Posted: May 10 2007 at 6:18pm | IP Logged

Hello all - first post here, new Frontier 4x4 owner, Ex Tacoma 4x4 owner.    ; )

ok... I picked my truck up last Sunday, and by Wednesday I started muffler work.  I opted to go with the Magnaflow (single in / single out stock pipe replacement size swap so nothing special there).

Well... the drive back to work was the most annoying experience. The interior resonance was way too loud, I couldn't listen to the radio at a normal level (meaning NOT loud) I typically drive very conservative, and just driving out from a stoplight was just too much. The next morning I went back to the shop, they said I could either go with a Borla muffler OR they could install a resonator.

I went with the resonator, and it definitely fixed the interior sound.

I'm frustrated here, because I have heard that this engine is a good engine, and all I am trying to do it eek out some more miles to the gallon. So far, I'm out $190, and on top of it all, I feel as though I've lost power. I'm tellin you, it's a noticeable differance in the "passing" power band 45mph-65mph it's a total dog.

I also noticed that my mpg computer went from 17.6 mpg in town down to 17.0 mpg. Same driving habit, same routes, same speeds. I drive about 50 miles round trip hwy to and from work.

I've read the building HP sticky thread, and many other posts about what works for "fronty's". In my taco days, I went dyno or or magnas too... but the rice sound wasn't so evident as at least what I'm hearing in "my" ears. There has to be a setup out there that produces a deep low tone, but doesn't make your ears bleed in the cabin.

I'll be installing the K&N 77 kit with the TB spacer, which will definitely help the truck breathe... but do I have the wrong ehaust setup?

Should I go with a Gibson CB? or go back to the shop and try a different muffler. I've actually heard good things about the Flowmaster 50 suv series single in/dual out side swept ... any takers on that setup?

I love the truck, but this has me a bit frustrated. Perhaps you guys can give me some help.

Thanks in advance.
Robert
Jax,Fl

Posted: May 11 2007 at 4:46pm | IP Logged

I have head some nice sounds on the 3.3 with the flowmaster setup and intake done alone, sounding fairly deep, if you go to the video/photos section and look at all posts or posts from the last 6 months you will find some links that I put up of sound clip/videos that I located on various video sites such as youtube.com. Or if you are interested in hearing the gibson on a newer frontier ('05) and the write up and dyno charts from one individual who did this mod you can take a look at this

http://www.jackphelps.com/frontier/exhaust.htm

Or you can always just hit up youtube.com yourself and take a look around to find video/sound clips of diff muffler setups for the frontier, good luck

Posted: May 12 2007 at 10:16pm | IP Logged

Hey thanks for all the responses.  It's funny, I had 3 toyotas in a row, and I never had this much trouble getting an exhaust to perform AND sound good. The motor in the Frontier is a good motor, tuned well out of the box, so since I drove it off the lot (last Sunday) and THREE different ehaust setups (pipes, mufflers, resonators, no resonators...) I believe I have what is probably the best sounding set as I'm going to get. The tb spacer, and the KN 77 will go in this Tuesday, the a reprogrammed chip.

Here is what I did:

I sawzalled right behind the cats at the manifold connection point. Took 2.5 aluminized piping and ran them seperate to create true duals. Instead of using 2 mufflers (stacked or stagger) will not work because of clearance issues, and quite honestly, I just didn't like the design... so I went with what worked in my old Mustang days, and went with an "H" pipe design, instead of connecting a 2.5" pipe bridge between the 2 pipes, I went with a V-Force 2 in/2 out muffler which is slightly more aggressive than the Flowmaster 50 series sport.

Running the first pipe out the back was cake, the left side was a little difficult, but surprisingly managable with a good pipe bender.

Stainless tips to finish it off in the rear. Looks factory. Sounds amazing.  (Sound clips coming)

Pics here: http://www.madmansarchive.com/06_frontier_40_Exhaust/

It actually sounds like a V8 upon startup, a little drone inside the cab 0-30 but not nearly as bad as a non-resonated Magnaflow, and purrs at 40+ mph. Loss of power was regained, and computer mileage has now gone back up 3 tenths of a mile. The CAI and TB spacer will really open it up and deepend the tone.

Total cost for materials $200 after tax (7%) $214

One more note: I can honestly say that the sound and performance you would get from a cat back system like Gibson's setup would not prduce the tone you get with a dual system. This fabrication was more enjoyable, and I hope this helps any of you out there looking for an alternative to the single side-swept exhaust. Don't be intimidated by the tight fittings between the leaf spring an the spare tire, it seemed impossible when I started, but zip-stripping the cables and brake lines out of the way provided more than enough room.

Stay tuned...

-robert
jax, fl

Posted: May 14 2007 at 11:05pm | IP Logged

 Oops I told you guy's the wrong exhaust company the other day.  What I meant to say was Volant exhaust not JBA.  Jba makes headers for the VQ40 though.

Posted: May 17 2007 at 7:44pm | IP Logged

I have a Magnaflow cat back system on my truck, and whenI first had it installed, yes it was quite loud inside the cab. Like some of you, I was seriously thinking of getting it removed becasue of the drone noise inside the cab!!!!!

But after 3-4 months, it mellowed out very nicely!! Love it now!!