rickgoof

Ok i am going to go with a new exhaust for my 4runner. My problem is i dont know if i can justify spending over 400bucks for just the headers (headers +oil cooler relocater) then have to buy an exhaust to work with it.

Question: if i eliminate the crossover from the manifolds and make it go to a y pipe 2.5" thru a high flow cat and a new muffler, will i pick up reaosnable gains or comparable to headers hooking up to a stock system?

i only have 1000 dollars to spend and with everything i want to do the exhaust seems to be taking up most of it i.e. headers.


Im at a crossroads here as far as mods. Im getting downey hds, shocks, performing the silencer eliminate mod, and exhaust, only variable is headers or not, but this will be awful close to my budget.

looking for recommendations/guidance

ManyMods

I would like to offer M2C here and say, if your OE headers are restrictive, and most are, and if you can select a header design that offers you better flow than your OE manifolds, and some don't, then headers are a really good bang-for- the-buck performance mod ... much better than a so-called high flow exhaust that really only adds noise and bling bling. I have said this before, but not all so-called high-flow cats flow better than the OE cats.

If I follow what you are saying about eliminating the crossover an going to a y-pipe further back, it sounds like you would be improving the scavenging effect of the system, so that would be a good thing. That makes sense to me but I am not sure.

The reason why I went to the TRD system and opted against the headers is because I did not want the hassle of headers if I sold the truck. Headers would be a detriment on the open used car market. The exhaust system is an easy disconnect.

rimpainter.com

By the time you have someone fabricate the Y pipe you are thinking of, you will most likely have spent the equivelent of your header cost anyway. That just might be why the headers make such a difference on the Toyota V6, but I am not sure. It most likely is in conjunction with the removal of the stock manifolds also.

You should be able to pull off the headers and exhaust upgrades you are describing for under $1000.

(I am assuming you are doing the work yourself, everything but the exhaust anyway)

Dr. Zhivago

On the 3.0, the stock x-over is horrific. You can tell just by looking at it how much power is wasted. They have the left bank dumping straight into the right bank and then the whole thing is squeezed into a tiny downpipe.

In my opinion, yes making a new x-over would be beneficial, but I'd suggest headers instead. Yeah, they're expensive, but they'd make the most noticeable power increase as long as you don't have huge tires on the truck and haven't re-geared. Re-gearing, while also expensive, will help a LOT with the getting power you do have to the ground if you have upsized your tires from stock.

There really isn't anything you can do to create earth-shaking power from that engine. Ask any factory trained Toyota tech and they'll tell you it's a boat anchor. Sorry 3.0L owners, no offense intended, just being honest.

My .02
Dr. Z