The exhaust is cool enough after 10 minutes to remove the nuts. It can be done immediately with gloves or lots of care. I jacked up one side, slid a jack stand in place and was able to reach both. (cardboard to lie on) Getting rid of the cats makes a big difference. The open cutouts resulted in higher mph but not faster times in the 1/4. Don't ask me why. I decided it was because the ECU didn't have time to adapt but I don't really know.

Les

BTW, no codes with the downpipes or cutouts. I passed inspection catless the first year. The second year it was too dirty at idle and I had to try several times. I'm getting a P0161 with the headers. I'm thinking I only need to clean the connections to solve the problem.