myyota

I was reading a thread over at 4x4 wire that engine builder wrote about building a good 22RE engine. when it came to the exhaust he recomended using the stock exhaust manifold and 2'' pipe all the way back. now here is were i get confused, most people on here have a header and go with 2 1/4'' pipe from the header back. I have a downey header for my 86 4Runner and im also getting a new cat and muffler, but what size exhaust pipe should i go with ?, i also have a larger AFM that i will be installing soon. so help me out guys, what size exhaust pipe do you recomend i go with ?. also some time in the future i want to install an engine builder 261C cam.

abecedarian

2" pipe would be the perfect size pipe, but that's when all the bends are DOM bends (drawn over mandrel) so that the pipe is 2" diameter even going around corners. 2 1/4 pipe is a compromise when a regular muff shop is doing the bends because most do a crush type of bend that causes the pipe diameter to shrink around corners and so ends up with approximately 2" diameter when done. It's more of a cost and availability issue for most people.

Using the stock manifold vs. header is always an issue to some people. Toyota designed the stock manifold to be a tri-y design- 4 into 2 into 1. This is a good design overall offering a good balance of low-mid torque without killing higher rpm power. 4-1 headers tend to sacrifice some low-mid power over a tri-y design. Now, why go with an aftermarket tri-y? They look good and flow a bit better than the stock manifold and downpipe. Is the few extra horsepower worth 200 bucks? Maybe to some people.
In my mind- a good 22re is one that gets you there and back with minimal problems. I've never seen or heard of a header going 50,000 miles without blowing the manifold gasket, much less 200,000 like some stock manifolds have lasted.

FredTJ

So let me through it back in your court
Why do you think that you may need a bigger than 2" exhaust ?

Remember now, we're talking about an engine that passes less exhaust gas than a gnats fart...




Fred

myyota

I don`t know that i need anything bigger than 2'', thats why im asking. Look at it this way, most people on here go with a header and 2 1/4 pipe, then i read an article by engine builder that says to stay with the stock exhaust manifold and use 2'' pipe, i would think that engine builder knows more about 22RE engines than most of us, so thats why im confused. I have a downey header, and im also going to replace the cat and muffler, so thats why the question, 2'' pipe or 2 1/4'' pipe ?.

abecedarian

as I said in my reply, most exhaust shops can't, or won't bend 2" diameter pipe and guarantee the pipe is 2" diameter at every point, because they don't do a 'drawn over mandrel' process that ensures the pipe is 2" diameter. Instead, most muffler/exhaust shops simply bend the pipe using a technique that 'crimps' the bend and results in a smaller diameter within the bend.
So, using 2.25" (2 1/4") pipe basically means that any muffler shop can bend the pipe with a crush type bend and not have a bend with less than 2" diameter.
It might not be the most exact method of doing it, but does eliminate most of the outstanding variables.
If using 2.25 (2 1/4") pipe is an issue, you can spec the pipe from downpipe to the cat as 2.25 (2 1/4), from the cat to the muffler @ 2" diameter, and then from the muffler to the tailpipe be 1 7/8".

my 84 chrysler laser turbo stepped the exhaust down from 2.25 to 1.75 inch... from the factory.

myyota

What your saying makes sense, so i will go with the 2 1/4 pipe all the way back, including the cat and muffler, do you think i will see some noticable gains over the stock exhaust ?, i just don`t want to lose any bottom end torque. I also have a larger AFM that i havn`t installed yet, and im sure it will help out a little also.

algranger

i think the main reason people go larger is for sound.. when i got my 84 it had (still does) a 2.5" system and sounded pretty nice with a muffler and cat. i dont see any reason to go larger than 2.25" though. ive heard 2 is optimal i usually bring my systems from a 2.25 to a 3 for the last 20" it gives it a nice sound... for a 22r at least i guess theres nice and 22r nice

qdude79

Speaking with both Todd and Ted (Engnbldr & son), they both recommended 2" from the stock manifold, thru the cat, to the muffler. From there, 2.25" to the end. I'm almost thru a rebuild with all Engnbldr parts, including the Street RV head with the 268c stick, and that's CLOSE to what I'll be using for exhaust. Unfortunately, the new cat I bought is 2.25", so I'll be going from 2" to 2.25" from the cat back, rather than from the muffler back. Other than that, everything is Engnbldr parts, minus the water pump for shop/warranty reasons.

Now, for my own curiosity, I'll be running the "old" exhaust for about a week or so before I have the new exhaust for comparison. The bad part, it's a Frankenstein exhaust on there now from the PO, so I can't really tell the sizes. The configuration is stock though...