1996 Acura TL 3.2 Cadillac converter

Ricky, A clogged/non operation catalytic converter could in fact make the car lose power since the Oxygen sensor that is associated with it, could cause erratic behavior. Do you smell "sulfur" smells or anything out of the ordinary when the car is running? IF so, this is the first sign of a clogged "Cat". Second, there is a happy balance between the amount of backpressure of the exhaust and engine performance. If you run a vehicle with no exhaust (straight headers) you have very little to no back pressure, which would lead to a burned exhausted valve or worse over time. By contrast if you had 6 mufflers you would have to much back pressure and the engine would have trouble ridding of exhaust gasses. A good experiment is to blow air through different sized straws OR through you hand while you make a circle or "O". Increase and decrease the size of the circle as you blow air through it. You'll find that there will be a specific diameter of your circle that will provide best directional air flow. Good luck.