cheetah102

Is there a difference between stock mufflers for the 2001 - 2004 ?

I am looking for a chrome tip to add to my stock muffler. Any place that's decent to get and also stylish

bchau_gt

I don't think there are any differences in the stock '01 to '04 exhausts. However, if you're interested in replacing your exhaust with similar quiet exhausts with a chrome tip, then I believe the exhaust from the Sportdesign edition or the LSportline exhaust may suit your needs.

cheetah102

Is it worth just adding a tip over the exhaust pipe? Or just a whole new muffler? What are the advantages?

bchau_gt

Well, I'm not sure where to find a chrome tip that will fit well, eBay maybe?
There are definitely advantages of replacing the whole exhaust with another axle-back exhaust. You would get some minor performance gains and a better sounding exhaust note (or at least one that you can hear). However, some people want some power gain without the increase in noise, in which case I would recommend the L-Tuned, Carson-Tuned (by Kimura), LSportline, or HKS Ti-Limited Ed exhausts.

_DAG_

Cheetah, IMO adding the tip is a lil ricey. Some like Rominl may disagree with me (i read he just got the tips on his GS). Adding the tip is like stamping "Oakley" on your knockoff shades. Spend the $$ and get a quality part that you'll be happy with. You'll get looks, sound, and gains from an aftermarket exhaust like the HKS hiper, Greddy, or a the highly regarded Carson Tuned. Good luck and let us know what you do. I have pro1 exhaust if your curious.

flipside909

I dunno where you got that idea from because he has a set of Apex'i World Sport exhausts on his GS. Don't assume what you read. And when you do read, read the post carefully.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

hahhaa easy flip, actually DAG was half right way back in 01 when i first got the GS i actually got the borla tips and installed them, coz' at that time i didn't feel like doing exhaust coz' i didn't want any noise. but summer last yr i got the apexi exhaust and now i love it

so yes i got the exhaust tips on stock exhaust, but now i got the real deal

and now i look back, yes, i think doing just tips is a bit ricey

_DAG_

Haha, thanks Rominl. Is the noise too much for you though with the Apexi? Why did you get the Apexi anyways?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

well my gs4 is a v8 so no matter what exhaust, i get droning at 2k rpm. it's not the loudest already and i actually like it. with the old stock exhaust, yeah it looks ok, but honestly it was a bit boring when driving. now it's a lot better

i got the apexi coz' i love the look. the can type tips were exactly what i wanted (compared to the borla tips) and the greddy / tanabe are too big, where apexi is just perfect at 4". and i got this stupidly awesome deal on the apexi i just couldn't pass

cheetah102

Thank you fellow Lexus Owners. Yeah..the best route is replacing the muffler. Am I correct on this? w/o changing the pipes from the Exhaust header.

bchau_gt

You don't have to replace the exhaust header, y-pipe, or b-pipe unless you want to. Just replacing the exhaust should be good enough. Replacing the other exhaust piping will yield more power gains, but also increase noise considerably (especially when removing the resonator on the b-pipe). Replacing the headers and y-pipe will also remove your cats.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yeah you can just do the axle back setup, meaning just the muffler, that's fine. though personally i am more interested in the cat back setup

flipside909

Just a little clarification, removing the stock Y pipe will not remove any cats at all.

bchau_gt

You sure? I thought the last (larger) cat was on the y-pipe because it was my understanding replacing the y-pipe with a XERD racepipe or Toyomoto/TBKO y-pipe removed the cat. Or is the last cat on the b-pipe along with the resonator?

flipside909

Larger cat is seperate of the B pipe and Y pipe. B pipe includes the resonator.