i have a 06cbr600rr with a yoshi rs-5 stainless pipe. i removed the packing but kept the baffles. so people say it hurts my performance, but i didnt remove the baffles so i have the same back pressure? all the packing does is dampen the sound... anyone have input on this

 

It's hard to say. In theory, you are actually allowing gas pressure to now escape through the baffling and bounce back into the exhaust flow creating turbulence which could hinder performance. A race pack baffle will outperform a non pack baffle. When the packing is there, the exhaust will flow smoother through the core. Also, the sound waves inside the can bouncing around could potentially cause performance issues as well.

Although, I would image the difference is not too much. You would probably only see it on a dyno. But every muffler is different. Nothing is 100 percent guaranteed.