will this fit?
 

would a 95ex test pipe/cat fit a 98 hatch? just by looking it seems a bit short but i haven't gotten into it yet. figured i'd ask on here before i go taking **** apart to realize i have the wrong part.

no
why do you want one?

P.S. test pipe ≠ cat

the cat on it now rattles like a bitch. my buddy had a test pipe laying around for his 95 so he just gave it to me. would have been really convenient if it fit lol

Isn't your cat built into your header? At any rate, if you have the money and want a little increase in power, you can do an ex/si exhaust conversion (ex(92-00)/si(92-95) header, ex/si cat, ex/si cat-back... they all bolt right up).

*ninja edit: there's no way you'll pass inspection in Pgh with a test pipe, btw. My car's registered in Somerset County and I'm still throwing the stock h-pipe back on for inspection, and we only have a visual inspection there.

Have you gone under the car and tried to find exactly where the rattle is coming from? Does the rattle only come around at certain RPM's? Maybe the rattle is coming from a heat shield from the Cat. You would be able to remove that w/o a problem. Every Civic I have owned had that rattle until I took the heat shield off.

oh i was going to only use the test pipe until inspection came along. i know for sure that something inside the cat is rattling. i actually had it checked out by a mechanic as well and he said the only way to get rid of the noise is to get a new cat. and i havn't had time to really check but it does seem like the headers are connected to the cat (i could be wrong)

Again, I wouldn't do anything until the car was jacked up, and you listened to exactly where the noise is coming from. Maybe have someone push on the gas a little to see if it gets louder or not when the RPM's go up. That would help you pinpoint exactly where the noise is coming from. Just a suggestion. Hope you fix the problem soon!