86 4x4 exhaust advice

[grog]

Hear is the situation I am replacing the exhaust on my ride and am going to have to do the manifold as well as it has a leak if not a crack. I do not want to do any damage she is just a daily driver, I would love some more juce and a sweet sound but lets not blow any eardrums.

I have called the local speed shops and asked about bolt on units but the closest thing to a complete system is still short the cat. converter (if I dont need it I won't put it on) and around $500USD.

Q - Do I need a cat. converter?

Q - Will a header give me what % more power?

Q - How big is necessary 2", 2 1/2"?

Q - People talk about reducing the back pressure too much?

If you have a thought lets have it!

[Tercel GTS]

22r?

[grog]

Yeh....sorry I posted in a hurry, 22re with nearly 150000m stock

[Sunday BBQ]

First of all, I have to say DAMN, this place is dead! I'm new here but no one ever seems to help much. It's just a bunch of friggin' questions with no answers! I"ll try to help:

1. Do you need a cat? Well, no, you don't. Do you want to pass smog? Then yes, you need a cat. I don't know much about these pickups because I'm new to the seen, but in the rice world (imports) taking off the cat increases the sound only a little, often deepening it. It relieves lots of backpressure which was good in the import world, and I don't see how it could hurt too much with your application. At lower speeds, maybe you will lose some torque, but you will def. gain high-end horsepower.

2. A header WILL give you some horsepower, but very minimal since you aren't pushing out much horsepower anyway. I wouldn't go spending lots of money on one unless your REALLY want a complete exhaust sytem. You can't really make these trucks fast without some sore of FI or engine swap so I wouldn't bother.

3. I would say 2.5 inch would be plenty if not too much. Don't go over that. Another thing to consider; a complete custom exhaust without a cat, and even with a muffler, would be loud. Stock exhaust and aftermarket ones come with special sections on the piping lined with sound-resonating (like a gun silencer) that makes it quiet.

4. Yes, a big exhuast and header, and no cat, will lose you lots of backpressure but it really frees up the high end. I wouldn't be too worried though because personally I like the way it feels. But don't go spending lots of money.

I don't know... I tried to help so if you have any more questions, shoot. I'm not an expert, just my 2 cents.

-Adam

[Sunday BBQ]

And another thing, don't go spending $500 on the stock cat. You can get high flow cats or sound resonating test pipes for much, much, cheaper. Or just gut your stock one by ripping all the insides out.

[rafiki]

If you are only running a stock set-up thean by all means keep the cat. Unless there is problems (running rough,rotten egg smell) the cat is working fine. There are no HP gains from removing the cat, and since I don't know the local laws where you live it maybe illegal to do so. If all you are looking for is a different sound replace the mufflers with Flowmasters or Borla (if they make a replacement) when you replace the manifold/piping. A header for the 22r/22re Cost about 200-300$ (for a good one) and you could probably see an increase (small) in torque. I too am not an expert but I hope this helps. Goog Luck

[Tercel GTS]

I have a Downey header for a 22r/e with 2.5" exhaust to the rear axle premade. The header was chrome, but an unbalanced weber turned it purple about 20 seconds after initial startup. Interested?
I also have a few other CHOICE 22r parts you may be interested in.