Rear Cats

What's up guys? New member here. Not new to Toyota but new to 4Runners. This is the first vehicle that I have owned in 28 years of driving that I have not modded the exhaust. I took a look underneath and noticed the o2 sensors are in front of the rear pair of cats. So I'm planning on heading over to the shop here in Fort Worth that has done my exhausts for years and having the rear set of cats cuts off and pipe welded in their place.

I'm also planning on having the stock muffler replaced with a Carven muffler. I have fallen in love with Carven (US Made) mufflers. Anyone removed the rear cats on their 5th? I searched the forum and couldn't find a post about it so I would figure I would check here first.

I noticed URD makes a custom Y pipe but I have no intentions of dropping $600 for something I can have my exhaust shop make for $50. Not knocking them, but I am looking for something sound a little better and maybe pick up a little MPG.

Thanks in advance for the replies!

 

I have with a custom y-pipe and extra bungs for my wide band. I know you don't want that so you should be fine right after the O2's. I don't think you will gain what you expect but every
vehicle is a bit different so do it.

 

Did you get any where with this? Wondering how it turned out, was my exact thought for my 4runner.

 

Sorry for the delay in replying. So we originally cut the rear cats off, fabricated our own Y pips and installed a single Carven Performance Muffler. It sounded good, but not great. Lot a little throttle response, but pulled considerable harder when throttled. But I wasn't quite happy with the higher RPM fart can sound right before shifts. My muffler guy (JR's Muffler Center, Fort Worth) said he had a solution but was waiting for the right job to keep some "take off parts". He was needing a late model Dodge Ram 1500 that had the factory dual pipes coming out each side bumper. Right in front of those tips are a single resonator. Took two weeks for him to get in a late model Ram to scavenge the parts needed. So I went back this AM and where the factory rear cats were, since removed, we added these compact Dodge resonators there. Completely changed everything! The sound is VERY deep and lost all the Tijuana Taxi sound effects. This is exactly what I had hoped for in the beginning, and Juan's brainchild of robbing some small resonators off of a late model Ram was just genius. His shop is right around the corner from me so I didn't get to really drive it so I can't wait to drive more then 2.5 Miles. I just jump on the freeway just down to the next exit and I kept her floored through 80 and I would say there is a considerable difference in power and just over all acceleration. So for less than half of what UDR wants for one of their Y pipes, any reputable exhaust shop should be able to do this no problem. Someone had another shop quote them this exact work and they quoted them $600 which is just highway robbery. I have been using JR's Muffler Center for years, they have 2 location but I love their Fort Worth location just because it is close to the office, they have always done very clean work at a fraction of what other's have quoted. I can't recommend them enough. I will try to get some video uploaded on my Instagram account. @black_label_tools

 

Ron, unless the muffler shop are jerks, they should have a pile of old takeoffs that they might charge you $5 a piece for. There are a ton of those RAMs out there that have has the resonators removed. The 4Runner was just too loud without them and I lost a lot of back pressure. This is the perfect combination. I drove it home last night and it was awesome. Lot's of pep, sounded more like a tuned European V6 vs the typical far can sound I has before I put these resonators on. Cold start doesn't wake the neighbors, and it's not obnoxious when you romp on it. I think you'll be happy with the combo. Not sure where you are located but I can holler at my guy and see if he has another set laying around, or if you're not in a hurry he can set aside the next set he takes off. I'm pretty sure you can have them for free plus whatever shipping is to your location. I will try to get a video up this weekend on my Instagram page (@black_lable_tools), the only problem I have had is the Galaxy Note 8s has very sensitive sound when recording and you can hear all kinds of extra noises vs what you're trying to hear. But I will see what I can come up with this Saturday. Not that 4Runners are fast by any means, but so you can hear what it sounds like. I already posted a visual from underneath while it was on the rack. Best of luck Ron.

 

Let me know what you find out. I can easily source the pieces here and ship them to you. We lived in Rio Rancho for years in NM, and yes, there are many rural as f**k parts of NM. But I don't mind shipping you a set of these Dodge resonator take-offs. Just message me through Instagram (@black_label_tools). I'm not always on this forum. Thanks!

 

Thanks Ron, I have a pretty interesting page that covers a wide range of interests. I will try to get some videos of the newly revised exhaust up this weekend. A V6 can sound legit with a little trial and error. Just look at all of the European vehicles that sound amazing and only have a V6. I'm talking about going all the way back to the 1960's. You can have a V6 sound amazing with some trial and error and I think I have found the best combo of real engine sound, while retaining the throttle response that these engine can have. adding the Ram take-off resonators in place of the rear cats was a stroke of genius by my exhaust guy. I can't begin to explain how rad she sounds now. Replaced the stock muffler with the larger Carven Performance Muffler, took some WD40 and a scotchbrite pad and cleaned up the visible stock exhaust tip and pipe, looks better than new and turns quite a few heads. Especially other 4Runner enthusiasts. I will do my best to get some vids up over the weekend on my IG page. You guys have a great weekend!

 

Welcome from Colorado

 

What's up guys? So I have been running the exhaust with the rear cats removed and replaced with the Dodge rear resonators. I'm talking about the later model Ram trucks have the dual exhaust. Right in front of those dual tips there is a single resonator on each side. A lot of muffler shops cut those off and throw them away because it is well known in the Ram community that if you simply cut those off that your truck will sound like a V8 should. I originally ran the exhaust with out the rear cats, a custom made Y-pipe, and the larger Carven Performance Muffler. It sounded great, but it was too loud and lost a ton of back pressure. Adding those Ram take off resonators made all the difference. The back pressure is perfect, the sound is on point, and this rig screams! There is nothing high performance about a 4Runner but I can't explain how hard this thing pulls from a dead stop, and 0 - 60mph. Even the wife who drives it every now and then said "what did you do to your 4Runner? It has a lot more pep, and I had to romp on it to get around some slow poke left lane driver and it was like a totally different vehicle". I have let several 5th gen owners drive it and they hauled ass to their local muffler shop, and if they are local to me then they went to my guy here in Fort Worth. Just thought I would give you a follow up for those wanting to customized their exhaust but didn't want to piss away $500 for a Y-pipe from UDR and then $500 for a boxed exhaust that provides you little if any gain, and it is slightly louder. This is the ticket! I have been tinkering with exhausts my whole life and I know what works and what doesn't work. Sometimes it takes a little playing around with it to make it work perfect. This 5th gen took 2 trips to make it perfect. Just an update. I will try to get a video posted on my Instagram account @black_label_tools

 

Nice rig! I like your bug deflector. What is it?

 

Hey boss, thanks for the compliment. The hood lip is by WeatherTech. It's a whip to put on because of the heavy grade sticky tape on the backside. I measured several times and used a grease pencil to line up the protector with the hood as I was removing sections of the backing at a time. Once it is on, IT IS ON THERE! So take your time and measure as many times as it takes. Took me about 45 minutes to measure it and install it. Love the look and the purpose.

 

I bought the URD Y-pipe and I had it thermal coated to keep any heat away from the tranny. Its a little spendy for sure but most shops wont legally remove a cat so this was the best alternative for me.