Exhaust Fumes/Smell Question/Opinions

[Mr.Impreza]

Hey guys, just wondering if some of you with these setups could chime in in regards to smell.

I'm happy to have found some alternatives to do some more exhaust mods without having to make a loud car.
Please note, I'm not after max gains, I'm after the setup with least exhaust smell.

Which setup would cause less smell.

1) Catless Header with a aftermarket catted FP

2) Stock catted Header with a catless FP

3) Catless header with a stock catted FP

I searched and searched, but I never found out which cat is more effective at filtering and keeping the smell away. I know the header cat is more restrictive, so I'm assuming it does a better job at keeping the smell away. If I left it stock would that do a better job of keeping fumes down?

I kind of have a hard time believing that a aftermarket cat would smell the same as a stock catted cat in the header.
But anyways, would like to opinions and expertise!
Thanks!

[gianniBRAVO]

If you don't want your car to smell like its burning oil then keep the stock header. I used to just run a catless invidia front pipe and a Touge Factory Catback and it didn't smell that badly. However, after switching to the Ace 4-2-1 header Ive been smelling gas a lot more. emphasis on a lot....

[swarb]

2,3,1
Cats work with heat. The one closest to the engine would make the most heat and work the best.
High flow cat flows better so my assumption is that it would filter less than the stock unit.

[Ashikabi]

Add more cats. No after market pipe will do this, it'll be a custom job. You could switch to e85 to change your exhaust smell but it won't get rid of it. Nothing will completely get rid of it

[Mr.Impreza]

Originally Posted by Ashikabi

Add more cats. No after market pipe will do this, it'll be a custom job. You could switch to e85 to change your exhaust smell but it won't get rid of it. Nothing will completely get rid of it

I'm not looking to eliminate smell, I'm looking to see which setup causes the least amount of smell in regards to the 3 options i posted up.

Based on what Swarb said, looks like option 2 is my best bet

[Cole]

Unless you're looking for a particular sound, doing the FP isn't overly worth imo. You're paying decent money for a minimal increase in power. I have a catless header and stock FP, and the smell isn't terrible. Every now and then while stopped at a light I catch a whiff of exhaust smell and it is more noticeable than stock, but I can live with that. Totally up to you on what you're ok with though, obviously.