CXTKRS1

Going through tons of reviews I also had the chance to listen to a TRD, Precision Muffler and a DC Sports unit. I would like to make this thread so that others would similar questions could have some answers instead of making a $400 mistake.

Toyota Racing Development

The TRD unit from what I have seen was a well constructed piece and fit was spot as per TRD construction. Price runs around $400 to $450 shipped on average. The TRD is the quiet one out of the three I listened to which of course is not a bad thing. The tone is low and mellow with little resonance into the interior of the car. I did not notice any sound resembling back fire or the stereo typical ricer rasp coming from the xD. Freeway drone blow 75mph was low to almost nonexistent as the wind and road noise sometimes would drown out the sound of the muffler (yes Louisiana roads can be that bad). If you throw the hammer down with the TRD you would have a nice loud deep tone coming out of your exhaust with the note never breaking step. The muffler tucks up in the car nicely and ground clearance would not be issue unless you lowered car a lot (guessing 1.75 inches plus)

Precision Muffler

Basically a magnaflow muffler with piping and hanger bars welded to it. Price is around 340 shipped. Out of the three this unit has the worst finish as their are exposed welds everywhere but none can be seen unless you actually crawl underneath the car. Sound is deep and mellow similar to the TRD but just a little louder. Pass up 3800 RPM and the car will get very loud. Some popping can be noticed on shifting but I have not heard any rasp during WOT passes. Fit was spot on and tucks up just fine. The tip is fairly big so it does hang down a bit to keep the bumper from turning into melted cheese. Muffler is double wall straight through design which helps cut down on resonance you hear in the car at freeway speeds.

DC Sports

Price on average from what I have seen is around $400 shipped. Fit and finish was on par with that of the TRD model. The loudest of the three by far and also the most ricer sounding. Tone is deep but can break up in the higher RPM bands and produce a rasp you can hear inside the car. Like the Precision brand tone changes can be heard on shifts as well. The DC Sports unit hangs a little bit lower then the Precision axle back which would cause someone to use caution when driving even if the car was lowered with TRD springs.


Now out of those three I went with.....





Yep the Precision muffler axle back. For me the reasons I went with the Precision unit are few but of importance. Price, sound, and clearance. This is not to say the other two axle backs are junk they are just for different people. The TRD is perfect for someone who wants an OEM Toyota product and wants to a little tone/muscle added to their xD. The DC Sports is great for someone who wants a straight up loud car. I plan to add a header to my car as well as lower it so that pretty much knocks out the DC Sports model. I would have ran the risk of scraping the axle back plus with opening up the exhaust I could have been left with a car that was just stupid loud.

I would like to thank xD owners who let me listen/drive their rides and if any members have questions feel free to ask.

Also go easy on grammar and spelling as this was all done from my Android phone. :o

xDdub

Very Nice review.
I am going for the precision muffler axleback too.

asurjc

I purchased the Precision axle-back myself as well after reading about it on this thread where someone was inquiring as to the potential existence of a magnaflow cat-back system for our cars. Like most folks have said, the installation process was quite simple, I backed my car up on ramps, unbolted the stock muffler, and bolted on the precision canister. The hardest part for me was getting the stock mufler's rubber hangers off their respective mounts and then re-hanging the included precision hangers without dropping the muffler on me or the concrete below. I saved my stock muffler just in case a cop and I don't see eye to eye somewhere down the road. Even though I'm sure this new muffler doesn't come close to violating any noise regulations where I live, the interpretation of the rules is entirely up to the guy who pulls you over. I could just see 'illegally modified exhaust' being added the bill whilst being pulled over for something else (knock on wood only one ticket in almost 14 years which is amazing considering the way I drive sometimes ).

My buying experience was excellent. I found Gabe at precision muffler to be lightning fast on email response to questions. The one concern I had was that when I put the 2 flanges together, it appeared that in order to get a decent seal, I had to screw the bolts pretty tight. The result was that the washer springs were entirely compressed. (see pic)



I emailed Gabe about this, and he said that it wasn't any cause for concern and that it would just allow for more play later on. I imagine the parts will probably seat better as they continue to heat, cool, and vibrate over time. There do not appear to be any leak issues. He[Gabe] also said that it takes about a week for the motor to adjust to the new muffler and that the sound actually deepens considerably over this span of time. I've had the muffler on now for a couple of days and it does appear to broaden the power band a little bit in addition to sounding pretty nice already. I'm thinking about combining this with an HPS short ram intake maybe with next month's paycheck and seeing what comes of it. I usually accelerate and shift for good mileage, but this is getting much harder to do lately.

imageex

Ive got the precision axle back on my xD also. Sounds amazing combined with an intake. But my car is also lowered on Tanabe DF's, my exhaust scrapes a lot. I have even bent the brackets more to bring the exhaust closer to the car, no burning or melting, but still plenty of scraping. Just be careful

Zefoxe

You dont want the springs to be fully compressed, u want to allow room for flex in the pipes

CXTKRS1

Yep I torqued mine down fully then back them off 1-2 rotation so the springs could do their job.

xD_kidd91

The trd axleback can be found cheaper if you browse around for 300 bucks shipped. Ii like it a lot but maybe wished it was abit louder. Prolly will do so with a 2.25" pipe

two.0XD

So let me get this straight...most XD owners purchase the exhaust "tip" (meaning muffler and the small piece of piping that goes over the axle) Then take it to a custom muffler shop and have them bend the pipes for them from the header back? is that right?

CXTKRS1

Yes, I would see if the muffler shop can actually cut you a deal by using an in house muffler.