I say run a pipe though the hollowed cat and weld it on place.
So there is not a wide area for the exhaust to cool to much and kill the scavenging effect. I saw a difference in sound and power when i went from. Hollowed cat to a test pipe.
Ran that set up for over 6 years. When Toyota bight back the truck last year it still had it on it.
My current daily does not have a cat either just a pipe.
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