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Stock Muffler Construction?

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FireDemonSiC

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Does anyone know, or better yet, have photos of how the factory mufflers are internally designed on the Explorer ST models?

Wanting something that sounds a little more aggressive than the factory Prius exhaust and better flow is always a plus. On my '17 Sport, I had a resonator delete done and the stock mufflers replaced with Flow FXs. REALLY loved that setup. Zero rasp or popping through the exhaust. Looking through the videos though, I have yet to find anything on the 3.0 engines that I think either has rasp or sounds like a 4 cylinder Honda.

For the first change, I was thinking of going with a dual in/out Borla ProXS in place of the factory resonator. Have one of these on my 6.0 truck and the straight through design plus internal X Really does a fine job of cancelling out any obnoxious rasp in the exhaust while flowing very well.

Screenshot_20231011-031907.png

Depending on how it sounds after, I'm highly tempted to just keep the factory mufflers in place. Are they a straight through perforated design or are they baffled/chambered?
 

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Novagunner

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Last edited:
jrgoffin

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I have a set of stock mufflers I removed when swapping in the Gibson axle-back - have been tempted to cut one open out of curiosity before they get scrapped. If I do it, I’ll snap some pictures.

On that note, the Gibson kit has an amazing sound and is a fantastic bang-for-the-buck at around $500. They did their homework when producing this kit since all the others just charge two- to three-times the cost for little to no performance gains. Adding to that, so many of the kits out there just sound like crap whereas this one adds a perfect, but not obnoxious, rumble. It’s your cash - spend it wisely!
 

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Cdubya

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jrgoffin said:
I have a set of stock mufflers I removed when swapping in the Gibson axle-back - have been tempted to cut one open out of curiosity before they get scrapped. If I do it, I’ll snap some pictures.

On that note, the Gibson kit has an amazing sound and is a fantastic bang-for-the-buck at around $500. They did their homework when producing this kit since all the others just charge two- to three-times the cost for little to no performance gains. Adding to that, so many of the kits out there just sound like crap whereas this one adds a perfect, but not obnoxious, rumble. It’s your cash - spend it wisely!
Click to expand...
Gotta say, I ditched my Gibson axleback. I could not figure out the higher pitched hum/drone i was getting at 2-2.3k rpm. I couldn't in good conscience resell it if there was a defect in the mufflers so I trashed them. Also, not happy with how rusted out they looked after less than a year. Ended up with MRT H-pipe and stock mufflers with black 4" tips. Couldn't be more pleased.
 

jrgoffin

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Zero complaints with my Gibson kit. Sounds fantastic at all RPM’s. Not worried about rust since it has a lifetime warranty. The MRT stuff is nice, too. Had the H-pipe briefly and it had a nice bump in sound with the stock mufflers.
 

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FireDemonSiC

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jrgoffin said:
Zero complaints with my Gibson kit. Sounds fantastic at all RPM’s. Not worried about rust since it has a lifetime warranty. The MRT stuff is nice, too. Had the H-pipe briefly and it had a nice bump in sound with the stock mufflers.
Click to expand...
I did a bit of poking around and the Gibson kit seems to be a chambered/baffled design. A bit disappointing especially for the price point.
 

jrgoffin

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FireDemonSiC said:
I did a bit of poking around and the Gibson kit seems to be a chambered/baffled design. A bit disappointing especially for the price point.
Click to expand...
What’s disappointing about it? The kit sounds fantastic and is priced right. I was happy to spend less than $500 for it as well.
 

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FireDemonSiC

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jrgoffin said:
What’s disappointing about it? The kit sounds fantastic and is priced right. I was happy to spend less than $500 for it as well.
Click to expand...
Chambered and baffled mufflers are more restrictive than a straight through, perforated design. Some people will argue that it's by a negligible amount and they wouldn't be wrong, depending on the exact design. But I've always been the type of person to check all boxes possible.
 

GearHead_1

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This may be of some interest.

 

jrgoffin

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The Gibson mufflers are not restrictive at all.
IMG_7156.jpeg
 

flhx06

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I bought a pair of Paradox Hot Tamale mufflers and had my local shop install them with new muffler tips in place of the stock mufflers. I love it. It sounds good, not too aggressive and no drone.
 

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FireDemonSiC

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jrgoffin said:
The Gibson mufflers are not restrictive at all.
View attachment 20003
Click to expand...
OK that's alot better than I was expecting. Basically straight through with a small chamber in the middle.
 

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The wife's st

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flhx06 said:
I bought a pair of Paradox Hot Tamale mufflers and had my local shop install them with new muffler tips in place of the stock mufflers. I love it. It sounds good, not too aggressive and no drone.
Click to expand...
could you please do a sound clip inside and outside? I'll PayPal you for your time. I have a 2020st and want to dot his exact setup with no drone. I dont like any of the exhaust systems. They all sound terrible in my opinion
 

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BeyondEOD

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Cdubya said:
Gotta say, I ditched my Gibson axleback. I could not figure out the higher pitched hum/drone i was getting at 2-2.3k rpm. I couldn't in good conscience resell it if there was a defect in the mufflers so I trashed them. Also, not happy with how rusted out they looked after less than a year. Ended up with MRT H-pipe and stock mufflers with black 4" tips. Couldn't be more pleased.
Click to expand...
You have any videos of this setup?
 

flhx06

flhx06

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The wife's st said:
could you please do a sound clip inside and outside? I'll PayPal you for your time. I have a 2020st and want to dot his exact setup with no drone. I dont like any of the exhaust systems. They all sound terrible in my opinion
Click to expand...
I will try and get a sound clip today of a start up. However I am not great at this kind of stuff but will give it a shot. The mufflers do sound great but I must admit that after break in they have gotten a lot louder inside the vehicle on pulls up hills, acceleration, etc. I like it but it may be an issue for some. I actually just (2 days ago) ordered the AWE exhaust for mine as I have been dealing with flex pipe issues from the stock exhaust.
 

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Cdubya

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BeyondEOD said:
You have any videos of this setup?
Click to expand...
MRT H-pipe is fairly subtle...adds a little more low, throaty tones. Most would say not enough sound but I don't mind.
 

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