legacycentral bbs

Well, researching on my new car, I've been trying to find parts that would be most beneficial in the long run (of course). Supposedly, this car responds best to a trd exhaust. Now looking at the thing I can only assume that it's just a shiny stainless straight pipe with the TRD logo and welded on tip.

Coming from the turbo legacy DIY background (YEAH!) I'm wondering whether I'd just be able to have someone make a mandrel bent copy . . . what say you? I see a resonator, I think, but other than that, it looks pretty straight forward.

http://www.jscspeed.com/celica/exhaust/trd_kazuma.htm

Yeah, looks like a straight pipe to me.

Looks kind of sketchy actually. Are the bends just cut and welded angles?

Just have any shop custom bend you up a 2.25 or 2.3" pipe and weld brackets, and be done.

Probably cost you less than $200. I don't know anyone around here that will do a custom mandrel bend though. MAYBE Mainstreet Speed and Sound in Damascus, but they are expensive and don't do very good work (as noted in Roman's SHO, they FUBARD the exhaust a bit).

There's a guy at a gas station near me that might have access to a mandrel bender. I think he was able to make a custom header for his car.

Damn, see if you can hook that up.

My mechanic has a pipe bender, but I don't know if it's mandrel or not. Chances are, probably not. I know of a few shops that will weld you a custom pipe out of various bends and such.

I'll ask him and see what he says. We might also want to look into contacting Rallispec in NJ. I'm almost positive they have a mandrel bender.

I will call a few friends and see what I can come back with.

That was fast. A quick call to Agile Auto and they can bend.

410-628-9099

Be warned though. The cost of steel has gone through the roof lately. If you can, wait a little while before you buy.

Why would a TRD exhaust require cutting and welding to install onto a Toyota?

You might have trouble with emissions without a catalytic converter, though, right?

I think Jason's thinking of just making his own version of the TRD exhaust.

The web page linked to in the first post says the exhaust requires cutting and welding. Seems weird to me.

Nah, Matt, the site says cutting and welding is involved.

I'm with Vikash, Seems odd.

But, I think the TRD setup is going to be cheaper than a custom mandrel bend. I asked Hill at Agile and he said a mild steel pipe would be like 325 ish, and Stainless would be like just under 500.

A custom off job is going to be more expensive because it's just a one-off thing. Sometimes it's cheaper (like fabbing a custom exhaust for the Turbo Legacy would be cheaper than adapting a WRX system), but most times (like a huge car like a civic, or in this case, a Celica) it's not cost effective.

The $325 might not be such a bad deal afterall.

vrg3 wrote:The web page linked to in the first post says the exhaust requires cutting and welding. Seems weird to me.

BAC5.2 wrote:Nah, Matt, the site says cutting and welding is involved.

Sorry guys, I didn't actually read any text on the site, I just looked at the picture.


I'm with Phil on the price. $325 seems like a pretty good price.

I don't undertsand why you'd need to cut and weld an exhaust that's made for a specific car though either.

Ahh, I didn't know that Vikash responded. Whoops.

what are you talking about, that pipe is bent, and in more than one place!

haha.

Yeah, I am considering just making my own exhaust based on the TRD design. BAC5.2, thanks for the heads up. ut considering I'd be doing all of the suspension work anyways, I think I have at least a good year before I do any exhaust work.

And for the welding and cutting, the design of this exhaust and the path of the exhaust is completely different than the stock system, which has a lot of bends to it to accomodate the canister. Since the canister's deleted, they could free up a room for better bending of the exhaust pipes.

I don't think I'll have issues with a custom setup (or this trd one) since it retains the stock cats.

A friend of mine has a trial exhaust on his celica...sounds fantastic! I have no idea how expensive they are, he got his for free cos he's sponsored

http://www.trial.co.jp/trial-usa/origin ... s_menu.htm

Man, that exhaust looks like a rip off! Nothing but welded sections, not even mandrel. I bet it's expensive as shit too because it comes "over night from ja-pan".

I think I'll stick with the TRD Kazuma. The Trial seems to retain the stock bends which seem to be pretty restrictive, whereas the TRD has a straighter path for exhaust flow. Around the same price, too, if not cheaper than the Trial.

If it's of any interest right now, my mechanic has a mandrel bender.

D&D Mechanical in Gaithersburg.

Been my mechanic for years, I have no doubt in my mind that he could bend you up a good pipe and at a decent price too.

Hey man, glad to see someone else here has a Celica. My advice to you is to hear a Kazuma in person before you actually buy it. It is hands down the loudest exhaust i've ever heard on any car. I can't imagine that it is even bearable to the occupants. It sounds awesome, but we seriously heard a guy coming to the Celica meet we had a few years back about 3 minutes before he actually got there. You might like it, but listen to it first. I would visit www.celica.net for more info on it, we have a lot of intelligent people over there that wouldbe glad help you out, just use the search function before you post about something.
Hope this helps, and enjoy that Celica,
Ben

Hmmm, thanks for the tip. My old car was loud, louder than my roomate's Tanabe exhausted s2000. Assuming this exhaust is louder than those, I might have to reconsider. Do you know of any good performing exhausts that are quiet? I'm getting used to this stock sound and REALLY liking it.

I don't know nearly as much about the 7th Generation Celicas as i do about the 5th's, but i believe that TRD makes another exhaust that is not the kazuma which is much more ear friendly. Yes, it is called the TRD sport, sells for about 475 and actually has a muffler, unlike the kazuma. Celica.net has 2 MP3 files in the 7th gen forum (scroll down) comparing the stock and the Sport muffler sound. It is in the FAQ stick at the very top of the 7th gen forum. They also have a review of it there. I also just read its only an axle back system, so you may want to try some other aftermarket companies, they offer some systems i'm sure.

Jason - I'm going to Agile Auto on Saturday to have Mike build me a Turbo-IC pipe. If you're around, you are more than welcome to come along and talk to them.

Mike and Hill are exhaust guru's.