exhaust systems

[hawkeye27]

hey,

doing some research on exhaust...maybe someone could help me out. i have heard that upgrading the exhaust system can sometimes even improve gas mileage while increasing power as well. is this true of all exhaust systems, or just of some? how can i tell which is which?

also, what would you suggest? all i really know is that i would like duals and would like a nice throaty tone, but not overly loud.

thanks.

[Rapid Fire]

my trd duel sound great. as for mileage increase--air up the tires. I was getting 14 to 16 mpg before airing up. Now i'm getting 17-19 mpg with a lead foot.

[KLS]

If you get a properly engineered exhaust system, you might get a very small mileage increase. If you get a home-brew system from the local muffler shop, there's a good chance that you'll lose power and mileage.

The important factor, and hard to find, is the rpm range the exhaust system is designed for. The off-roader with big tires wants a system designed for low rpms. The street racer wants a system for high rpms. They'll be a different design, and might take power away from one rpm range and give power to another rpm range. The same design characteristics apply to intake systems.

Ken

[AKTNDR]

Originally posted by Rapid Fire
my trd duel sound great. as for mileage increase--air up the tires. I was getting 14 to 16 mpg before airing up. Now i'm getting 17-19 mpg with a lead foot.

How much do you air up the tires above what it says? Is there anything bad that it could bring?

[Andy]

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Q. How much do you air up the tires above what it says? Is there anything bad that it could bring?
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It's a little off the exhaust topic, but here goes...

It all depends.

If you are running OEM tires (passenger tires - as denoted with the 'P') usually have a max pressure of 35psi. The manual/door plate says to run the 265/70/16's at 26 front, 29 rear. IMO, this is WAY too low. I used to run 32 front and 30 rear. I don't know why the manual says to have the front pressure lower than the rear when all the weight of the truck is in the front???

If you have after market tires, like BFG All-Terrains, those are Light-Truck tires (as denoted by the LT) and ususally have a max psi of 65. I currently have my tire pressures at 50 front and 47 rear. I found this to be the best with these tires, depending on what type of driving you do of course. The more psi, the stiffer the ride, and vice-versa. Also make sure you are contacting the road correctly. You don't want just the center touching and you also don't want the sidewalls hanging over either, so a nice combo has to be found depending on your weight, road surface, etc. Too little psi wears the outside edges, too much psi wears the center.

I read an article in some magazine I have at home that goes thru and step by step process on how to find out your best tire pressure. The basics of it are putting chaulk across the entire tread width and driving over black construction paper and making sure all the chaulk evenly marks on the paper. Increase/decrease psi as needed until the chaulk mark is satisfactory. If anyone is interested, I'm sure I can dig it up and post it somehow.

Andy

[Iron Horse Herb]

I have had Ravin Duals installed by Midas and hated them. Too loud at 1800 to 2000 rpms. They had a nice sound but it gets old ofter a couple of weeks. Six months later my friend and I decided to put a set of TRD duals on his 2002 Tundra. While on the phone with Steve G. at Carsons Toyota ordering a set for his truck I said what the hell send me two sets. Keep in mind I had Midas install my set of duals that were on the truck now, so I had to drop the spare tire and remove the old set. This too about 15 minutes, then on with the TRDs whick took 30 minutes. They are great, nice tone very little 2k resonance (which I had with the stock pipe anyway) The install could not have been smoother.
Highly recomended....

IHH

[hawkeye27]

okay... couple more questions.

for dual exhausts out the back will i pretty much always have to remove the spare tire? i am sure with some custom work it could be done, right?

second question... the trd duals... what rpm range are they geared towards, and is this also the range in which power/mileage is lost?

thanks

[AKTNDR]

Thanks for the explanation Andy, its greatly appreciated.

[Eddie]

Originally posted by hawkeye27


for dual exhausts out the back will i pretty much always have to remove the spare tire? i am sure with some custom work it could be done, right?

I don't think you do. Flowmaster,Borla,and Bassani have rear-exit duals that keeps the spare.

[unixadm]

I have a 2001 Tundra 4x4 Limited TRD. When I got it I thought the exhaust sound was a little weak so I decided to upgrade. Soon there after the first Bassani systems were released. These are true dual system, that has a single muffler with a crossover built in. The system was built very nicely and I got it at a good price since it had just been released. I opted for the side exit system instead of the rear exit system.

I installed the system and started up the truck. I was like HOLY!!! this thing sounds good. It sounded BEEFY. I drove it for a couple of thousand miles and it would turn heads, that is for sure. But the drone at 2k rpms bugged the hell out of me. Finally I just said the heck with it, this system has to go. So I called up Steve at Carson and ordered up a TRD Dual system. It was night and day from the Bassani. The TRD system is very mellow, yet has a little sound. I think it would sound better if it was about 10-15% louder. Not too loud, but a little more than it is. But the built quality was top notch and it bolted right up with no problems. However it did not replace the 3rd cat/resonator like the Bassani.

I'm much happier with the TRD system, however the stock exhaust forward of the cat back sounds like crap on the Tundra. Mine has this loose vibrating sound from the 3rd cat that makes it sound like a POS. It's like something is loose under the car, but everything is tight. I shook the 3rd cat for 15 minutes trying to dislodge anything stuck in there from the welding process and nothing came out. So I guess I'm stuck with that sound. It didn't do it with the 3rd cat removed, so I'm pretty sure it has to do with the Y-pipe or something.

If you want loud as hell, get the Bassani (not legal for CA vehicles since it removes the 3rd Cat). If you want middle of the road the Borla is supposed to be good. If you want mellow, with nice tips and a decent sound, get the TRD Dual system. Performance wise the Bassani seemed to pull better on the upper end but felt like it lost torque off the line. The TRD restored the torque on the low end, but the engine doesn't seem to have quite the pull it did with the Bassani. This is subjective though, and could be my mind just playing trick on me!

[AKTNDR]

So what did you do with your old Bassani system? Do you still have it?

[Snake777]

The TRD exhaust system sounds excellent. However, I just went to the TRD website and they want 800 dollars for it. The TS supporter discount costs 600 dollars sure, but dang, that's a whole lotta cash. Just a little bit out of my range. Some local shops here will do a cat-back system for me for 250 bucks. What is the difference between a catback system and "true duals"? Are they the same thing? Are there any other systems you can suggest that might be a little cheaper but still sound good. Thanks!

[Tundra_Jules]

I paid $630 for a custom job (installed) on my truck which replaced everything from the first set of cats on back including the factory Y pipe. The muffler is a Flowmaster 70 series and it is not annoyingly loud. In fact, it is just slightly louder inside the cab than stock-barely noticeable. Really nice rumble outside or with the windows down though but still not at all obnoxious.

Check out the pics on my photos.

I have some 18 second avi clips but they are a few megs each so I can not post them here. PM me and I'd be happy to e-mail an audio clip to you.

[dyogim]

I was debating on a single or dual set-up. I decided on the single set-up by JBA, made by K&N. It has a nice rumble to it and not at all annoying. I bought it for about $400.00 shipped on ebay.

I wanted a single set-up because of the increased likelihood of the tips getting smashed from a rock when off-roading. I also wanted to be different than the other tundras in my area that have duals. I'm happy with the set-up and it should make a nice combination with the JBA headers.

Mike

[Breathing Borla]

Originally posted by hawkeye27
hey,

doing some research on exhaust...maybe someone could help me out. i have heard that upgrading the exhaust system can sometimes even improve gas mileage while increasing power as well. is this true of all exhaust systems, or just of some? how can i tell which is which?

also, what would you suggest? all i really know is that i would like duals and would like a nice throaty tone, but not overly loud.

thanks.

I always say look into borla before the TRD. Borla is cheaper, better warranty, and is made of much better materials. You can still put it in yourself and have the same warranty that you would have if a shop put them in. 1,000,000 miles!!! TRD you get a stinkin' 1 year if you put them in your self. At least the TRD costs more

As much as I like TRD parts, their prices are nuts. My borla system that I put in cost less than 400. It has been on 2 of my tundras (2000 & 2001) and has not had 1 speck of rust on the hardware or the exhaust after almost 3 years in chicago winters.

The borla is a touch more throaty than the TRD system as well. After all, if your replacing the exhaust you want to notice a difference right?