custom exhaust job
 

I have an 01 A6 2.8 and I was deciding what to do with my bad cats. i know a good welder and was considering cuttin em out and weldin a straight pipe in there. but i was wondering.... what is that mesh covered thing right in front of the cats? its mesh stuff wrapped around the exhaust can that be cut out or do i need it? ive been doin research and it sound like i can make a downpipe by doin this or maybe a test pipe. what the difference??? kinda new to things... i do know i want as much horsepower gains as i can get and could chip it later if i need to...

The 'mesh stuff' is stainless steel flex pipe. Its there to keep your exhaust in one piece.

ok, yea i wasnt sure... i guess you learn somethin every day. Im goin out to the shop this morning to cut em off so im just wonderin what my modding options are after their gone to gain some hp. from doin research on the forum, it seems like this is the same thing as a test pipe...not sure though

i think i speak for a lot of people on here when i say i could use some clarification on the difference between test pipe and catless exhaust and all those exhaust options... done searched the forums and found a whole lot of terms, not really much description. just tryin to get to know my audi a lil better... thanks for the help in advance