From what i remember the stock exhaust is mandrel.

My car is the stage 2 picture - and I didn't use a mandrel machine. Not a big enough difference to waste my time with one.

 

i forget the term used for bending pipes when not mandrel so i'll just call them crush bends. From my understanding from the VW world a 3" crush bend flow about the same as a 2.5" mandrel bend tube. i don't know the diameter of the stock exhaust but if its 2.5" that crush bent 2.5" tubing is going to be closer to 2"-2.25" mandrel. But since this is a N/A car that needs some back pressure you are probably right and it will be less effective than if on a F/I car such as a turbo'd car.

D

 

Ehh....the piping you get at any of these exhaust shops is pretty crappy stuff. I called several shops and they all admitted that their stuff won't last nearly as long as OEM. They said three years max here in upstate NY. I figure when it goes, I'll re-assess my plans for the car and possibly go with stainless. I would've gone SS this time if it was readily available, but since it was such a cheap mod, I didn't really care.

 

just wondering if anyone is experiencing this, but people say this mod breaks in about 2 weeks of use. after 1 week it was pretty loud and now running towards the second week it seems it has gone quiet almost near the stock exhaust note just a tad louder when taking off on a red light, is this normal?

 

hi, i'm new here and picked up my 06 a week ago due to an accident and lost my Honda Accord. anyway, i've been lurking here for past week and finally i decided to do the stage 2 today. it does sounds deep and nice specially around 2500-2800 rpm range, but not too sure wife will notice it since she only sat in the car for 2 times so far. hopefully she won't know or else, i'll just tell her this is the way TL is...

 

I went to a shop to have them remove the mid muffler, and when they put the car up, I only have the mid muffler. There is no resonator like on a 1999 or 2000. It hasn't been removed because there are no weld marks, but it's weird. What I do have...past the headers is the cat...then straight pipe to the mid muffler & then the back mufflers.
So then, if I remove the mid one, would I have ricey raspy note?

 

^ - It is likely. I'd suggest first replacing your mid muffler with an aftermarket one such as magnaflow. You'll probably get a better tone without risking any raspy sounds.

 

I think you're just getting used to the increased loudness. Bet if you drove a stock one, then got into your car, you'd realize it was still noticably louder.

 

Aero Turbine resonator as a stage 2.5
I will post some pics and a sound clip soon

 

hey i jst did the stage two removed the mid muffler and put in a dynomax resonator the 2.25 one ,sounds good real good .... have my j shift pipe putting in this week should give it a better tone.... any one thats thinking about trying it should go for it sounds great and no raspy sound either best of all its cheap!!!!!!!

 

If you put in the Dynomax then you are Stage 3.

 

i thought stage 3 was changin the mufflers? i thought stage 1 was removing the mid muffler only and keeping the stock resonator , and stage 2 was replacing the stock resonator with a dynomax resonator and no mid muffler, and stage 3 was replacing the mufflers after that? am i wrong?

 

Nope, Stage 1 is just mid muffler delete, 2 is MMD and swapping the stock resonator for a Magnaflow (larger/quieter than Dynomax) and 3 is MMD and Dynomax resonator. Stage 4 is removing both mid muffler and resonator altogether.

 

good to know i guess never knew there was a stage 4

 

milkman after you put the jpipe in please report how the stage 3 and jpipe sound together. I'm still on the fence because I like the stage 3 sound too much.

 

yeah i really like the stage 3 sounds good .... talk to richie v6 were i bought the j pipe from and he said it will give it a better tone.... but im also putting in test pipe but i still gotta wait a month for the test pipe to come in ...but i may jst throw the j pipe on now and see what it sounds like ... let you know for sure what happens

 

Yo spiike i did the j pipe today with out doing a test pipe and guess what? it sounds good. thone is alittle deeper and not louder and raspy but deep and clean sounding still very nice like music to my ears ... really sounds good when you open it up and it felt like i had more power but then again i also did a ur pully today.... if your thinking bout getting the j pipe but worring that its gonna b to noisy dont worrie bout it . i say go for it !!!!! and in joy....

 

Has anyone tried Stage 3 using a Dynomax WLK-24236. The difference is the resonator is 18" long, rather than 12" in the 24234. Do you think would be a deeper sound than the 12" ?

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

 

Old thread I know but I am wondering something. First of all is non type-s 3g piping 2.25 or 2.5?

Assuming 2.25, then the magnaflow res with 2.25 inlet and outlet has a 2" core, which would seem to be restrictive. Does anyone know if this is true of the Dynomax? If so is that why your recommending the 2.5"' outer diameter one?

 

you had the mid-muffler removed instead of the resonator and you said you liked it and it sounds great...........can you tell me where you had it done?? can i go to midas or meineke???............u can e-mail me info to sensualscorpion1@aol.com.........................neil

 

Anyone had resonator change for Magnaflow and straight piped out the middle muffler - I think referenced here at Stage 2 - in (Northern) VA? Just curious if emissions is still ok...I assume 99% as nothing was changed in terms of the cat or O2 sensors but would have to hack off a piece of the pipes and be left SOL.

 

Anyone know of a shop that could do muffler work for a good price in the NY/CT area?? I wana get the stage 3 exhaust but am having trouble finding a good shop...

 

BUMP!! This is a good thread that needs new life!

RECAP: as posted by Aznbo
Compilation of all stages of exhaust resonator modification.

So I took the time and made this post so all of the new people don't have to go through 20 pages of discussion.

So far, there are 4 stages of this exhaust mod.

Stage 1.
Least noticeable in exhaust note increase.
Configuration:
Stock exhaust.
Remove mid-muffler. Replace with 2.5" straight pipe. Everything else remains stock.
Cost: Can be anywhere from $30-$60 w/aluminized pipping.

Stage 2.
A tad louder than stage one, a bit more pronounced tone.
Configuration:
Stock exhaust.
Remove mid-muffler. Replace with 2.5" straight pipe.
Remove stock resonator. Replace with Magnaflow resonator part# 10416.
Magnaflow resonator is a 14" long resonator, which dampens and changes the note of the stock exhaust a bit more, thus you get a bit more loudness/tone.
Cost: Magnaflow resonator costs around $60. Install ranges from $60 -$90 w/ aluminized pipping.

Stage 3.
(Tone result TBA)
Stock exhaust.
Remove mid-muffler. Replace with 2.5" straight pipe.
Remove stock resonator. Replace with Dynomax resonator part# WLK-24215.
Dynomax resonator is a 12" long resonator, which is a bit shorter and less dampening than the magnaflow resonator, thus it should give you a bit more loudness/tone than stage 2.
Cost: Dynomax resonator costs around $40. Install ranges from $60 - $90 w/aluminized pipping.

Stage 4.
Loudest setup out of all 3. Has a bit of a rasp, similar to M3 exhaust setup.
Stock exhaust.
Remove Mid-muffler. Replace with a 2.5" straight pipe.
Remove stock resonator. Replace with a 2.5" straight pipe.
Cost: Can be anywhere from $40 - $60.

Note: If you live in a climate that is prone to rain, snow, rust, Stainless steel pipping is highly recommended.
This also does not prevent you from passing smog, as it does not alter the characteristics of the catalytic converters, but it does not mean that this is street legal either as it does alter the stock setup of the exhaust.

 

Hmmmm....I swore off exhaust mods when I bought my TL-S, but I may have to do a Stage 3.

Quite a read!

 

Nice fly-by vid here - sounds great.


https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/tl-s-exhaust-note-710276/

Just noticed, this vid is a resonator and mid-muffler delete - no after market resonator.

 

If you do get SS piping, make sure they TIG weld, otherwise it is useless as the MIG welds affect the integrity and will make the pipe more prone to rust.

 

Stage one complete but I want it a tad bit louder so ill go stage 2 but at the same time I ponder if it will be too loud in the cabin? I didn't read everything in this post so I'd like to get one of your guyses opinion ?! Thanks in advance

 

Do stage 3. It's not loud inside at all. It sounds like pure sex outside though. No rasp, just deep growl!!

 

Yup....thanks. That was the vid that started me down this road, really wasn't thinking of exhaust mods until I saw/heard that.

But while reading through that 30+ [age thread someone mentioned how close it would sound to the G35 coupe exhaust...which I really like. I was behind one the other day is it just sounded right...not ricey irritating, not blatting or droning. It's what our cars should sound like.

 

go for stage 3... I held off for a good while but once I got it done...man, this is what the TLS should sound like stock!!

 

I just did the mid-muffler delete today during my lunch break. I was $40 for the job with aluminized pipe. The sound difference was instantly noticeable. Even upon start up, the exhaust started w/ a low growl, and becomes a throaty sound as you hit the throttle through 2.5 to 3k rpms. I'm glad I didn't do the resonator change too, as I'm at my limit of where I'd want to be. For those who don't think you can hear it during the cabin, with the windows closed, I beg to differ. There is a noticeable exhaust note that was NOT as obvious as before. I'm quite happy w/ this mod, the cheapest exhaust mod, while keeping the stock tips which in my opinion, are much classier, as their trapezoidal shape matches the car exactly unlike many round aftermarket tips.

 

Call me crazy, but 3 days into the mid-muffler delete, I'm planning to have the mid-muffler put back in. The drone of the mid-tone of the exhaust was really getting to me. I know it was a great mod for the $, but perhaps I've outgrown this. I guess I gotta fork over another $40 to reverse it, but this is better than spending a grand on a catback, only to not like the tone. This mod is still great for those who want a cheap exhaust tone, but for those looking for a quiet luxurious ride, I'd think twice about doing this.

 

I'm going w/ Stage 1 next Wed...if its not enough then I'll move to either 2 or 3. The fly-by that bearcat linked sounds really good, but I'm not sure how loud I want to go.

Maybe we should start a sticky w/ the info TLAdvanced posted, and then add vids and comments to each section. I'll try to get some vids on thurs or fri.

 

That video Bearcat linkedwas a stage 4. It's a little too raspy for my taste. I think the stage 4 is just perfect. Well, it was until I went crazy and did the precat deletes, j-pipe, etc. Stage 3 plus precat deletes is VERY RASPY!! I had to add an extra resonator and finally broke down and ordered an ATLP exhaust...

 

Has anybody ever cut open or taken pics down the middle of the factory resonator?

 

Add a J-Pipe. Drone virtually disappears without increased volume at low speed/idle/cruise.

 

Hmmmm....interesting. I do not want drone, I've outgrown that as well.
Perhaps Excelerate's cat-back with resonator.

 

fixed!

 

So after reading this i went and did the stage1 cost about 40$ i love the sound, thinking of doing stage2 soon, should i skip up to stage3? or would that be to drastic

 

do stage 3!! You won't notice much with stage 2.