Newbie w/ some questions.

[Falcons Talon]

I'll go buy that 180 thermostat after work...I'll also get some water wetter (I saw some earlier posts). While I'm there, I'll get a new radiator cap...what pressure should I get?

What are the pluses/minuses of dropping the cats. I live on the border, and I know of a shop that will charge $20 to cut out the rear cats, and $20 to hollow out the front ones.

What's the difference between fenderwall induction and a factory airbox? I have a box mounted on the fenderwall near the alternator. There's an inlet in the fenderwall, under the filter. Which do I have? If I have an airbox, what and where is the air silencer?

I wanted to pick up the Cone k & n filter, because I heard it offered better performance. Am I wrong in this?

I really appreciate your help guys. I'm not necessarily looking for track times, but I do want to get the most that I can out of my car without destroying the mileage or reliability. It's my daily driver.