GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I installed my TRD exhaust tonight! I ran the car through the wash first so the underbody wash could knock the road salt off for a cleaner install. Install went easy, after I put some diswashing soap on the rubber mounts so I could remove the old exhaust! Total install time was about 45 minutes, which included time searching for tools and messing with the mounts before I soaped them. I used standard ramps to elevate the rear of the car and had plenty of clearance. The exhaust was polished to a high shine from tip to flange and was shipped with a lot of protective plastic masking. The flange where the spring bolts are attached is much heavier than stock. Total shipping weight, including a huge 4'X4' box was 30 lbs. The fit was excellent and the tip is perfectly centered in the opening. As others have reported, the sound is a nice deep base at idle. For my test drive I used the same route I drive to work every day. Right away when I pulled out of the neighborhood I felt a noticable difference. The difference seems most significant between 2500 - 4000 rpm, which is right where I wanted it. The difference is less at the higher rpm's where I rarely drive although the engine"feels" like it is breathing easier. Noise is only moderately increased. At cruise is is slightly louder, while noise under load or when when slowing down with "engine braking" is much increased, but not offensive. At no time is there any mad-hornet sound, which I personally think sounds cheap. I don't have my own dyno chart, so the performance observations are subjective. However, I found an interesting link on matrixvibe.net to a muffler comparison test done for the Celica. My perception of improved responsiveness (torque) between 2500-4000 rpm seems to be supported by the chart. http://www.turbomagazine.com/tech/0209t ... index.html It looks like the stock muffler is different for the Celica, so the comparison is not direct. I bought the exhaust "on sale" from an offer on matrixvibe.net from Carson Toyota. Next week I'm taking it on a 1,000 mile road trip to Indiana and back, so I'll get very familiar with the the new sound!

Lorin,How do you like the exhaust now that you've had it for a while?

I LOVE IT! (Sounds like something you'd hear on Trading Spaces doesn't it?) Seriously, it has a great sound and it has really helped out in the low end, torque wise. This is subjective of course, 'cause I don't have a dyno chart to validate it. My only complaint is it gets a little loud at my standard highway cruise of 80 mph. 80 mph happens at 3500 rpm, which is where the volume peaks. +or- 5 mph and it tames down. But for me, 85 is too fast and 75 is too slow! I rarely break 60 in my commute (except during a race) so this isn't an issue on a daily basis, and I usu. only do serious road trips with the Vibe 3-4 times / year. If I had to choose between the exhaust and the CAI, I would choose the exhaust because it seems to provide the most benefit where I drive most.

Will the TRD Exhaust work on the Base Vibe also?

TRD makes an exhaust for the base model, XR. you will spend a little more for it because of the name. If i get an exhaust, it will be a TRD one unless someone else comes out w/ a dual exhaust system w/ straight pipes out the back!

How would one find the part number of the TRD exhaust for the base Vibe/XR?Any recomended online dealers in TRD parts?

well, i have dealt with carson toyota in CA, Romania Toyota in OR, and Conicelli Toyota somewhere on the east coast... i would recommend any of the them, i'm sure you can look them up online. best pricing i found was thru carson or conicelli.

Thank you! I appreciate the info.

How does the TRD exhaust compare to the Magnaflow, as far as noise, power etc? Anyone? I'm seriously thinking about getting an exhaust very soon!Thanks

It all depends if TRD's is a true cat-back, and I don't think it is.

question... when changing the exhaust... if you went with only the axle back(borla) while your in the process of changing out the pipe and (removed).. would it hurt the car to start it and drive it around the block just to see what it sounds like running straight pipe? i really want to hear what it sounds like with no (removed)!

I'm assuming the 1000-8300 explosions per minute x4 would be quite loud!

There was a video of a guy either on this board, matrixowners, or matrixvibe doing just that! Loud.