You don't need a huge exhaust to make good power. Get rid of the cat and the restrictive muffler and you will be OK. Those are probably the two most restrictive points in the exhaust system.
Then, go get some piping that doesn't have crush bends. Those are incredibly restrictive, too.
A good exhaust system is mandrell bent (no crushes) and a free flowing muffler and a less-restrictive catalytic converter (or no cat.).
Size really isn't an issue unless you are going with a big turbo and start moving massive amounts of air.
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