ARCHIVE 100 Series Cat-back Exhaust

[marshotel]

I have the EMS midpipes (1 cat per) and the stock Toyota muffler.

My truck is very quiet.

I noticed no change in the sound of the exhaust between the factory midpipes and the EMS midpipes, except for elimination of the rattling heat shields on the rusty old factory cats. I have also not had any check engine lights since changing the midpipes. I am using the same O2 sensors as before. The engine is more responsive off the line and revs a bit more freely with the EMS powered midpipes compared to stock.

I bet the noise and 'drone' are products of that bigass Magnaflow straight through muffler that is included with the EMS kit- it looks like it was made for a Camaro.

The factory muffler is designed to minimize drone and keep the exhaust quiet; the Magnaflow muffler is not.

It is not a coincidence that most of the horsepower gains from the EMS cat-back kit are probably the result of getting rid of the original equipment muffler, which does a very good job of keeping the exhaust quiet.

An engine with a clear path from the exhaust valves to the outside will be noisy but will make more power; an engine with a good muffler will be quiet, but will make less power. It's a tradeoff, and the sweetspot depends on your application.

If you are gonna enter a truck pull contest, the Magnaflow would be prefereable.
If you are gonna drive around in a nice neighborhood at night, the Toyota OEM muffler is probably better.

 

[FlammableFishie]

If you are gonna drive around in a nice neighborhood at night, the Toyota OEM muffler is probably better.

Coming from a guy who lives in a very nice neighborhood: people seem not to care, it's just another jacked up off-road vehicle to them. They tend not to bat an eye, and if they know you they'll just smile and wave

 

[BBQ BOY]

Coming from a guy who lives in a very nice neighborhood: people seem not to care, it's just another jacked up off-road vehicle to them. They tend not to bat an eye, and if they know you they'll just smile and wave

That's because you are in the South and that is how we roll.

 

[kyoso23]

I just installed the EMS catback without silencer the other day, and so far so good. Of course it's a bit louder, but it's not obnoxious. Toyota V8's sound great anyway. Everything lined up perfectly, and the install was easy (save for removing the 250k mile flange bolts that basically were melted into the stock exhaust system).

 

[Supra88]

Everybody else paying $100+ for shipping? Seems on the high side relative to what I've paid to ship similar items.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Everybody else paying $100+ for shipping? Seems on the high side relative to what I've paid to ship similar items.

Yes. The quote to LA was over $100.

Other have reported that he packs them really well. But how well do you need to pack stainless steel tubes?

 

[Romer]

mine just shipped in multiple boxes for the mid pipes and cat back. With the weight and odd sizes, doesn't seem out of place to me

 

[jonharis]

Several of the people who recently posted in this thread were at 100s in the Hills. You may have heard my truck. I currently have the DT cat back system installed. I'll post further thoughts and more technical details in a future thread but here are a few things I noted last week.

At idle, the DT system sounds great. A low rumble but not annoying. I had a chance to hear Gottagetone's EMS a few weeks ago at the FJ Summit and would say it's quieter at idle. It still has a nice rumble.

The DT system has an extremely annoying drone at 2200-2500 RPM on my truck which is a 5 speed with 35s and 4.88s. This was evident on many 35 MPH hill climbs last week. At highway speeds. 55-75mph the drone goes away enough that its livable.

Power: the power increase was noticeable. I ha just installed 35s and was unhappy with the performance reduction, even when regeared. The exhaust made things more peppy when under full throttle. I didn't notice a difference under moderate load.

So ill be writing a detailed review in the next few months for the subjective differences between the EMS Header Back system and the DT Cat Back. I have an EMS exhaust plus a 2 cat mid pipe system in the garage which I'll be installing soon. I will provide decibel readings for both exhausts and a visual and subjective "feel" analysis soon.

 

[jonharis]

mine just shipped in multiple boxes for the mid pipes and cat back. With the weight and odd sizes, doesn't seem out of place to me

Adding to Romer's comment. The EMS system was packed better than the DT system. My DT system, while undamaged has hanger mounts sticking through the box on arrival. Shipping is a bit more for EMS but not significantly.

 

[SupraTuRD]

Several of the people who recently posted in this thread were at 100s in the Hills. You may have heard my truck. I currently have the DT cat back system installed. I'll post further thoughts and more technical details in a future thread but here are a few things I noted last week.

At idle, the DT system sounds great. A low rumble but not annoying. I had a chance to hear Gottagetone's EMS a few weeks ago at the FJ Summit and would say it's quieter at idle. It still has a nice rumble.

The DT system has an extremely annoying drone at 2200-2500 RPM on my truck which is a 5 speed with 35s and 4.88s. This was evident on many 35 MPH hill climbs last week. At highway speeds. 55-75mph the drone goes away enough that its livable.

Power: the power increase was noticeable. I ha just installed 35s and was unhappy with the performance reduction, even when regeared. The exhaust made things more peppy when under full throttle. I didn't notice a difference under moderate load.

So ill be writing a detailed review in the next few months for the subjective differences between the EMS Header Back system and the DT Cat Back. I have an EMS exhaust plus a 2 cat mid pipe system in the garage which I'll be installing soon. I will provide decibel readings for both exhausts and a visual and subjective "feel" analysis soon.

I couldn't stand the drone on my DT catback so I had a local shop extend the tailpipe out to the original exit location (through the square opening in the hitch). Mine was droning at highway speeds prior to modding the tailpipe. While the drone is still present, it shifted the drone down to a lower RPM (worst drone around 50-55mph for me). Cruising at highway speeds(60+), there is no drone... just a nice rumble.

 

[Romer]

Any feedback on an install with the Slee skid system would be appreciated. Based on discussions with Christo, I am assuming I need to reverse the install process; remove middle plate, provide support to tranny with wood and jack and then remove belly plate

http://sleeoffroad.com/installation/100series_skidplates.pdf

Any lessons learned from those that have done this?

Also wondering if you connected the midpipes all the way to the muffler connectors (less muffler) if you have access to enough to install without removing the belly plate

 

[aaronrules]

Any feedback on an install with the Slee skid system would be appreciated. Based on discussions with Christo, I am assuming I need to reverse the install process; remove middle plate, provide support to tranny with wood and jack and then remove belly plate

http://sleeoffroad.com/installation/100series_skidplates.pdf

Any lessons learned from those that have done this?

Also wondering if you connected the midpipes all the way to the muffler connectors (less muffler) if you have access to enough to install without removing the belly plate

Good question! I have full Slee skids, but they came on the truck. I have no idea how an exhaust install would be with all that on.

 

[AimCOtaco]

Any feedback on an install with the Slee skid system would be appreciated. Based on discussions with Christo, I am assuming I need to reverse the install process; remove middle plate, provide support to tranny with wood and jack and then remove belly plate

http://sleeoffroad.com/installation/100series_skidplates.pdf

Any lessons learned from those that have done this?

Also wondering if you connected the midpipes all the way to the muffler connectors (less muffler) if you have access to enough to install without removing the belly plate

Sounds about right, I think the EMS cats are more compact than the stockers so fit should not be a problem. After removing the skids you should have plenty of room.

 

[muttonotter]

I have the EMS Midpipes and cat back exhaust with one Cat. I also have a TRD supercharger in it too. when I start the truck it sounds mean and in idle has a good grunt to it. City driving, as long as you dont stomp on it, has a good humm to it. Not overly loud but noticeable for sure. On the highway there is a humm in the cab that gets a bit over the top especially if you want to use handsfree. People say that it sounds like i have the windows down but if i take it off hands free it doesnt resonate through the phone.
bottomline is it's not quiet with the set up i have but it doesnt sound like a harley either.

going from stock noise to EMS with one cat and no resonators it sounds mean and you'll have to get use to it.

overall i am absolutely thrilled with the product.

 

[Supra88]

Placed my order for an EMS cat back yesterday. No mid pipes yet, but I do have DT headers.

 

[BBQ BOY]

After driving a Hundy today for a couple of hours with DT exhaust and headers, I think I will stick with stock. It sounds cool, but I think it will get old fast as a daily driver.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

After driving a Hundy today for a couple of hours with DT exhaust and headers, I think I will stick with stock. It sounds cool, but I think it will get old fast as a daily driver.

I have just the headers and I don't really hear a difference. It must be mostly the catback. I hear that the stock muffler takes care if most of the noise upstream.

 

[Romer]

So I answered my question today. You may be able to do the catback with the Slee belly plate in place, but it would be tough and require small hands. The mid pipes require the belly plate removal.

So I followed Christos instructions and did the reverse of the install. I modified it a bit. I removed the middle plate and got a block of wood and a jackstand tight under the tranny pan and then I let about 10 lbs of pressure out of my front tires to make it tight and non movable. I then put my floor jack under the belly plate with two jack stands at the other side.

I loosened all the bolts and then took out all but the 4 corner ones.

I then took out the two on the side where the floor jack was and lowered it down a bit, then took out the two on the side with jackstands and lowered it down on the jackstands. Then lowering the jack a bit more. Moving the jackstands I was able to slide it out of the way of the drivers side which required greater access. It is still on the floor jack and two stands so I can swivel it back and raise it by myself for the install. It is 95 lbs afterall and I'm not getting any younger

I got my old system out from the headers back. Used a sawzill in some places to make it easier. I left the Midpipes alone so I could reuse them if needed or on my other 2004.

The only problem is the UPS guy only brought the catback, the midpipes were still at the depot even though they shipped and arrived at the depot the same time. Ill have to finish the install next week. I'll try and get the muffler back this weekend.

Ohh and I wish I bought one of these tools before hand http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An1MPa2CwzY

 

[kyoso23]

I paid about $80 for shipping on the EMS cat back. It was packaged very well, but the gaskets were shipped separately.

 

[azlandcruiser]

ems cat back exhaust

One thing about EMS is that their systems are not fitted to every year they claim. I bought a header to tail pipe system for my 94' Land Cruiser, $2700.00. The website stated that is a bolt on system for years 93-97. My system did not fit and I paid my mechanic for 12 hours of grinding on the headers to fit and removing the air injection system that leads to the O2 sensors because of a lack of compatible ports. My order was also 2 months delayed. Bak admitted to my mechanic that the system was only fit to a 95'. Bak requested pictures from my mechanic to see how it would fit. From what I read I think this is why he was kicked off the Toyota forums.