Hi,

I recently purchased the Borla exhaust kit for my 2003 V6. It arrives today.

A muffler shop that I am planning to install the kit recommends to hot weld the pipe joints. But the Borla warranty says that any welding to the "shell" or "end caps" will void the warranty. I believe the "shell" is the muffler outer wall. I'm not sure what the "end caps" are. The muffler shop claims that the Borla clamps will loosen over time.

What do you guys recommend?

1. Using the Borla clamps to join the pipes together.

2. Allowing the muffler shop to weld the pipe joints together.

3. Find another muffler shop.

Thanks for you advice.

-Gene

While im not a borla user, but a magnaflow guy, im sure it applies the same. The system is not ment to be welded on, as our systems are striaght bolt-up's. So you would be harming the system by attempting to weld it in. Just bolt it up, drive it for some miles, and then recheck the tightness.

Find another muffler shop....its not worth hacking a 500 dollar exhaust just cause some muffler shop says to do it. Borla is the manufacturer, listen to them. Now if the borla system is a cut and clamp system, then i would go ahead and weld but since its not (that i know of) and you will be using gaskets and large u-clamps that really can not walk themselves out once you retighten them after some miles, you are good to go.

Thanks Casper for your reply.

I'm definitely sticking with the clamps. I just talked to a Borla representative and he said NO WAY on the welding. He said if a clamp comes undone and something else on the exhaust breaks because of the clamp, Borla will replace it for free. If I would have welded any part of the system, then I would be out of luck if something cracked or if the exhaust tips starting peeling or if other manufacturer defects occurred even if the weld point was not related to the defect.

I found another shop that will install it based on the Borla's instructions and the way I want it installed.

Tomorrow morning is when they install it. I can't wait to hear and feel the new system.

Regards,
Gene

Tell that muffler mechanic to keep his welding equipment away from your Borla!

I installed the Borla Cat Back system on my 2003 4R Limited baqck in Nov 2003 when my truck had just over 5K Kilometres on it. Since my truck was fairly new at the time and there as no corrosion on the hardware, I installed it myself in about 45 minutes. Pretty easy job.

My 4R has just over 47K Kilometres on it now and the clamps have not loosen at all except for when I loosened them myself to adjust the muffler tips for concentricity. I found one tip seemed lower than the other but once I adjusted them, they are okay now. Enjoy the Borla. Its's a great system and sounds awesome.

This weekend I am installing the K&N Air Charger High Flow Intake Kit. I am looking forward to seeing how that sounds and performs.

Regards -TM-

Hi Toy-Man,

I used another muffler shop that did it the way right way....with clamps.

The advantage of the clamps is the ability to fine tune the alignment so that the left and right sides are symetrical...similar to what you did.

The shop did it in about 1 hr. and 45 minutes but only charged me for 1 hour labor. He had trouble with the left side. It was lower than the right side. He then had to loosen the clamps to re-align it and slowly but surely he got it right! Good job on yours...only 45 minutes...very good!

Gosh when he first started it in their service bay, I said WOW. Man this V6 sounds throaty, mean, and fast. I can't imagine what the V8 would sound like.

And the drone is not bad at all from inside the cabin. I thought it would be worse. At 2000 rpms and higher you can hear it, but it is not annoying. Below 2000 rpms it's deep but suttle. As soon as you jump on the gas though, you can definitely tell a difference.

Good luck on your KN kit. I saw that one online and I am thinking about going for it also. Pick up or start a new thread on how it performs, okay?

Thanks again to all,

Gene

I've done it from other side. I've installed K&N and it sounds like I have V8. Most of all I got 1.5 l/100km (~2mpg) fuel economy with it. The only thing now is I so like the sound, so pushing my 4Runner in ~1000-1500rpm as usual and fuel economy disappear. My second idea was installation of Borla or Magnaflow. Have you installed all exhaust system or just muffler? Have you notice any change in performance?

AlexJet and others,

I have had the Borla system installed for almost two years now. Just today, I installed the K&N Air Charger Kit.

Three complaints I had with the Install of the K&N Air Charger Kit:

1. The pictures included in the instructions are not very big and of course the instructions in most of the steps say to install according to the picture. After a bit of fooling around I was able to figure it it all out, but this could be a show stopper to someone who is not too comfortable doing it themselves.
2. When installing the (Mass Air Flow Sensor) MAS on the K&N Tube. It fits snug in the tube, as it should, and makes a good seal but the screw holes do not line up exactly forcing it to twist ever so slightly as it is tightened down. That is a bit is a bit "hokey", but shouldn't cause any problems down the line.
3. They were suppose to supply a new, approx 18 inch, piece of vac hose to replace the original one which is too short to fit on the K&N Tube. Well as Murphy would have it, I did not have this in the box, so an unplanned trip in my wife's Corlolla to the local Crappy Tire Store fixed that problem.

I haven't had it on the highway yet but a quick trip around the block tells me that the sounds is definitely different, not too loud, just right and it seems to complement the Borla sound.

I am taking my wife out to dinner this evening so I will be on the Highway shortly, Can't Wait. I will let you know how it sounds on the highway later.

Regards -TM-

Congratulations, you've done it...
Seriously, regarding your complaints:
1. I didn't mention that pictures are too small. It was pretty easy for me to install it. I'm professional engineer, so I just used the one with all parts drawn together (engineering drawing) .
2. My mass sensor was perfectly fit without any problems. Did you use small plastic thick washers that have to be installed between MAS and tube?
3. Yes, my kit also didn't have 18" vacuum hose, so I made a huge complain to manufacture about it and describe them that they have serious problem with packing. They were surprised, then apologized for a few minutes and send me necessary vacuum hose via express next morning air service. So everything went perfect.

Tell us how it sounds with Borla. Is your Borla actually loud in cruising speeds?

AlexJet,
Just getting ready to head out the door now but have a couple of minutes.

I never thought of using the expanded diagram. I am not an engineer (LOL). The MAS fit perfectly in the tube and I did use the spacers but the actual screw holes on my tube were a bit off for the MAS. Not a big deal but I think it was worth mentioning.
At cruising speed (for me 120 Kph) the Borla is very quiet but at 90 - 100 Kph it seems to be loudest (rpm is around 2000 at that speed) It took some getting used to but I like it now, I try to avoid travelling at 100 Kph for long periods because of the droning.

Cheers -TM-

I heard somewhere that any 03-04 system will not work with the 05...I dont remmeber what the reason was, but an exhaust system is next on my wish list. If the Borla (and/or TRD) from a 03 can work on a 05 that would be sweet.

Can someone post some pics and more importantly, sound clips or videos? Thanx!

The only thing Toyota changed from 03-04 to 05 in V6 were new 5 speed automatic transmission (previous 4 speed). I think that's the only major change, that's what I was told by my dealership.

Toy-Man, Can you post some pictures of your TRD 18" wheels. Are they for 4Runner? They look nice from your avatar. What tires are you using with them?

Posted the tire info in a new thread '18" TRD Wheels'

GL -TM_

I'm trying to find out about this also. I have a '05 V8 4X4 Sport Edition and I hear the TRD exaust does NOT fit unless you remove the spare tire! Not sure about Borla exaust either. I think the problem lies in the Tow Package and/or placement of the spare. I've been asking around here and the manufacturers and I'm not getting that many definite answers as to when anything will be available for us '05 VVT-i V8ers. If there's any info you guys have... please share. oh and btw... same for the FIPK K&N preformance intakes... there's still no news if they should/can be used for the VVT-i V8's.