Exhaust upgrades that dont sound "ricey"?

[LoxRunner]

Been looking into adding a muffler for some better exhaust sound. Only problem is, it seems like a lot of options for our v6's make it sound bad to me (from what I've heard on youtube). I personally hate the sound of a "tuned" ricer. Can't stand the sound at all, sounds like absolute garbage to me. Are there any exhaust options that dont have ANY nasal ricer sound?

If not, I might just put the money towards wheel spacers

 

[Tyota89]

Find someone with aftermarket exhaust on our v6 and sample it. Hard to judge it on youtube magna flow, vortex and borla sound alright too me.
Or just spend the money else where.

 

[98WhiteT4R]

Borla XR-1 muffler

 

[02SE]

Maybe post some video examples of what sounds "Ricey" to you, and what doesn't.

 

[cashmoney]

Its a v6. There is no such thing as a good sounding exhaust. There's acceptable and crap. I'm doing a high flow cat and Borla muffler. Should sound decent and not raspy. Hoping to have it done early next week.

 

[Chuckles89]

The Thrush Welded is the best sounding exhaust for a 3.4 V6. It's not too loud, not too quiet, and it has a great tone. On the other hand, a drilled out stock muffler and straight piped sounds pretty ricey.

 

[LoxRunner]

Examples I don't like the sound of-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPhUepk4B4Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ew_Aw_rGu4

It seems to me a lot of the mufflers have deep tones to them, but also nasally raspy ones. Which I dont want any of...

This clip of the flowmaster 40 series seems to be one of the better sounding ones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljLm99G6lcE

 

[SupaSupra]

Borla XR-1 muffler

Yup. Ordered mine Monday. Will be installed Saturday.

 

[T4R2014]

Loud is subjective. I have a JBA exhaust which many told me is not too loud. Needing an exhaust, I bought it, but now I feel like a redneck driving a straight piped Chevy down the road. It sounds ricey to me as well.

I might get some hate, but I honestly feel that these things only sound good when the exhaust is quiet. My other 4Runner has an Autoparts International catback which was not only cheaper, but better quality than the JBA as well. It sounds about as close to stock as the other 4Runner did when I bought it new. Under acceleration it sounds really nice IMO, and people have told me that this stock replacement exhaust sounds really nice from the outside too.

Best part? No drone at ANY speed. 60, 80, 100, or any speed in between those is nice and quiet. I only get the nice noise of a well running 5VZ when I get on the skinny pedal. I can't say the same for the one with the JBA. I can't wait to get that POS off. Look for it in the classifieds around the summer.

 

[Unner]

Loud is subjective. I have a JBA exhaust which many told me is not too loud. Needing an exhaust, I bought it, but now I feel like a redneck driving a straight piped Chevy down the road. It sounds ricey to me as well.

I might get some hate, but I honestly feel that these things only sound good when the exhaust is quiet. My other 4Runner has an Autoparts International catback which was not only cheaper, but better quality than the JBA as well. It sounds about as close to stock as the other 4Runner did when I bought it new. Under acceleration it sounds really nice IMO, and people have told me that this stock replacement exhaust sounds really nice from the outside too.

Best part? No drone at ANY speed. 60, 80, 100, or any speed in between those is nice and quiet. I only get the nice noise of a well running 5VZ when I get on the skinny pedal. I can't say the same for the one with the JBA. I can't wait to get that POS off. Look for it in the classifieds around the summer.

I agree completely. I like quiet cars unless you're driving a classic car, or something really really special. I don't want my 4Runner to have a loud exhaust, I don't think it's possible to get a really good sound out of the 5VZ or most V6's for that matter either. There was a guy I used to see regularly with a 1st gen Taco with dual exhaust and it made my cringe...

There's nothing worse than exhaust drone either, that and raspiness (spelling?) are the worst.

 

[IsaiahC]

I'm pretty sure any muffler on this vehicle is going to sound "ricey" if you throttle it in neutral. I thought the same about my muffler but when driving, its nice in my opinion.

I have a Flowmaster 50 series

 

[T4R2014]

I agree completely. I like quiet cars unless you're driving a classic car, or something really really special. I don't want my 4Runner to have a loud exhaust, I don't think it's possible to get a really good sound out of the 5VZ or most V6's for that matter either. There was a guy I used to see regularly with a 1st gen Taco with dual exhaust and it made my cringe...

There's nothing worse than exhaust drone either, that and raspiness (spelling?) are the worst.

Exactly. I put extra sound deadening for a reason. To be quite honest, I feel that the stock exhaust was designed pretty well. The sound is just right IMO.

I feel that loud exhausts, namely on a mid 90's SUV, gives people the impression that your exhaust has holes in it.

I want the classy appeal of my quiet mid 90's 4Runner back. Now people look at me like some dumbass kid that got his first truck off craigslist to go mudding when I drive this thing. It sucks especially when most of my driving is in the NYC area. I can't stress enough of how much I hate this supposedly "not too loud" JBA. It's crude and raspy. The stock exhaust was louder than a lot of other cars anyway.

 

[Unner]

Exactly. I put extra sound deadening for a reason. To be quite honest, I feel that the stock exhaust was designed pretty well. The sound is just right IMO.

I feel that loud exhausts, namely on a mid 90's SUV, gives people the impression that your exhaust has holes in it.

I want the classy appeal of my quiet mid 90's 4Runner back. Now people look at me like some dumbass kid that got his first truck off craigslist to go mudding when I drive this thing. It sucks especially when most of my driving is in the NYC area. I can't stress enough of how much I hate this supposedly "not too loud" JBA. It's crude and raspy. The stock exhaust was louder than a lot of other cars anyway.

Yup, I had to put an aftermarket exhaust on my MK3 Supra because Toyota doesn't produce the OEM one anymore. I went to every extent to find a NOS one too. It sounds good and isn't much louder than stock at idle, but it drones at a certain RPM even after all the research and effort I put into it. I hate that drone so much...

You're right on the stock exhaust too, if mine ever rusts out I'll be going with a stock replacement. At 181k and 15 years mine is still going strong somehow.

The only "louder" thing I have on my truck is my BFG M/T's and I actually get compliments on how quiet they are for such an aggressive tire. I also rotate them every 3k miles to keep them wearing perfectly. I'm adding sound deadening to mine as I go. So far the front doors and rear cargo floor are done. I think the rear cargo floor actually made a pretty noticeable difference.

 

[T4R2014]

Yup, I had to put an aftermarket exhaust on my MK3 Supra because Toyota doesn't produce the OEM one anymore. I went to every extent to find a NOS one too. It sounds good and isn't much louder than stock at idle, but it drones at a certain RPM even after all the research and effort I put into it. I hate that drone so much...

You're right on the stock exhaust too, if mine ever rusts out I'll be going with a stock replacement. At 181k and 15 years mine is still going strong somehow.

The only "louder" thing I have on my truck is my BFG M/T's and I actually get compliments on how quiet they are for such an aggressive tire. I also rotate them every 3k miles to keep them wearing perfectly. I'm adding sound deadening to mine as I go. So far the front doors and rear cargo floor are done. I think the rear cargo floor actually made a pretty noticeable difference.

I don't mind the hum of M/T's. It's the nature of the beast and they have a purpose, unlike my JBA exhaust which is loud and provides no measurable benefit to power and/or fuel economy(I think my JBA exhaust may become a running gag now). I've been contemplating on getting some Jeep Rubicon M/T take-offs.

What sound deadening are you using? I've used Dynamat but I keep hearing that the hardware store stuff(like Peel N Seal) is just as effective.

 

[s20004runner]

The Thrush Welded is the best sounding exhaust for a 3.4 V6. It's not too loud, not too quiet, and it has a great tone. On the other hand, a drilled out stock muffler and straight piped sounds pretty ricey.

You call this not too loud??

It's definitely subjective. I got the Borla XR-1 and it's little quieter than the Thrush. [MENTION=63487]A.Wilson013[/MENTION] - His muffler Borla 40665 Turbo sound little quieter than the XR-1, which I really like. (http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/87123-wilson013s-build-thread-48.html)

I hope to do the sound deadening the rear cargo area soon.

 

[A.Wilson013]

You call this not too loud??

It's definitely subjective. I got the Borla XR-1 and it's little quieter than the Thrush. [MENTION=63487]A.Wilson013[/MENTION] - His muffler Borla 40665 Turbo sound little quieter than the XR-1, which I really like. (http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/87123-wilson013s-build-thread-48.html)

I hope to do the sound deadening the rear cargo area soon.

I "sound deadened" all of my doors, and the entire floor of my 4Runner using peal and seal from Lowes.

With my new Borla muffler I can hardly hear it on the freeway unless I stomp it or turn the OD off while going 70.

Around town it's hardly noticeable on the interior, but standing outside and hearing it go by... I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

[St Runner]

I put a flowmaster 40 on mine because it was all they had when I brought it over to St Thomas to replace the rusted out original. Too loud for my taste and the drone at certain rpms was terrible. I put a resonator in front of it and that helped a lot. Nice and deep, not too loud and no drone. I would go for the 50 series. As for "ricey", its a mid displacement v6 made in Japan. Pretty much the definition of ricey.

 

[Brilliant]

I like the trd exhaust, not ricey at all.

 

[KidVermicious]

a drilled out stock muffler and straight piped sounds pretty ricey.

Yes. Any noise a truck makes because the owners cares more about noise than performance is ricey.

OP, don't waste your money on garbage mods. If you want to sound like a truck with a V8, get a fawkin' truck with a V8 already.

 

[Unner]

I don't mind the hum of M/T's. It's the nature of the beast and they have a purpose, unlike my JBA exhaust which is loud and provides no measurable benefit to power and/or fuel economy(I think my JBA exhaust may become a running gag now). I've been contemplating on getting some Jeep Rubicon M/T take-offs.

What sound deadening are you using? I've used Dynamat but I keep hearing that the hardware store stuff(like Peel N Seal) is just as effective.

I'm actually running a set of Rubicon take-offs. Great tires especially for how cheap you can get them if you wait for the right deal. Less than 200 miles for a set of 5 for $200 after I sold the wheels on them. They fit stock suspension with very minor trimming as well.

I'm using the Peel N Seal stuff from lowes and it seems to be working just fine. I've also been applying a layer of closed cell foam to everything as I go. I used 1/8" on the doors and 1/4" on the rear cargo area, just cutting a big mat to lay under the carpet essentially. I didn't buy the name brand stuff for that either, I went with a place called the foam factory. I bought enough foam to do 2 cars for $100. Their closed cell foam is listed as a gym mat foam I believe.