SC Exhaust Thread
Driver
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 123
Likes: 0
From: Florida
SC400 No Mufflers, On resonators only
Could you please post a picture of the work done under your car ?
So your mpg went up you say ?! If so I must try this
At the moment I only have tips welded on my stock mufflers wish it had Abit of a nice sound to them.
If we remove the resonators does it make it raspy and drone?
So your mpg went up you say ?! If so I must try this
At the moment I only have tips welded on my stock mufflers wish it had Abit of a nice sound to them.
If we remove the resonators does it make it raspy and drone?
Low budget Snarl....
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
From: MI
1st thing i did was remove the front resonator and the 2 rear resonators. still have stock cats at the headers. basicly a 3 resonator delete and it sounds effing amazing thru the stock muffs. SC400 that is. i plan on getting 2 universal mufflers because i need it louder now. need to wake the apartment complex up haha.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,220
Likes: 14
From: IL
1st thing i did was remove the front resonator and the 2 rear resonators. still have stock cats at the headers. basicly a 3 resonator delete and it sounds effing amazing thru the stock muffs. SC400 that is. i plan on getting 2 universal mufflers because i need it louder now. need to wake the apartment complex up haha.
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
From: New Mexico
SC300/400 Aftermarket Muffler Brackets and Re-polishing SST
I mounted a pair of universal SST mufflers on my '94 turbo SC300 about eight years ago. After that length of time in service they were getting a little ratty in appearance. In this post I'll provide a description and picture of the custom muffler mounting bracket I designed and had fabricated and a procedure for re-polishing SST parts.
A lot of the muffler mounting brackets I've seen in this thread are mighty ugly (straps around the OD, etc.) When I purchased the round universal SST mufflers there was, of course, no provision for mounting. I designed the bracket seen below on my CADD system and had a local shop laser cut, bend and weld on the hanger mounting peg out of 303/304 SST. I then polished it myself using a procedure similar to that I'll describe for re-polishing the mufflers. After the custom bracket was attached to the rear of the muffler can I took the car to a muffler shop and had them fab the necessary length adapter pipe. They used a length of galvanized steel instead of SST, which I didn't even realize at the time because that area is invisible, except to snakes. Originally they used a U-bolt type of clamp to attach the rear of the muffler to the exhaust pipe. Because the joint was frozen in the correct geometry when I took them off to refinish I took the assembly down to a muffler shop and had them weld the muffler to the pipe. Tip: If welding is done around polished or appearance items insist that a welding blanket be used to protect the surfaces from weld splatter (I also think there is a release spray designed for this purpose). I didn't think to insist that this be done and there is a lot of weld splatter on the rear of the muffler (where it doesn't show) and a few spots where splatter stuck to the polished OD).
On to the re-polishing. Based on my previous successful experience in polishing SST I used two grades of Nyalox abrasive impregnated nylon bristle rotary brushes The brushes come in three grades, Coarse (grey), Medium (orange) and Fine (blue). The coarse abrasive wasn't required for this project. Neither Home Depot or Lowe's carries this product but the local Ace Hardware did, in the tool section along with wire brushes, etc. The final polish was made using a cotton buffing wheel and White Rouge.
Because the mufflers had smutz bonded to them I had to use the orange medium grit brush first to clean the surface. If the surface had been better to begin with the labor could have been reduced by 30% by starting with the blue fine grit abrasive brush.
Using the brushes in a electric drill I started by moving the brush back and fourth around a section of the circumference and then moving it along the length with overlap. When that section was done I rotated the muffler to a new area and repeated. Once the entire surface of the muffler and bracket had been covered with this motion I then started again by holding the rotating brush against the OD and just moving it along the long axis of the muffler and then starting again, slightly overlapping the previous pass and repeating. I used two different coverage motions to ensure that no spots were missed. Once all surfaces had been finished with the medium (orange) grade I switched to the fine (blue) grade and repeated the entire process. Finally, I switched to the buffing wheel loaded with white rouge. Hint: Slightly dampen the cotton wheel before the first time it is loaded with compound. Push the rouge compound out of the applicator and hold the exposed stick against the rotating wheel for a few seconds to load it with rouge. I only had to reload the wheel four or five times for each muffler, On the muffler tip and the bracket, which are the most visible parts when mounted, I repeated the dual coverage scheme twice.
After completing the polishing I used water with detergent and a stiff plastic bristled brush to remove most of the rouge. I then had to use paper towels and paint thinner to completely clean the surfaces.
In addition to polishing the mufflers I used the medium (orange) brush to clean the OEM SST exhaust pipes and leave them with a brushed surface ( as can be seen in the picture below).
In all I spent six hours on this project.
The pictures below: (I didn't include a picture of them mounted. I'll wait until the entire restoration/customization project is completed and then post pictures of everything.)
1. Supplies used.
2. Close-up of the custom mounting bracket.
3. The re-polished mufflers and the exhaust pipe to the joint.
A lot of the muffler mounting brackets I've seen in this thread are mighty ugly (straps around the OD, etc.) When I purchased the round universal SST mufflers there was, of course, no provision for mounting. I designed the bracket seen below on my CADD system and had a local shop laser cut, bend and weld on the hanger mounting peg out of 303/304 SST. I then polished it myself using a procedure similar to that I'll describe for re-polishing the mufflers. After the custom bracket was attached to the rear of the muffler can I took the car to a muffler shop and had them fab the necessary length adapter pipe. They used a length of galvanized steel instead of SST, which I didn't even realize at the time because that area is invisible, except to snakes. Originally they used a U-bolt type of clamp to attach the rear of the muffler to the exhaust pipe. Because the joint was frozen in the correct geometry when I took them off to refinish I took the assembly down to a muffler shop and had them weld the muffler to the pipe. Tip: If welding is done around polished or appearance items insist that a welding blanket be used to protect the surfaces from weld splatter (I also think there is a release spray designed for this purpose). I didn't think to insist that this be done and there is a lot of weld splatter on the rear of the muffler (where it doesn't show) and a few spots where splatter stuck to the polished OD).
On to the re-polishing. Based on my previous successful experience in polishing SST I used two grades of Nyalox abrasive impregnated nylon bristle rotary brushes The brushes come in three grades, Coarse (grey), Medium (orange) and Fine (blue). The coarse abrasive wasn't required for this project. Neither Home Depot or Lowe's carries this product but the local Ace Hardware did, in the tool section along with wire brushes, etc. The final polish was made using a cotton buffing wheel and White Rouge.
Because the mufflers had smutz bonded to them I had to use the orange medium grit brush first to clean the surface. If the surface had been better to begin with the labor could have been reduced by 30% by starting with the blue fine grit abrasive brush.
Using the brushes in a electric drill I started by moving the brush back and fourth around a section of the circumference and then moving it along the length with overlap. When that section was done I rotated the muffler to a new area and repeated. Once the entire surface of the muffler and bracket had been covered with this motion I then started again by holding the rotating brush against the OD and just moving it along the long axis of the muffler and then starting again, slightly overlapping the previous pass and repeating. I used two different coverage motions to ensure that no spots were missed. Once all surfaces had been finished with the medium (orange) grade I switched to the fine (blue) grade and repeated the entire process. Finally, I switched to the buffing wheel loaded with white rouge. Hint: Slightly dampen the cotton wheel before the first time it is loaded with compound. Push the rouge compound out of the applicator and hold the exposed stick against the rotating wheel for a few seconds to load it with rouge. I only had to reload the wheel four or five times for each muffler, On the muffler tip and the bracket, which are the most visible parts when mounted, I repeated the dual coverage scheme twice.
After completing the polishing I used water with detergent and a stiff plastic bristled brush to remove most of the rouge. I then had to use paper towels and paint thinner to completely clean the surfaces.
In addition to polishing the mufflers I used the medium (orange) brush to clean the OEM SST exhaust pipes and leave them with a brushed surface ( as can be seen in the picture below).
In all I spent six hours on this project.
The pictures below: (I didn't include a picture of them mounted. I'll wait until the entire restoration/customization project is completed and then post pictures of everything.)
1. Supplies used.
2. Close-up of the custom mounting bracket.
3. The re-polished mufflers and the exhaust pipe to the joint.
Pole Position
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 241
Likes: 2
From: NM
Hey guys, I'm sure this has been covered in this thread before but I couldn't find it. I am wanting to get my resonators and mufflers cut off and replaced with straight pipe. What is the downside to doing this, Lose of power? Loss of MPG?
I am wanting it to sound just like this one and it says in the comments that all he did was a muffler and resonator delete
I am wanting it to sound just like this one and it says in the comments that all he did was a muffler and resonator delete
Rookie
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
From: Washington
i would like some advice as i have gotten mixed results i just purchased some magnaflows was going to have a shop fab up piping for me but im still debating on keeping the 2.25 or going to 2.5 i would not like to lose any low end power at the cost of sound if anyone can pm as i have gotten mixed answers i would be very appreciative!
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,135
Likes: 1
From: TX
Im post-whoring today...watch in 1080p, and volume up cause its kind of quiet 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_cz_5WdqXo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_cz_5WdqXo