Exhaust, headers, and CAI

I'm looking to boost the performance of my 2012 TRD DC. I have been talking to a local performance tuning shop and they want to sell me the following:

1. Gibson exhaust
2. JBA headers
3. Air Raid CAI
4. Air Raid throttle body spacer
5. Bully Dog computer system

I know for sure that I am out on the JBA headers. There is definitely enough negative said about those on these and other forums. Sounds like Doug Thorley is the way to go there. Few questions about headers... Will they make the truck quite a bit louder? Inside the cab? Cruising speed? Or is it just when you really step on it?

For the exhaust, I'm leaving towards getting the dealer to install TRD setup since the price is the same and from what I'm reading it's a toss up between it and the Gibson. Is there a dual exhaust option out there that would give me even better performance? I'm in Canada where I don't have to pass regular emissions tests by the way...

For CAI, I am definitely among the skeptics. I only consider it because they're telling me it is a key component of their 5 step system for getting the maximum performance. I'd rather not have to fuss with cleaning and oiling a filter, but if it is going to make the rest of the system work as designed I would go with it.

Throttle body spacers, I know nothing about.

And I think that the Bully Dog computer is a no-brainer. Am I wrong?

Last question: can anyone recommend a shop in Calgary that can be trusted to this kind of work?

 

1. Any catback will do. Just whether or not you like the way it sounds.
2. URD Long Tubes & Y pipe.(it will make your truck alot louder may have to also install a vibrant resonator as well to cut down on the rasp) OR if u have to do emission checks then you could do JBA shorties.
3. Stock air box is a cold air intake but if you want to change the underhood appearance then I'd go with a AFE Stage 2.
4. Throttle body spacer is junk DO NOT BUY THIS.
5. The bully dog programmer has NOT be confirmed it gives any real performance. I'd shy away from it until we get some hard facts about whether it works or not.

In the grand scheme of things if you want more performance out of your truck your going to have to go forced induction. These mods I listed will get you small gains but like I said if you want more than a 15-20hp bump then your gonna have to pony up some bucks for a little boost.

 

Supercharger

 

I bought the Volant CAI with the under the hood ram air scoop, get rid of that charcoal filter. For the Headers, do you want More Torque Gain or HP gain. Long Tubes for your get up and go gain or go with short tubes for better HP and maybe better MPG at Highway speeds. All depends on your driving style, but deffinitely go with Doug Thorley. I also have a 2012 and JBA doesn't advertise headers for our year truck since the header design is different on 2012's and newer. I had to call Doug Thorley main office in California to get the Part number for the 2012 Headers since it doesn't pop up on their website. Personaly I would skip the throttle boby spacer. I don't believe they work on a fuel injected engine unless someone can prove it to me with a Dyno test. For the exhaust, I would just get the TRD exhaust unless you want to go custom. For the computer, I would say NAH! I would rather spend my money on the supercharger.

 

Any shop that is recommending 4 & 5 as a part of a "performance" upgrade would make me go somewhere else. Neither of those has shown any gains on an NA 4.0, and if they are recommending them, they are after your $$$ more then perf.

If you want to stay NA, try:

- a URD or AFE CAI
- URD MAF Cali
- headers (LT or ST, depending on whether you want to optimize high-end HP or low-mid TQ, respectively)
- URD Y-pipe
- 3" catback (if you want to optimize high-end HP) or just a drop in muffler and resonator as needed

 

1. Long tube headers seam the best.
2. CAI or better filter and intake mods, I think the factory intake is good.
3. Replace the muffler with stock exhaust or 2 1/2" cat back.
4. If you do a cat back you will loose bottom end HP so add the intake spacer to add low power back, the CAI, cat back and spacer all work together great...
5. A good Performance chip will help but I don't know if one is proven and you would need dyno tuning to maximizes the HP...
6. A good y pipe helps top end, not sure about low end power... No one has tested a full system that I have seen....
7. PVC delete, the pvc sucks oil into the intake and is bad for the engine, some guys run a catch can which makes no sense just delete it.
8. 170 thermostat, but may need a tuner to maximize.

After any mod reset the computer so it can learn the mods....

 

You nailed it.
Even the throttle body spacer alone would be a deal breaker for me.

Between long tube and short tube, I'd recommend going long as bottom end torque is way more useful on a truck than top end horsepower. The equal length URD long tubes are brilliant works of header design.




I'd like to get them and I don't even have a 4.0!

If you only do ONE mod... do headers. They are by far the best bang for your buck, because they improve the operating characteristics of your engine even if you don't change anything else.


Greg

 

Lucario Runner and I did before and after dyno's with the URD Y-pipe. Being that his is an automatic, couldn't start below 3k RPMs. It did make a substantial increase on the graph. For the RPMs which were tested. Link with his dyno's is in my Sig.

 

Here you go OP.

http://urdusa.com/URD-Performance-P...Package-2005-2008-Tacoma-V6/product_info.html

You can buy the components a piece at a time. Minus the UCON. Interestingly enough, with the mods in the above link, the 1GR is making nearly the same output as a bolt-on TRD S/C @ 6 psi, with no other mods

 

All trucks/cars are different for what performance mods work best... That so called performane shop needs to do there homework for 2nd generation tacomas... You will get way more power from an aftermarket y pipe vs a new muffler/catback exhaust... especially if you are 4X4... My SS JBA headers are great

 

One of you says LT is for high end HP and ST is for low end TQ, and the other says opposite. What's the deal?

Question, of the mods listed, some are said to do nothing. Would the gains be the same without those? For example, the catback and especially the CAI. If I were to buy this I would lean towards selling those.

 

Not exactly sure what you mean? If you were to buy the whole package, you would then sell the catback and intake?

Is that what you mean?

If it is then just but the pieces individually, and not spend that extra cash. However, the intake will gain you an increase in power. The catback all depends on what you have done before it, to help the engine breathe in/out. Sum of the parts is greater than the individual part.

 

stealing this link....

 

Depends on which engine you have. For the 4.0, ST = better low end, LT = better high end. For the 4-cyl, and just about any other engine out there, the opposite is true, LT = low end, ST = high end.

Now the URD equal length are totally different animals, supposed to act more like LTs for any other engine.

 

Only because I have heard they do nothing. And it says the package is cheaper than buying them individually, so you probably wouldn't want to do that either? But I understand what you're saying, they need to be used in conjuction with the other parts to reach their potential.

So it says about 50 HP gain. I wonder where this would put your MPG? More or less? I assume less.

That is confusing! Why is it reversed between engines?

 

I agree with Lurkin My thoughts is that the exhaust pulse plays a factor between a 6 cylinder and 4 cylinder.

 

I think the shop you are going to right now is not worth your time if they are recommending those mods. Save up and get a S/C installed at Cochrane Toyota. They usually have the best price in Alberta and then you'll have a power increase you can notice.

My local custom shop has been good to work with, but that's because they are a small town shop that focuses on light trucks and relies on repeat business.

 

I believe its mostly due to the tube sizes and lengths, along with the collector size. Some design considerations were given due to packaging the pipes in the stock bay. For example, the URD equal length headers need to run through the steering linkage.