Hi Chris,
I haven't done this myself, but the three people I have read about on various message boards who have removed their cats have all put them back on. The OEM cats flow quite nicely and the loss in back pressure usually does more harm than good. The best improvements I have read about involve headers, a new y-pipe and a free flowing exhaust. Check out Stan's website
<font color="blue">[link]</font> regarding Borla header install.
Don