than 1 PSI at any given point of operation, idle or full throttle.
It is unlikely a "high flow" cat will yield any better performance at all. It definitely wont be noticeable by the seat of the pants.
Here is a good test for you skeptics that think cats are just stupid.
In your garage start your lawnmower with the doors closed. See how long you can stand it. Then run your car with the doors closed, I bet you will see the difference.Trust me ... cats are a good thing.
If you have problems with a plugged cat and need to gut it..so be it. No one especially me...will turn you in. In this economy money is TIGHT. You gotta do what you gotta do.
You dont want to put on a new cat to have it get destroyed anyhow as you will want to try and repair the issue that is the root cause, so you get the best performance and mileage. After repairs are made, and you can afford to....put a cat back on it....or not.

 

Agreed 100%. If that cat is plugged up that's the only way it will affect anything. I think cats are great, I'm even tempted to run them on my pre emisions car just cause I like to try to keep our earth clean. Don't take them off it they are working right. Only exception is diesel trucks. They actually do hurt mpg on them, plus they don't do much since they run at too low of temperature to actually have much of an effcet on emissions.

 

Modifying anything that has to do with emissions is against federal law. It has nothing to do with what state you are in. I also agree with LAtech on the minimal performance impact.