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Blackwater

Blackwater

10 Year 15 Year
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Jun 16, 2009
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NW Arkansas
Come on in and help a brother out...

So after my last trip in July to Moab UT, and the San Juan's I have officially concluded my exhaust system needs replacing. (160K miles and a little off-road use may get thrown into the mix here too..)

Fins and things did a number on the stock resonator and after a little more investigation I really just want/need to replace the whole cat-back..

After doing a good bit of research here it looks like EMS is no longer in business, and/or may not be the way to go anyways.. Borla makes a nice system but its Spendy and I've heard reviews of a not so nice exhaust drone..

That leaves us with Doug Thorley.. Seem like great folks, they have been wonderful with responding to multiple emails however I would really like to see more photos, hear a few more reviews prior to the 5 Hundred dollar cat-back purchase.

I'm looking at the cat-back only, with my 2003 I'm really not needing the headers.

Anyone out there with any good photos of a installed systems on a 100 series? I want to make sure its tucked up a little tighter to the body so I don't damage the rear of the exhaust.. (Again)


Reviews seem great but Id love to see more pictures, and 100 series specific reviews...

Thanks in advance..

EDIT: New install Pics and info added to second page..
 
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I'd love to get more information from someone on this as well.

My current opinion of the setup (from what I've heard in videos) is that it sounds a little bit too domestic-pickup truck like for me, but I of course have not actually heard the system in real life.

I'd love to get an EMS system, but as they have disappeared off the face of the earth and their quality was questionable, that seems out of the question.
 
I'm interested as well. Perhaps the folks at Doug Thorley could provide some info and even a group discount? ;)

They offered a nice discount last December but they have not posted much since...
 
I'm interested in this as well.
I've been looking at Borla and Doug Thorley. If there is some type of group buy I'd definitely be interested in taking part.
 
I just remembered seeing that @92LXAZ installed a Magnaflow setup... See it Here - just thought I would bring in someone with recent exhaust mod experience.

I'm tired of my truck sounding like a vacuum cleaner.
 
I am out of town but will try to remember to get some pictures of the DT cat back system on my 2000 posted next week. I am having a little problem with the routing and its proximity to the upper link mount bolt. The DT piping keeps working its way back in contact with the bolt. Wish there was a little more clearance there...
 
I have had the DT headers and the catback system on my '99 for the last 12 months, no rattles, fitment or quality problems. It sounds V8 throaty, but drones a little at highway speeds, definitely doesn't sound stock (in a good way). I also have armor from the radiator to the end of transfer case, and BIOR sliders, and no clearance problems anywhere. It is raining outside right now, and I take off for a business trip tomorrow morning, but if somebody has not posted photos by next weekend, I will crawl under the cruiser and see what I can get.
 
CreeperSleeper said:
Why not just go to a good local exhaust shop and have one built? They could make it exactly how you want it and it would probably be cheaper.
Click to expand...

And yes that's the obvious alternative. Slee sells the O2 bungs too so you can fit stock sensors. There's a very good shop called Stan's Headers in Auburn that I would have do it (works in t304 or t409, mandrel bends, very reputable and guys that have been there for decades)... However, from experience I can tell you that, done well, a one-off is *not* cheaper than mass-produced. Figure a good couple of hours (and up to as many as five) at the price you can expect to pay for somebody who actually knows how to design, fab and weld an exhaust up, the same stock, clamps, hangers, mufflers etc as the prefab, and the one-off had better cost more.

Most performance exhaust shops do a good job but a product designed to ship in bulk will undergo more R&D, multiple prototypes, dyno testing etc. and gets reviewed by purchasers. Witness the response above: I've had x for y months, on a MY 'ZZ equipped with "namebrand" products and I've had x issues (or none at all) ...

You can't get that from Shop X did my one-off and did a great job, too bad you're across the country.

Even if I'm wrong, I'm not. If I went with a custom shop I would have to do T304 and that's always going to be more expensive than DT or Borla :-)
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. For those that have the system and have offered, I do look forward to seeing a few mounted pictures. Especially the rear end to see how it would hang with my Slee rear. Also any potential tight fitting/problematic spots..

Thanks again
 
Would anyone possibly be able to get a sound clip of their system as well? It's really hard to hear the system through the standard (lack of) videos on YouTube. I'm sure I'd have to actually hear it in real life to understand what it really sounds like, but something recorded with a decent microphone would be awesome.
 
staggrlee said:
And yes that's the obvious alternative. Slee sells the O2 bungs too so you can fit stock sensors. There's a very good shop called Stan's Headers in Auburn that I would have do it (works in t304 or t409, mandrel bends, very reputable and guys that have been there for decades)... However, from experience I can tell you that, done well, a one-off is *not* cheaper than mass-produced. Figure a good couple of hours (and up to as many as five) at the price you can expect to pay for somebody who actually knows how to design, fab and weld an exhaust up, the same stock, clamps, hangers, mufflers etc as the prefab, and the one-off had better cost more.

Most performance exhaust shops do a good job but a product designed to ship in bulk will undergo more R&D, multiple prototypes, dyno testing etc. and gets reviewed by purchasers. Witness the response above: I've had x for y months, on a MY 'ZZ equipped with "namebrand" products and I've had x issues (or none at all) ...

You can't get that from Shop X did my one-off and did a great job, too bad you're across the country.

Even if I'm wrong, I'm not. If I went with a custom shop I would have to do T304 and that's always going to be more expensive than DT or Borla :)
Click to expand...

That hasn't been my experience, but then again, I think T304 in the PNW is a waist of money. Good luck with your search.
 
FWIW, I have the Borla cat-back on my rig, no drone at all. Only issue is that at some point in the future I will tear up the nice resonator they put on there...
 
Personally, if there is a competent local shop that can do the job, I'd go that route... even if it costs more. If there is a defect with aftermarket, you have to remove the exhaust (or headers), maybe reship it back to the company and then replace it yourself. If a local company does the exhaust work and there is a problem, they should be able to take care of it all.

100 owners have not had good luck with aftermarket exhausts. EMS pulled the ol' bait and switch scam. Doug Thorley had quality issues with their headers... and as a company, have not made good on their promises. 3 years since they promised CARB legal headers and a year since their last communication about it.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/doug-thorley-headers.771290/page-2#post-8802271
 
From what I understand, DT changed the type of steel they used on the headers after their first run, and I have not heard of problems with cracking FLANGES or welds since then, (and my headers are still sound after 10k miles). I have a completely custom stainless header and exhaust system on my UZJ 100 powered 80 series, courtesy of Christo, and it is a thing of beauty, but it also cost almost three times as much as the mass produced DT system I have on the 100 series. I love the custom work, but there is also a cost decision to be accounted for.
On the topic of the CARB cert, Hoser is right, still nothing for the CA owners from DT.
 
Thanks for the further insight Louis. Sounds to me like this is the way im going. I have had great communication with DT since looking at exhaust systems and frankly, I don't like any of my other options...

Let me ask you this, how does the rear piping hang? From the picture of the setup it appears there is no resonator..

71bpM8uIf0L._SL1500_.jpg
 
Some pics of my DT catback

uploadfromtaptalk1410974366439.webp
uploadfromtaptalk1410974372608.webp
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uploadfromtaptalk1410974502002.webp
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uploadfromtaptalk1410974513862.webp
 
Coldwiz, thanks so much for the pictures! Thats exactly what I was looking for. Let me ask you, how long have you had yours? While talking with DT directly over the last few days they mentioned they had a small problem with the earlier clamps, and have since moved to another style/manufacturer and they have had no more problems.
Perhaps contact them and see if you could get replacement clamps if a few of yours continue to come loose??

I love the high clearance exit. Have you been overall happy with the sound??
 
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