Here would be the cat I am getting...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2470688032

But looking at the Flowmaster 80 series, I noticed they only come in 2.5" and my 97 NA has a 2.25" diamater. Is this a major problem and I should look at other mufflers?
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...08&prmenbr=361

You can use flanges to step up to the 2.5" component. NO problem at all. I did the same thing with my Cat. It'* a 3" cat, and I had my exhaust flared to fit OVER the 3" inlet/outlet. That'* the least restriction I could come up with. For all intents and purposes, my cat doesn't exist with regards to flow

Muffler is 2.5 inlet/outlet, but again, I flared OVER the fittings to prevent even a slight resistance to flow.

Awesome, should I get a 2.5" cat instead of a 2.25", so it will be the same size of the muffler?

I'll beat you to it, Twister. PM I just sent you:

I think I am going to upgrade those two components to 2.5". Since the muffler shop will be able to use flanges to connect the 2.25" tubing to the 2.5" cat and muffler it sounds like a cool plan. As far as the rest of the piping goes from the engine to underneath of the car, that will stay the same and I wont have to replace those? Since I am on a budget it basically comes down to purchasing the muffler and cat then having the muffler house install the products. What was everyone elses price for their exhausts? I am just worried abuot I take it in to get it installed and they said they had to replace a lot of pipes for this exhaust to work and it costs $300 or something like that.

Well, I just ordered the Flowmaster 80 from Jegs. I know that size I can use no matter what so went ahead and got it today. Still debating what I should do with the Cat...I want the best performance but I dont want everything on my car to be replaced (pipes and tubings) and cost a bundle :?

Post your results. As I hope to get some exhaust work done sometime soon, I'd like to see if the 2.5 is better than 2.25.

me 2

Well, I ordered my cat. A carsound/magnaflow thing from ebay. Since this is the first mod I did for an exhaust on one of my cars, I decided to just stick with the 2.25" for the converter. The 2.5" was tempting but I really dont want to be shelling out money left and right. I figure if I really like this setup then maybe down the road I can upgrade the cat to a bigger size. The products will hopefully get here sometime this week. Once they are installed I will definately get pics up.