2013 Land Cruiser Exhaust Muffler Upgrade

[sedole]

Ultimately, if you want a good exhaust note on this truck without drone, you really need to get a BA Muffler.

I know Keith at BA Muffler spent a ton of time and a lot of trial and error to make a Helmholtz resonator on the exhaust system that dang near made the drone nonexistent in the cabin (especially if you get the 10 or 12 inch setup). I had the 12 inch setup and the exhaust note was a little too quiet, and the 8 inch is a little too loud, so the 10 inch would have been perfect.

Keith actually swapped out my 12 for the 8 for free, other than paying for the shipping costs. I didn’t want to bother him again to go to 10 though.

Not exactly sure why these trucks drone so much, but it may have to do with the insulation in the cabin.

During the summer, I swap out the exhaust so I can enjoy it on the road with the windows down. But during the winter, I go back to stock to enjoy the nice quiet cabin. $25 for a new seal on the back end of the exhaust and 30-40 minutes of my time is all it takes to swap them out.

Oh no I 1000% know the work he's put in to create that system. I've made a custom helmholtz resonator setup on abprevious rig myself to great success (it's just very time consuming). Ultimately my problem is that I'm a cheap bastard with some free time haha. If it wasn't $1,500 for the muffler or $2,000 for the muffler plus rear resonator delete I'd snatch one up real quick.

 

[brando1]

8 pages of posts and not a single one of you tried this with long tube headers.
That's just sad....

 

[Valgrind]

Ultimately, if you want a good exhaust note on this truck without drone, you really need to get a BA Muffler.

I know Keith at BA Muffler spent a ton of time and a lot of trial and error to make a Helmholtz resonator on the exhaust system that dang near made the drone nonexistent in the cabin (especially if you get the 10 or 12 inch setup). I had the 12 inch setup and the exhaust note was a little too quiet, and the 8 inch is a little too loud, so the 10 inch would have been perfect.

Keith actually swapped out my 12 for the 8 for free, other than paying for the shipping costs. I didn’t want to bother him again to go to 10 though.

Not exactly sure why these trucks drone so much, but it may have to do with the insulation in the cabin.

During the summer, I swap out the exhaust so I can enjoy it on the road with the windows down. But during the winter, I go back to stock to enjoy the nice quiet cabin. $25 for a new seal on the back end of the exhaust and 30-40 minutes of my time is all it takes to swap them out.

Can you take some videos of the BA system?

 

[sedole]

Well took about 3 hours to get everything fitted up and welded last night but she's on there. Jury is still out but I think I'm liking this so far. Significantly quieter than the Borla. Sounds nearly stock on start up. Cruising around you can barely hear any difference. If you really listen you can tell. When you open her up it's maybe 10-15% louder. Very minimal drone so far on my 20 mile commute this morning. I can tell it's there but I have to really listen to hear it. The real test will be what my wife thinks haha..

This setup reminds me a lot of when I added a Magnaflow muffler on my 2004 Mazda 3 10 years ago. I remember being a little disappointed back then at how quiet it was but really grew to love it. Very minimal drone. Not much exhaust note just cruising around with windows up. But when you got on it and crack the windows you can hear just enough to enhance that driving experience. I think once this muffler "breaks in" like all Magnaflows do after a few hundred miles this one should be about perfect. Time will tell if I need a helmholtz res or not. I lowered the muffler enough that I should be able to weld one on top of the muffler if need be.

Also learned that while I'm not a good welder on a table top, I'm an even worse welder on my back underneath the truck haha. Don't judge my boogers too much...I'll yank the muffler and grind and fill any pinholes or voids at some point. I would've done it that way last night but I was having such a hard time getting the rubber exhaust hangers off that I gave up and finished welding it on the truck.

Size comparisons of the stock, Magnaflow, and Borla. For an aftermarket straight-through, that Magnaflow is a biggun!

 

[Zill]

Can you take some videos of the BA system?

Right now, I am currently running stock. In a couple of months when it warms up, I’ll do a comparison video.

 

[FJRanger]

September 2021 - 5000 miles

Haven't updated in awhile, but back in September I put a DDI exhaust on to give the 3UR a little rumble. I opted for the 14x5 setup which is fairly mild and not loud at all. Now that I've been driving it for a couple months I can confidently say that there is just a bit of drone between 1500-2250, however, right after I installed it I did a ~2500 mile road trip out to Colorado and back and it was not pronounced enough that it was annoying or gave me a desire to take it off. The sound is a slight low rumble that you can hear on startup and acceleration. The sound at WOT is wonderful and I'm very happy with this setup. I will be looking to get the DDI resonator delete shortly as well since the plan for 2022/2023 includes a Slee rear bumper.

Audio best experienced with either external computer speakers or headphones. Phone audio doesn't really give an accurate representation of the deep rumble.

So, yesterday I did a thing. Being that I’m not to far from Dirty Deeds I drove down to Keith and crew and they installed the 12” version and resonator delete. I am fairly pleased with the sound. I will say at start up, WOT and 95% of the driving time it sounds outstanding!

However there is some drone in roughly the same rpm range as @HSTexan referenced above. It is completely dependent on the load of the engine. Between the hourish drive home yesterday and the hourish drive to the airport and back this morning I’m fairly certain I’ll be making the change to the 14”. I found myself shifting into 7th to bump up the RPMs. I’ll keep everyone posted and will be back to edit this post with a picture of the res delete and hopefully video or two… maybe some proofreading and corrections, gotta run to pickup a kid.

Edit: couple of videos added. Have more but YouTube is failing to change them to “unlisted” so they’re shareable. Will try again at another time.

Dirty Deeds 12" 200 Series Land Cruiser - https://youtu.be/uNt0QSsCBKY?si=FsAFMod63_3lEjjx

 

[GOLIGHTLY]

Updating this thread since there really isn't much out there on 200 series exhaust mods. Decided to give this a go for myself but went with a Borla ProXS 40349 as they have the reputation of being quiet, plus that tundra video seemed pretty up my alley. The muffler is a 3"/2.5" single/dual with a 4x9.5x19" body. Got it installed Tuesday with no other mods. It's a mixed bag but ultimately a no go in my opinion. Once warm it's definitely louder than stock outside the truck but not obnoxiously so. You're not going to set off any car alarms. Nice tone, really smooth, a little higher pitched and less rumbly than all the magnaflows I've had on my last 5 vehicles. Very "euro" sounding is the adjective I want to use. It's actually also quite agreeable at most RPMs. With the radio on at usual levels it's just barely noticeable in the background. BUT, here's the kicker...between 1900-2500 RPMs it's absolutely brain melting drone. Just an incredibly loud nauseatingly annoying bwaaaaaaaaa at 151hz (according to an app on my iphone). Above and below it's just fine. My wife noticed a difference but did not complain....until the engine was under load on the freeway going uphill.

I considered welding up a quarter wavelength resonator myself this weekend but when I got under the truck there really isn't a good place to put it (at least on an LX). The 151hz frequency would need around a 28" long pipe to block the drone but unless I lowered the muffler a few inches and got rid of the disconnect right after the muffler, there's just no room. Doing so would set the muffler a little lower than the frame rails which I don't want to do and I also don't want to do away with the disconnect. No dice.

Here are my thoughts: A similar Borla muffler on a tundra is significantly quieter at all RPMs yet also doesn't seem to drone. Watching more videos I've also noticed the factory muffler on a tundra is much smaller than a stock 200 series. Ours measures about 8.5x12x24". This is making me think we 200 series owners just need something larger. I'm going to try the largest Magnaflow offering and see how it goes. It's a #12588. 5x11x22". I've found a single youtube video of a tundra with this exact muffler and it honestly sounds stock. I'm already out a few hundred because I had a shop do the initial welding for me. This go around I'll weld it myself. Worse case another $200 gone and I'll put it back to stock. Best case I like it and get to make fun noises everywhere I go. Fingers crossed!

View attachment 3560425

Just curious, the 12588 is 8x18, I assume you went with I guess the 12599 (11x22)?

 

[sedole]

Just curious, the 12588 is 8x18, I assume you went with I guess the 12599 (11x22)?

Nope 12588 is correct, it's 5x11x22". 12599 is the same dimensions but different in/outlet sizes

 

[GOLIGHTLY]

Nope 12588 is correct, it's 5x11x22". 12599 is the same dimensions but different in/outlet sizes

Gotcha, Amazon listing the wrong dimensions then

 

[FJRanger]

Added a couple of clips to post 146.

 

[Valgrind]

So, yesterday I did a thing. Being that I’m not to far from Dirty Deeds I drove down to Keith and crew and they installed the 12” version and resonator delete. I am fairly pleased with the sound. I will say at start up, WOT and 95% of the driving time it sounds outstanding!

However there is some drone in roughly the same rpm range as @HSTexan referenced above. It is completely dependent on the load of the engine. Between the hourish drive home yesterday and the hourish drive to the airport and back this morning I’m fairly certain I’ll be making the change to the 14”. I found myself shifting into 7th to bump up the RPMs. I’ll keep everyone posted and will be back to edit this post with a picture of the res delete and hopefully video or two… maybe some proofreading and corrections, gotta run to pickup a kid.

Edit: couple of videos added. Have more but YouTube is failing to change them to “unlisted” so they’re shareable. Will try again at another time.

View attachment 3562894


Dirty Deeds 12" 200 Series Land Cruiser - https://youtu.be/uNt0QSsCBKY?si=FsAFMod63_3lEjjx

Well this sounds amazing, did you get any videos driving?

 

[sedole]

So, yesterday I did a thing. Being that I’m not to far from Dirty Deeds I drove down to Keith and crew and they installed the 12” version and resonator delete. I am fairly pleased with the sound. I will say at start up, WOT and 95% of the driving time it sounds outstanding!

However there is some drone in roughly the same rpm range as @HSTexan referenced above. It is completely dependent on the load of the engine. Between the hourish drive home yesterday and the hourish drive to the airport and back this morning I’m fairly certain I’ll be making the change to the 14”. I found myself shifting into 7th to bump up the RPMs. I’ll keep everyone posted and will be back to edit this post with a picture of the res delete and hopefully video or two… maybe some proofreading and corrections, gotta run to pickup a kid.

Edit: couple of videos added. Have more but YouTube is failing to change them to “unlisted” so they’re shareable. Will try again at another time.

View attachment 3562894


Dirty Deeds 12" 200 Series Land Cruiser - https://youtu.be/uNt0QSsCBKY?si=FsAFMod63_3lEjjx

Sounds great! I'm with you though..I'd be going for that larger can for sure.

I'll take and post some videos of mine soon. Hoping to have time on Sunday to tear it all down and properly weld all the joints as well as install a helmholtz resonator.

 

[FJRanger]

In speaking with Keith yesterday I mentioned the exhaust sound is amazing 95-98% of the time. However, in the one particular combination of RPM, engine load and gearing it rattled my brain good. Now to clarify, when I experienced the worst of it, it was roughly 0330 on 3 to 4 hours of sleep driving to the airport in the rain with stereotypical terrible Southern California drivers (1 major accident with an overturned Escalade going to. On the way back 7 or 8 spun out vehicles).

My mental acuity was being put to the test. I felt like the president at a press conference with a failing teleprompter, the press yelling questions, my staff yelling back not to answer and them trying to drag me off the stage

Yesterday’s drives were short stints on the freeway and while the drone was present it didn’t bother me at all.

I’ve a hour plus drive tonight to LAX and back; I’ll record some then. According to the weather apps the rain has passed and should be fairly easy to capture a few in different rpm ranges.

 

[sedole]

Got everything welded up this afternoon. Initial drive around the block seems promising! Near stock levels of sound just cruising around. 15% ish louder when you get on it. Majority of the annoying resonance drone frequency was blocked. Will try to take some videos to upload tomorrow.

 

[bjowett]

If anyone is willing to ship, I’m looking for a clean stock muffler. It’s for another project, so having the stock inlet and outlet removed is fine.

 

[sedole]

Short video clip as promised. It was too windy to get a revving video. Will have to try later. Tire/road noise and wind noise are by far the loudest things, but if you listen close there is a tiny tiny bit of bassy exhaust note humming in the background. Wife didn't notice. I must admit I do notice a little bit but I'm not sure it really bothers me or not. We're taking a trip to SLC this weekend. That will be a good test.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Bump for any updates on the long-term experience with these exhaust setups.

 

[UnFadeable21]

Bump for any updates on the long-term experience with these exhaust setups.

I love it. Just enough growl that you can feel and need the engine and acceleration but it’s not loud like a pick up truck.

I’ll shoot an updated video next week when I put on my summer tires and rims.

 

[FJRanger]

I swapped out the 12” muffler from Ditry Deeds for a 16” model from them and I couldn't be happier with the decision. While there's still a hint of drone, it fades into insignificance once I hit the highway, drowned out by the hum of tires and the wind noise. Plus, at lower speeds, the sound is just perfect.

The 16” isn't listed on their website, but they're willing to make it upon request. The shortest they offer is a mere 6” — I shudder to think how deafening that might have been. Originally, I leaned toward the 12”, but they sweetened the deal with a discounted takeoff 14”, so I took the plunge and the drone was a bit much.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

I swapped out the 14” muffler from Ditry Deeds for a 16” model from them and I couldn't be happier with the decision. While there's still a hint of drone, it fades into insignificance once I hit the highway, drowned out by the hum of tires and the wind noise. Plus, at lower speeds, the sound is just perfect.

The 16” isn't listed on their website, but they're willing to make it upon request. The shortest they offer is a mere 6” — I shudder to think how deafening that might have been. Originally, I leaned toward the 12”, but they sweetened the deal with a discounted takeoff 14”, so I took the plunge and the drone was a bit much.

Your earlier post sounded like you had the 12" muffler. Did you swap 12" -> 14" -> 16", or was your first muffler the 14"?

Does 16" sound much different than stock?