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Help! I Hate The Tone Of My Borla Exhaust


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Hey everyone. I just had one quick question. i have a 98 gs400 with a borla catback system. I hate the tone that it makes though. I was wondering id is possible to take off the exsisting mufflers and add new ones. Second question...i want a muffler with a smooth powerful sound at an idle, but when i floor it...i want that baby to roar. kinda like a mustang cobra or somethin. i want it loud, but not annoying, but loud enough that everyone hears it. Thanks alot for your help.

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Just switch the whole system out for the Greddy PE cat-back.. If you want something thats gonna sound like you have a caged animal under the hood then that's the way to go.. Borla is only for those who just want something deeper and not loud at all..

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I was thinking of a GReddy MX Cat-back kit for my 1993 GS300, but your comments make me wonder if it will be too loud. I care more about getting some added performance to match my new induction, than getting a super loud sound. Somewhat louder is fine. I don't see too much available for the first gen cars. Any recommendations?

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I was thinking of a GReddy MX Cat-back kit for my 1993 GS300, but your comments make me wonder if it will be too loud. I care more about getting some added performance to match my new induction, than getting a super loud sound. Somewhat louder is fine. I don't see too much available for the first gen cars. Any recommendations?

The Greddy MX might be quieter than the PE.. I'm almost sure it is because I can't see anything other exhaust be louder than that.. And you say your more interested in performance mostly.. Well, if that's the case it really doesn't matter what exhaust you get unless you have something to upgrade your ECU with.. What Intake do you have??

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Figured I get some improvement from the intake/exhaust alone. Another LOC guy said the MX kit wasn't that loud(?) After studying the Blitz LM intake, I made my own induction by trimming a stock plastic housing (from salvage for $50), exposing the filter unit, keeping the factory front airduct as a cold air source, and using a K&N filter. The intake can now get air from several front end sources. The car accelerates better and sounds great as the engine winds out. I also reset the ECU by taking out the correct 20A fuse and pumping the brake to eek out the last electricity. The reset helped it run even better (no typical hesitation). I plan to reset the ECU again after the new exhaust is on. I looked into Jet Chips, and they can reprogram the ECM to either 'Stage 1' or 'Stage 2' performance levels (depending on your intake/exhaust, thermostat mods). I did similar mod like this in a Mustang and it really helped HP and Torque through the entire RPM range. Any ideas or suggestions welcome.

After all this engine work, I'll be saving for wheels/tires next! Yours are awesome!

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Figured I get some improvement from the intake/exhaust alone. Another LOC guy said the MX kit wasn't that loud(?) After studying the Blitz LM intake, I made my own induction by trimming a stock plastic housing (from salvage for $50), exposing the filter unit, keeping the factory front airduct as a cold air source, and using a K&N filter. The intake can now get air from several front end sources. The car accelerates better and sounds great as the engine winds out. I also reset the ECU by taking out the correct 20A fuse and pumping the brake to eek out the last electricity. The reset helped it run even better (no typical hesitation). I plan to reset the ECU again after the new exhaust is on. I looked into Jet Chips, and they can reprogram the ECM to either 'Stage 1' or 'Stage 2' performance levels (depending on your intake/exhaust, thermostat mods). I did similar mod like this in a Mustang and it really helped HP and Torque through the entire RPM range. Any ideas or suggestions welcome.

After all this engine work, I'll be saving for wheels/tires next! Yours are awesome!

why don't you try the trd exhaust. that give it a nice quiet sound but when it's ready to go, you'll have a beautful competition sound. best exhaust if heard for a toyota.

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Yeah, I'm with this guy ^^...I had a modded out, Okay, don't laugh, 2000 Z24....but anyway, these are Lexus'...I don't want it to sound like it's got a 350...Hell, I don't wana hear it at all....Which is why I'm even skeptikal of working on the intake :(....but I would like to improve the somewhat sluggish performance, at least my cavalier woulda smoked this thing, lol

Anyway, my whole point I guess is, would it just be better to get a cat-back such as the GReddy or JIC and use say, Borla mufflers

And the intake, well, I guess there's no avoiding that being loud w/out just leaving it alone :(

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Yeah, I'm with this guy ^^...I had a modded out, Okay, don't laugh, 2000 Z24....but anyway, these are Lexus'...I don't want it to sound like it's got a 350...Hell, I don't wana hear it at all....Which is why I'm even skeptikal of working on the intake :(....but I would like to improve the somewhat sluggish performance, at least my cavalier woulda smoked this thing, lol

Anyway, my whole point I guess is, would it just be better to get a cat-back such as the GReddy or JIC and use say, Borla mufflers

And the intake, well, I guess there's no avoiding that being loud w/out just leaving it alone :(

i would keep my aristo quite as possible. leave the stock piping and go with the trd mufflers. that way, you only would have sound output and not have it run straight through the piping underneath you. what you do you think? it's a lex, lets keep it low pro but rip it out when someone calls you out. =)

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I was unaware that TRD made an exhaust kit for the early GS300's. I was unable to find one in all my searching. Do you guys have a particular model or type you can recommend? Are saying that I should just swap the mufflers? That seems like it will only affect sound mainly, not backpressure so much. I am convinced that this car could run much stronger if it was just programmed a bit more aggressively and could breath some. I will post the results when I'm done- someday soon hopefully. BTW, I added a picture of my intake mod and lowering to the Garage section. Thanks again all! :)

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I was unaware that TRD made an exhaust kit for the early GS300's. I was unable to find one in all my searching. Do you guys have a particular model or type you can recommend? Are saying that I should just swap the mufflers? That seems like it will only affect sound mainly, not backpressure so much. I am convinced that this car could run much stronger if it was just programmed a bit more aggressively and could breath some. I will post the results when I'm done- someday soon hopefully. BTW, I added a picture of my intake mod and lowering to the Garage section. Thanks again all! :)

why don't you swap out the stock muffler with the trd muffler and add 3" piping from the cat down? you'll have sound and performance.

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I found out there is a L-Tuned catback system that is made by HKS. TRD did not have a specific muffler for the 93, but said others made for later models could work with custom piping (as you suggest). Once again, a couple options to choose and see what happens...

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OH MAN!!..Why dont you try a rod millen exhaust?...I have that on my GS and it sounds MEAN!!...when you start that bad boy up..ppl know you mean biznass...and when you tromp that puppy to the floor..WATCH OUT!..haha...I mean...I was lookin for the same thing...I wanted something different...but not something that looked cheap and sounded cheap...and this is the perfect match for me!...I am tellin you..if you look at this...you will be IMPRESSED by its sound...good luck on your search...

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If you guys want anything from Rod Millen let me know.. Like for example I can have the RMM Exhaust at your door for under $700. But don't limit your options, you have alot to choose from..

so mrsypher, what can you get? i'm interested in gen 1 gs300 parts. let me know what's up

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WOW! Thanks for all the ideas everyone. :D

I spoke with the GReddy folks (asking about all their systems in general so no bias there) - they confirmed the MX is no where near as loud as the PE system. Another LOC members emailed saying its a bit louder rumble than stock at idle/cruising and gets louder under hard acceleration (like most are). GReddy also confirmed they no longer make the MX cat-back system (since last year), so that must be why the price has dropped so much (under $500), as sellers clear older inventory.

RMM claims 12-15 HP gains with their mufflers (not cat-back) and their intakes on the GS 4XX. I'll let you all know what else I find.

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not sure what RMM is, but I can tell you that there is NO WAY IN HELL a damn muffler's gonna give you 12-15 HP :rolleyes:

Yes it will... But you see when they say that, you have to read between the lines.. Their not telling you where the added HP is achieved.. In alot of cases they are telling you what's being put out at the crank.. And as we all know that's not where it counts..

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To clarify, RMM (Rod Millen Motorsport that is) is claiming the total HP gain on the PAIRING of an intake and exhaust upgrade on a GS400. Not sure where the HP measurement is on that-good catch. I can tell you on other cars I've owned, a good intake (airfilter/intake/sensor) and dual exhaust/muffler pairing can make 15-20 HP at the rear on a 200+cid motor running premium fuel. Much more than that is not likely though without other tuning/mods.

Here is the link if you want to check into it:

http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:sXQda...&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

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