More catback exhaust questions... (1 Viewer)

[landylover21]

Hi guys, sorry if this has been discussed before, I did do some searching before posting this.

I currently have the Borla catback, and while it is a nice-looking setup, and seems to be built well, there's just something missing from it. I'm looking for a catback that has that nice "primal" growl that says there's a V8 under the hood, but I don't want the typical drone like a ricer Honda around town and on the highway.

I've considered going to a few exhaust shops around the area and have asked a few of the techs who work at my dealership where to go, but I figured I'd ask here and see if anyone who owns a 100 Series, has a setup that they like.

I've been doing some research and it seems that for aftermarket setups, most people have either the Doug Thorley, Borla, or a custom-made catback; EMS went belly-up so that's not an option now.



I really like the sound of the Doug Thorley, but there are reports of drone around town and the highway. For those who have this setup, how loud is it? The Borla has a drone, but it's not too loud - definitely louder that stock, but bearable.

Are there any other options?

 

[Keowee]

I would like to hear the Borla catback. Any chance you could post a sound clip? I don't like the sound of the EMS or the Thorley catback system. It is just noise after you listen for too long.

You might could tweak the volume with a magnaflow muffler and get the right sound. Not sure which one would be perfect though.

 

[Traskew3]

X2, I'm thinking about a Magnaflow swap with the stock tubing...

 

[brosama]

I had a Wicked Flow muffler installed a few months ago and dig it. It's somewhat subdued until I really get on it. Not a lot of drone at highway speeds. But, I'm also on MTRs so the tires are already loud. Being the loudest Lexus on the road is one of my aspirations

If I get a chance to record some sound clips I'll post them up.

 

[landylover21]

I would like to hear the Borla catback. Any chance you could post a sound clip? I don't like the sound of the EMS or the Thorley catback system. It is just noise after you listen for too long.

You might could tweak the volume with a magnaflow muffler and get the right sound. Not sure which one would be perfect though.

Keowee, I will try to get some sound clips later after work if I'm not dead tired.

It's mainly drone that I'm worried about. I like the fact that these trucks are quiet with a stock setup, but outside or with the windows down, there's hardly any exhaust note. I realize that Toyota probably wants these to be as quiet as possible as they are luxo cruisers. I'm not saying that I go around flooring my truck everywhere, but having a bit of that burbly, animal-like growl would be nice to hear. I don't need it to be obnoxiously loud, but I definitely want to hear something.

The Borla is kinda boring to be honest, I mean it has a deeper note than stock, in between DT and OEM, but there's just nothing special about it, plus the oversized exhaust tip just looks kinda hokey IMO.

I guess I really want to increase the volume OUTSIDE in terms of having a deeper, more aggressive exhaust note, but keep the volume inside subdued (I hate drone and the Borla has about as much as I'd wanna have). If I have to dynamat then I'll consider it, but I want to see if there are any other options.

 

[mtnracer]

I'm no expert but from what I have read on this forum and others you can probably take your existing Borla setup to a good exhaust shop and have them do a bit of tuning (change resonator, etc). That way you can keep the nice build quality of the Borla.

 

[costalcat]

I have the DT system and while i have not had a chance to drive in any other LC with an aftermarket exhaust I have driven many vehicles with ones. DT does have a drone but in my mind it is not that bad. It is a little louder now that the weather has gotten nicer and I have the windows down more. It really booms when you go under an over pass at 75... More like a harley might when it does. It is pouring where I am at now but would be happy to try some recordings. I have gotten used to it and think it sounds fine once it was broken in. I have about 4,000 miles on the exhaust at this point.... My wife doe not mention it at all when she is in the truck and she would if she thought it was obnoxious...

Not sure if any of that helps or not

 

[landylover21]

I have the DT system and while i have not had a chance to drive in any other LC with an aftermarket exhaust I have driven many vehicles with ones. DT does have a drone but in my mind it is not that bad. It is a little louder now that the weather has gotten nicer and I have the windows down more. It really booms when you go under an over pass at 75... More like a harley might when it does. It is pouring where I am at now but would be happy to try some recordings. I have gotten used to it and think it sounds fine once it was broken in. I have about 4,000 miles on the exhaust at this point.... My wife doe not mention it at all when she is in the truck and she would if she thought it was obnoxious...

Not sure if any of that helps or not

Thanks a lot for the feedback costalcat, that is definitely encouraging news! If at all possible you could get some recordings that would be awesome.

Driving home I had the windows open and got on the throttle a bit, the system I have does have a nice bass tone to it, but as I said, it's missing that little extra rumbly burble that I like to hear with V8 engines.

I did get to go out for a brief drive after work, I'm working on getting those videos uploaded to YouTube right now.

 

[landylover21]

Start and rev.

As with other videos like this, good speakers/headphones are a MUST!

 

[landylover21]

Acceleration from Stop

Partial throttle then full throttle acceleration from stop.

 

[landylover21]

Cruising at around 30 MPH

 

[landylover21]

Sorry for all the herky jerky camera movements, it's kind of difficult to drive while holding a camera and making sure I don't drive off the road. To those who get motion sickness, I apologize!

I realize it's not the best recording in terms of sound (lots of road noise), I should figure out how to mount my camera outside like the other video from YouTube that I had in my first thread. I might have to invest in a suction cup camera mount.

 

[krice118]

i love how the Doug Thorley Crackles. That is my next mod, behind sliders, lift front bumper.......

I have a little Flowmaster 40 delta series on mine and it sounds great when riding on the tail gate but i really want to hear it with the windows down

 

[landylover21]

Hoping to get a few more sound clips tomorrow, I bought a GoPro Hero3 White with a suction cup mount and am planning to mount it to the rear gate in similar fashion to the video in my first post.

A lot of the techs at my dealership say they would go with an exhaust shop, but they don't know Land Cruisers so I'm not surprised that they'd say that.

 

[Keowee]

Does your resonator have a bolt on flange? Maybe swap in a custom straight pipe if you find a good shop that won't butcher your Borla system.

How old is the Borla. If you take it off and its worthwhile to sell and ship PM me.

 

[landylover21]

Does your resonator have a bolt on flange? Maybe swap in a custom straight pipe if you find a good shop that won't butcher your Borla system.

How old is the Borla. If you take it off and its worthwhile to sell and ship PM me.

Keowee,

As far as I can remember, it doesn't, but I'll check tomorrow when I go out.

The system is just over a year old, installed it March 28 of last year and it still looks new. If anything comes up and I pull it off the truck I'll let you know!

Cheers,

Rich

 

[Keowee]

Haha, just thinking about how my gas mileage would plunge while enjoying the sound.

 

[3D FJ]

i have an ems exhaust and I was able to withstand the drone for quite some time. Then i somehow couldn't take it anymore. I choked the piping down from the 3" that it was after the muffler to about 1.5". i lost power, but I also lost the drone. I actually felt a bit embarassed when i had older people (parents/family friends) in the truck and it was so loud. Perhaps it's me getting older (close to 40). I've tried the moroso spiral flow muffler in line where the stock resonator was, as well as a vibrant resonator. both gave me no luck. I was even going to swap out the muffler for a quiet flowmaster. Then i had the idea to just bring the size of the piping down. That was my solution.

 

[costalcat]

I'm finally home from being on the road and I can pull some video of the DT with my GoPro if you want.. I think it is the perfect mix of power and sound. Like I said the wife isn't embarrassed to ride in it. My Dad drove it for a weekend and never mentioned anything about it being loud for him or my mom... I can try some from the inside as well.. Let me know happy to help ....

 

[landylover21]

I'm finally home from being on the road and I can pull some video of the DT with my GoPro if you want.. I think it is the perfect mix of power and sound. Like I said the wife isn't embarrassed to ride in it. My Dad drove it for a weekend and never mentioned anything about it being loud for him or my mom... I can try some from the inside as well.. Let me know happy to help ....

Yes, yes, please do! Unfortunately my GoPro videos didn't come out as good as I had hoped. I'll post the links in a second.