Just a question about exhaust systems for a 03 Tacoma with the 2.7L engine. NOBODY makes a cat back system other than Borla. Borla is great and all but I don't want to have to refinance my house again to get it. My stock system is fine but I would like to free up the breathing of the truck some more. I have already installed an FIPK system by K& N filters and it works great but I want more. Any help? Sound is important also. I know I'm dealing with a
4 cylinder but a little bit more sound would be nice.
2.25" core, 26" core length, 3.5" round case (summit racing)
TRUE OPEN EXHAUST without all the noise, inexpensive, local muffler shop can install for about $50.
the glasspack in front of the magnaflow, both go after the 2nd cat. i have this setup and it's nice, probably better than what borla has to offer and a boat load cheaper !!
i was out to replace the oem muffler with something better. however, almost any "turbo" muffler is better than the oem muffler. i am planning to put on a Alpine supercharger, header, and new cams in an effort to hit the 225hp mark on my 3Rz engine.
fully open exhaust was the only way to go. i looked at Spintech, Flowmaster, Dynomax, and Magnaflow. after reviewing each for sound qualities, they all had the same issue, loud. i was after a quiet system while getting open exhaust performance.
i then started reading about resonators (pre-silencers). a true tuned resonator (helmholtz) is just like a glasspack muffler, except that there is no packing and it is tuned to destroy sound. there are no off-the-shelf true resonators for my Taco 3Rz, so i had to figure a way to get most sound supression in a open exahust.
the best way to do this is to use the longest possible muffler you can. i then found the Walker "thrush" 2.25" glasspack (perforated, not louvered). this would server as a resonator into the muffler. i found that the Magnaflow had the best price (all 4 basically function the same).
i bought a Magnaflow #12645 for $85 shipped, and a Thrush #WLK-24205 for $23 shipped. together they form a ~48" "glasspack" type muffler. i had a local Midas shop install it for $42 (just a muffler swap, no piping needed). total cost $150.
i was skeptical to what sound i was gonna get. i did not want that droning sound while cruising, and i certainly did not want that chainsaw sound like many of these matchbox cars have for attention. i was after no noise with maximum performance.
i think i hit the perfect combo. the sound (all in cab) at idle is no diff than oem, and perhaps a tad quieter. cruising was also very quiet (4th @
65mph, and 5th @ 90mph), about the same as oem sound perhaps only slightly louder. the only small sound diff was accelerating (only a tad louder than the oem).
was there a performance increase?? yes, but not of the "WOW" type.
i'll suggest this type of setup to anyone looking for a quiet open exhaust.
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