Does the air pipe and EGR really serve any useful purpose?

Can I delete this altogether without constantly throwing codes?

Will deleting it bring any kind of performance pick up?

My interest in getting rid of it is to clean up the engine bay and make it a little roomier to work on it.

1992 - LT1 stock other than a K&N filter. In Florida there are no emissions inspections.

Thanks

EGR codes? Loping idle when warmed up?

Could be a vacuum leak if so...

power gain? zip.

Power loss? 20hp possible.

You see, EGR does 2 things, one is to reduce NOX emissions. It does this by feeding exhaust gas back into the engine to reburn. The end resolt? lower combustion temps and a higher resistance to detonation.

The air pipes also feed cold air into the exhaust at startup. No performance effect either way.

In short, leave it.

my desire to do it was mostly a rash decision due to having to deal with the pipes while replacing the valve cover gaskets. the designer of the plumbing in these cars was a sadist.
the question about performance was more curiosity than anything else.

thanks for the replies.

The pipes can be bent around a little. I don't find them to be that much in the way... snug? yes...

Compared to the plumbing nightmare that is the L98, I will take the LT1 anyday.

Quote:

Couple of questions.

1. On my L98, it appears that the EGR only returns exhaust gases from the passenger side. I guess it could reduce NOX emissions from that side, but what good does it do when it doesn't reburn exhaust from the drivers side?

2. How does inserting exhaust gases from the manifold (immediately after it exits the cylinder) into the intake reduce combustion temps? Seems to me that if anything, it would raise temps.

A little research and I already answered on of my questions.

How EGR systems work The EGR valve recirculates exhaust into the intake stream. Exhaust gases have already combusted, so they do not burn again when they are recirculated. These gases displace some of the normal intake charge. This chemically slows and cools the combustion process by several hundred degrees, thus reducing NOx formation.