Cat back vs muffler only. Help

[pkvir]

I have a 95 tacoma 3.4. What is the benifit, if any, in replacing the whole cat back exhaust instead of the muffler only. In speaking with two seperate muffler shops, they both suggested replacing the mufffler only, and not the whole cat back system, keeping the stock pipes. They both quoted me a flowmaster 40 intalled for under $100.00. Were they that honest and didn't want to take my money? Is there any advantage in replacing the pipes?

[alltrac165]

There can be an advantage in going up a 1/4" in pipe size because the cat heats the exhaust up significantly. Can't say how much it will help you. I can tell you that a flowmaster will be pretty loud, imho. You might do better with a magnaflow or similar. I'm running a flo-pro right now, which is similar to a flowmaster with headers and a full 2.5" exhaust and I don't like the tone. Sounds good at idle and at low rpm, but when you stomp on it and it winds up to 3k rpm or so, it gets really raspy. With the smaller stock exhaust size and manifolds, it should be quieter, but you might want to listen to one first, or get them to agree to a swap if you don't like the flowmaster.

[trd619]

if you're supercharged then upgrading to a larger pipe sizing will help a lot, if not, just do the muffler only.