jasone36

Friends,

I have a 2002 SC430 which is my daily driver. I have done research into removing the resonators on the car in order to have a slightly more "throaty" sound, while keeping the rest of the exhaust system stock. After much reading on this forum, the following questions stand out:

1. Would removing the resonator on an SC430 affect passing state inspection? Would the Check Engine Light come on? Would I still pass smog inspection? My research says that it shouldn't affect any of these, but I'd love to get confirmation from someone who may know for sure.

2. How bad is the drone noise when driving at highways speeds? I do some highway driving with business colleagues, and would want to make sure it's not embarrassingly loud.

3. How bad is the cabin noise? Ideally, I would like to keep cabin noise at a minimum, while making the car sound slightly louder on the outside. Is this possible to achieve by removing the resonators?

4. Would I feel much more vibration inside the car? I'm afraid of ruining the "luxury" Lexus smoothness feeling of the ride if there is too much new vibration introduced.

5. If I decide to remove the resonators, should I request the muffler shop to use a specific "pipe type" or "pipe gauge"? I'm worried about potential inferior pipes being used and causing issues down the road, but I'm clueless about this.

6. Assuming I keep the resonators in my garage, if I end up not liking the sound would I have any issues getting them welded back in?

I would appreciate potential any first-hand experience with this. I've read through all the posts I can find on this topic pertaining to the SC430, including posts by "scorpio74", "VIPNiSS", "playa3uhh", "Seattle SCone" and by "Wesssup". I've watched all the video clips, but no one seems to have video clips of inside the cabin, or video clip of driving at normal speeds. Perhaps someone can take a short video or sound clip?

At this point I would rule out any exhaust systems modifications beyond removing the resonators since I want to keep the car close to stock.

A big thanks in advance to anyone that responds!

robertrios

iTrader: (11)

Not sure about state inspections since florida has none but I removed the mufflers on my SC and we still daily it...sounds awesome. You can actually tell its a V8. Its not as loud as my stock ISF if that helps from a comparison stand point. When a shop chops off any of the parts they use piping that is the same type and size...assuming its a reputable place. As long as they do not cut too close to the resonators you wouldnt have a problem putting them back in the future.

Harold57

Your local muffler shop would probably be a good source of information.

bacardi

guess your going to start being a hot rod.

jasone36

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately my local muffler shops are staffed mostly by 18 year old high school kids (especially this time of year) who know very little about Lexus's... and have probably never worked on an SC430.

That's why I turn to you guys, the SC430 experts for this type of advice

fj40ih8mud

fj40ih8mud

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...and-video.html

mandyfig

Have you thought about an Injen intake? The intake plus the resonator out will be the bomb!

fj40ih8mud

I just added the intake with your advice Mandyfig and plan to pull the resonators....

jasone36

So after doing extensive research, reading every Lexus-related thread on this topic I could find, I have finally decided against performing the resonator delete on my SC430, at least for now. It sounds like the results may be somewhat unpredictable, and it seems once I cut the OEM piping even if I want to return everything to stock it will never be the same again. Also the potential "drone" sound is very concerning, I once had an aftermarket exhaust on a Japanese import car and it drove me crazy on the highway, I'm worried that cutting the resonators off would produce a similar drone.

If my SC430 was a weekend-only car then I think I'd get it done, but in my case the SC430 is my daily driver, I take it EVERYWHERE, so introducing uncertainties into the ride is concerning at this point. Maybe in the future when the car gets older and I have another daily driver (assuming I keep the SC430) then I'd get it done and enjoy it on the weekends. Until then, I think it's out of the question for me.

Per mandyfig's psot, now I am thinking about an aftermarket intake instead. I am entirely clueless on intakes (never had an aftermarket one), I'll have to research what are the downsides of installing it on the SC430. I am assuming there is no "drone" sound, and I am assuming it adds some sound during engine revving.

fj40ih8mud

Here was Mandyfigs advice that makes 2000% sense and why I bought my kit.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, put the original back on and sell the intake kit on ebay. You may lose $30 bucks!

I bought mine on ebay new and vey happy with it!

Options2k

Does the injen intake install void lexus platinum extended care? I want to do this but would like to know about the impact on warranty.

Thanks.

fj40ih8mud

Sounds like a legal question. Ask your dealer.