Best exhaust routing for performance and not necessarily sound?

Sup everyone,
I was originally in the market for a tundra but when I went down to the Toyota dealership, long story short, I laid eyes on a speedway blue 08 access cab tacoma and knew I couldnt leave without it after a test drive. Needless to say Im in love with this truck but I think the time has come to make it not so stock. Appearance wise, Im very happy with the truck as it has the hood scoop as well as the 17" rims from toyota so I want to go straight into performance with it and the first thing Im looking to do is upgrade the exhaust system. After looking under the truck and seeing that theres plenty of room to work with, I began researching and came across the flowmaster dual exhaust kit. I really like the way it looks but when it comes to performance, is it best to go dual or stick with a single? I dont know much about exhaust but in theory, wouldnt it actually be better to stick with a single outlet and do a muffler swap? Im sure the duals will be louder (and ill admit they do look better) but Im looking to get what is best for the performance, not the loudest. (I hate when I see a really loud car/truck that sounds good but when it takes off, it looks like its going in slow motion) In the near future, I also plan to get one of those URD intakes but as of right now, I dont think Im going to mess with the headers or the cats. Ive got another vehicle if I really just want to ride around and scare people or set off car alarms. Anyone got any light on this topic?

 

Thanks for the welcome and thats a very descriptive and good write up youve got there. Nice to know exactly how air goes through the motor. Ive heard from outside sources that flowmasters were more restrictive than stock and such but I never believed it because I would think a company as popular as that would know how to make the right muffler. I can tell you know what you are talking about and I believe you and the rest now. Looks like Ill be staying away from that flowmaster kit and a flowmaster muffler for that matter. I was also told that the stock exhaust on a vehicle was actually a decent set up and it makes sense now from your write up because Im sure they know how the engine works. Thanks alot for the set up, Im about to go look up that dynomax super turbo muffler right now. Again, big thanks to you Chris for clearing up some things about the motor. I really dont care how it sounds as long as it doesnt sound like one of those "rice rockets" or whatever they call em nowadays. Anyone else can still feel free to respond.

 

Looks like the dynomax will be what Im going with. I liked what I saw and I see others have good things to say about it so sounds promising, cant wait till Im off next week to have it done and continue on to the tcai