cat question
 

will i lose horsepower if i run a cat vs running straight pipes?

no need for emissions in idaho by the way.

just wondering which will give me best performance.

the exhaust will always be more free flowing without a cat but it helps if you have the right size pipe diameter.

no matter what you do
cat = less horsepower

youre lucky u dont have emissions in ur state

Im thinking of removing both the upper and lower cat but we have emmissions in North Carolina but its only on 96 cars and up so i dont no if they look at the exhaust at all.

If you do remove your cats, keep 'em, and anything else that geta switched out. Just in case you move, or the years change for that item like they did in Arizona. You can always bolt 'em up for inspection/emmissions, then swap out once you pass.