TRD muffler discontinued?

[chriscarter]

Hello all - I recently tried to buy a TRD rear muffler for my 2002 Solara, but received a reply that it has been discontinued. Further checking tells me that sales are limited to stock on hand. So...I'm trying to find a less-restrictive muffler, but have never liked "glasspack" mufflers because they have a tendency to sound raw and cracking...and blow out more quickly than baffled mufflers. I found the Walker Quiet-Flow 3 muffler that seems to offer less back pressure without sounding like a straight pipe. When I was in the repair business, I tried to stay away from Walker because the finish quality was less than top shelf. Is this still the case?

Has anyone out there had experience with this piece? Relatively inexpensive at $130, but if the quality isn't here, it doesn't matter what it costs. I've also looked at Bosal and Ansa, but they don't impress me. Thanks for the input...................CTC

[DriDed]

Have you check out Megan catback exhaust for your car, here is a link:

http://www.meganracingperformance.com/search_toyota_solara_1999-2003_exhaust-systems.html

[chriscarter]

Thanks...this seems to be a glasspack muffler. Will investigate. Thanks for the link.

[S.Z.-Alpha]

TRD mufflers for Gen 1's are so damn rare. I got lucky I found one on ebay that's in good condition, but a little worn out and smoky. I will have to remachine the dang thing. I also wanted it to be gold chrome plated too. The Megan's are good but they arent flush. You might wanna try the glasspacks if you dont have any luck finding original TRD parts.

Another suggestion is replacing the whole system with OBX exhaust headers complete with the mufflers and pipes(found on ebay), it'll get rid of the old cat though. Total fo the whole replacement should be up to 600 bucks with a new cat if youre gonna do it yourself, and it would involve welding.

[chriscarter]

Thanks, SZ - I've seen the OBX system starting with headers, but I won't get rid of the cat. You're right, using the OBX with a cat will involve some serious mods to that system. Maybe I'm stuck with stock or the Walker Flow 3 (?). Haven't been a fan of Walker, but it appears to be a baffled free-er flow muffler. Glasspacks in my opinion get louder as they get used.....more miles=louder.

I think I've also seen an OBX cat-back system, but again they use a glasspack muffler.

Thanks again!..........CTC

[yaddadaimsayin]

chris, there's a thread that was recently up about one of our members looking for a quieter exhaust (i'm assuming you don't want the glasspack cuz of the sound)

here it is:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=52102&hilit=quiet+exhaust

its incomplete but keep an eye on it. someone might have a setup that you like.

[chriscarter]

Great, thanks.....I'll check it out.