Well it's certainly down on power, there's no doubting that. It made 294.4rwkw on the rollers and was (as you can imagine) wheelspin central. Now it refuses to lose traction in 2nd under WOT.
I'm sure a gutted cat would create a small amount of turbulence, but certainly not enough to reduce my power throughout the rev range as I'm experiencing...Also, after first gutting the cat and refitting it, the car was running awesomely - instant wheelspin when boost comes on in 2nd, and really wanting to let go in 3rd as well...
Finally, that's exactly what i was thinking Cam. Although it is possible that they will be slightly affected due to a much more freely flowing exhaust, certainly not to the extent my workshop was suggesting. It was as though I was blaspheming to the Pope's face the way he carried on when I told him the cat had been gutted, suggesting piston damage etc...lol
Unfortunately if it ISN'T serious damage from leaning out (which is why I asked here to remove this option), if the timing belt hasn't jumped a tooth, or if my valve springs haven't shit themselves hard....then it's the turbo. I don't want it to be the turbo, nor do I really think it will be. At one stage it didn't *appear* to make full boost correctly, but I can't be entirely sure...