talking to a guy at petersen enterprises (something of a performance shop) here in eastern iowa, i mentioned i was considering removing my cat and installing an O2 simulator. he said this would be a no-no, as the EGR valve relies on backpressure for proper function and this would keep it from working right. so i have 2 questions, since i was too much of a wuss to let him know i was fairly clueless:

1. what is the EGR valve and what does it do?
2. is his statement true, or can i lose the cat?

all help would be greatly appreciated.

P.*. what model K&N cone should i get for a CAI, and can any of them be safely modified to relocate the IAT inside the cone?

Here'* a link for ya (Not Bonne specific, but it should still answer your question)

http://www.misterfixit.com/egrvalve.htm

He'* wrong about the EGR being backpressure dependent. Or at least in your case. There are many types of EGR valves out there. However, I still would suggest keeping the cat. A high-flow performance unit will function as well as a straight pipe, you'll be legal, and your emissions won't kill my grandkids.

The RX-4750 is a fun, enormous filter, and has the IAT hole. I modified mine for my IAT (enlarged the hole provided). This filter also provides a nice heavy base for mounting a heat shield.

thanks for that link, it pretty much covers all the bases. nice little blurb about reginald. willwren... i probably will leave the cat on, simply because of laziness. and because of your grandkids but seriously, can i get by spending $20 less for a K&N re-0810 or 0920 and just drill into the endcap for the IAT and seal up around the wires with some glue or something?