Exhaust Advice Needed (1 Viewer)

[Manhattan]

Not surprisingly, with no bed on the truck and the tail pipe cut about even with the cab, opening the sliding back window is great way to take a nap. With the trayback almost complete, next on the list is redoing the exhaust.

I want the truck QUIET. I think loud, 100hp 4-cylinders are just silly. I want it to sound like a Tesla. Well okay, maybe a stock Camry. Any recommendations for a good, quiet muffler?

Bigger question: For using that rear sliding window and not choking on carbon monoxide, is the optimal routing dumping out the side behind the rear wheel?

 

[gnob]

If you want it quiet, keep it stock.

I never had an issue with CO and rear slider. My exhaust dumped under the truck just past the rear axle.

 

[Manhattan]

Thanks @gnob. My plan is to have a muffler/exhaust shop put together a stock(ish) system. It looks like a $35 Walker muffler is the closest to stock - without spending $175 on the complete Toyota system - tailpipe, muffler, etc. The trayback/flatbed has more clearance behind the rear wheels - so the stock tailpipe would be too low. I'm assuming the shop would rather bend their own tailpipe as oppose to modifying the Toyota pipe(s)... but that's really a guess.

What's the prevailing wisdom on cats for these little 22Rs? The truck is exempt - so, I won't need the cat to keep it registered. But, cats do have actual benefits - keeps the exhaust (and garage at start up) cleaner, etc. What do you guys recommend - run it or skip it?

 

[gnob]

If you want quiet run a cat.

 

[Zor]

What about performance with cat vs without? Exhaust is on my to-do list as well, and I want QUIET without robbing anything from the little bit of available power. @Manhattan what P/N Walker did the shop recommend?

 

[Manhattan]

@Zor I haven't asked the shop to weigh in yet - Walker just keeps coming up in searches for "stock" or "replacement" mufflers for this truck. When I built my CJ with an LS, I did use a cat even though it too was exempt. The shop that helped build the Jeep and the exhaust shop were adamant a high-flow cat would not rob power. Or... that was a 325-350 hp V8 in a 2,800 lbs truck that wouldn't miss a little hp to keep the exhaust clean.

 

[Zor]

Yep. Stealing 5 from 325 ain’t much. But when my motorcycle has more power than my pickup, 5hp is important. It looks like Magnaflow makes an aftermarket cat that is supposed to be efficient, but it’s a lot more than a $35 muffler. Lots to think about.

 

[pappy]

If you want quiet run a cat.

This.

Personally, I don't think modern cats rob that much power. I would rather not smell my tailpipe, especially when crawling down the trail with a tail wind. Just another thought, I would find a made in the USA cat, mostly because the cheap Chinese cats I've had in the past don't last. Plus, I had one do this to me once. That's not the cat, but the upstream side of my muffler with a chunk of cat honeycomb plugging the works.

 

[ntsqd]

Run a cat. I doubt that the difference is noticeable. I sure didn't notice the difference with and without on a nearly stock engine with a stock sized replacement cat. If you're really worried about it costing you power use one that is bigger than stock. Just know that it may not light off quite as fast.

As to a muffler, I ran a Walker "turbo" on Patch and it was quiet unless you were WOT. Then it snarled a little, but not a lot. I built the system using mandrel bends from, oddly enough, mandrelbends.com Below is the system about 4 years after I built it. It was built in sections that could be unbolted so that you could replace things like the muffler and the cat without having to cut it all apart. I also used all of the stock hanger locations and bent 5/16" round bar to make the actual hangers welded to the tubes.

 

[Toast]

I had a buddy pull his cat because he thought it would gain him power but ended up causing issues down the road. These trucks don’t like being cat less for some reason. I think positive back pressure maybe. I just got my new cat in the mail tonight. Ordered one from LCE. The CARB number on it corresponds to a magnaflow but who knows. It was $300 but after looking again they raised their price to $450! Description says overall length is 12.5” but it measures 12.75”..... I seriously hope it fits without me having to “modify” anything. I want to be able to run my old cat year round in between smogs. It’s definitely a lot smaller that my OEM one so I’m really hoping it does it’s job. The whole “high flow” cat always seemed to make me think that it wasn’t working as well as it should. My NOX were just a tad over so I’m hoping this does the truck. Hate smog...

 

[toyotaboy80]

A properly done exhaust will be "quiet" compared to the stereotypical 4 banger fart can sound(properly being tight, no leaks, an actual muffler of some sort(i.e not a straight piped chamber) and a full length tail pipe) Would be a smidgen louder than stock but respectable, and sound better too. Noise is likely going to only be noticed when you're 4k+rpm and even then it'll sound decent and not get much more attention than any maniac redlining their engine

I had the stock muffler break off on a 4cyl Honda CRV... it was then I realized ANY 4cyl that sounds ridiculous literally has no MUFFLER.

I have a long tube header with a flow tech afterburner muffler. All 2 1/4". Had one of those turbo thrust magnaflow knock off whatevers at one point. Both mufflers are garbage quality. The inlet snapped clean off the muffler after a short life on the knockoff muffler. And in 7k miles or less the flowtech rattles.... Didn't handle the decel exhaust popping too well I guess? But pretty sure the baffles are only tacked in there, or spot welded. It is quiet at idle and 3k rpm cruising. No drone. Sounds like an exhaust job when its WOT. Nothing like muffler-deleted-honda though.

I have sitting in a box a magnaflow hi-flow cat and performance muffler. Think they're about 80 buck each on Summit. The build quality on both is a visual grade AAA. Fully welded end caps and baffles look to be burned right in. My plan for the hi-flow is to make the truck a SMIDGE more quieter than no cat, but to also knock off some of the fuel smell............she's pretty strong with no cat. Esp. an older technology motor that is just dumping raw fuel in with complete disregard when it's cold or in open loop. IF the cat noticeably robs my long tube header 2 1/4" free flowing exhaust power...It's getting binned. I'll live with the gassy smell and whatever extra noise.

 

[msahr]

I had a local exhaust shop build a whole new system on my 4Runner since the stock system kept leaking (and leaking, and leaking...) they built a new Y-pipe from scratch and everything else new. Nice and quiet, no issues. About $200 if I remember correctly. They're in Tempe, AZ. No idea if that works for you since NEATL means nothing to me. Good luck.

 

[ntsqd]

I believe it means North East Atlanta. So yah, Tempe probably won't be much help.

Part of the reason that I build my own is that the best exhaust shop that I know of in my area still falls short. The last job that I took to them I very specifically asked for a horizontal straight section after the 2:1 merge where a cat could be fitted in the future. They scoffed at my wanting to put a cat on that truck and appear to have deliberately built the system to not have what I asked for. That was 3 years ago. I used to be a fairly repeating customer and recommended them to others. Now I do neither.

 

[Manhattan]

Yep - Atlanta; thanks @ntsqd (and I changed my profile).

Sounds like it's unanimous - use a cat. I'll check out Summit too. I'm not a fan of bringing parts to a shop and saying "Here, install this." But, if it ensures a U.S. made cat... well, they can deal with it.

 

[pappy]

Yep - Atlanta; thanks @ntsqd (and I changed my profile).

Sounds like it's unanimous - use a cat. I'll check out Summit too. I'm not a fan of bringing parts to a shop and saying "Here, install this." But, if it ensures a U.S. made cat... well, they can deal with it.

I just bought a 2.25" Flowmaster cat from Summit. It was way cheap for a Made in the USA part. I almost wish I had gone up a step, but right now, I'm happy.

 

[Toast]

High flow magna flow cat. Looks like AAA quality but we will see how it performs.

 

[abuck99]

This muffler shop in Norcross does pretty good custom work- carrys magnaflow and several other brands. Prices are fair. Not too far from you.

Magic Mufflers & Brakes | magicmufflers.com

 

[Manhattan]

Thanks Andrew! I'll definitely talk to those guys.

 

[Toast]

Before and after results with the new magnaflow cat on

 

[pappy]

Nice job. As of last year my truck is smog exempt in New Mexico. No more of this BS.