Which exhaust would you buy? (TRD vs Borla vs FT86Speedfactory)
 

I am shopping for exhaust systems and was hoping to get some feedback from the community. Right now, I'm bone stock and was hoping to get a bit of an upgrade in the exhaust note without having it drone or become a police magnet.

My options are a bit limited being in Canada and so far I've narrowed my potential choice down to:

-TRD Exhaust: $1,300
-Borla Catback: $992
-FT-86 Speedfactory v1 (resonated): $900 - $1,200
-Borla Axleback: $662
-Wait and see what FT-86 Motorsports comes out with next month

I am not planning on any crazy build for my car. I might go with catted EL headers down the road. Given the options above, what would you go with and why?

Borla

Borla, love mine.

Was a huge fan of the Borla axle back, and am considering ditching my Corsa for the Borla cat back.

Cat- or axle-back?

neither, all horrible choices and all OVERPRICED.

Do tell.

You give him far too much credit...

6

at most... and on a good day! ;-)

I actually quite like my TRD... but I would never pay the retail price.

I routinely see them for sale used in great shape for $500.

You guys have to keep in mind that these guys are all in canada where prices are much higher then in the US. To even buy one used and have it shipped they are looking $100 or more just in shipping costs.

Keep your eyes peeled for a used TRD. They have very good quality. I bought mine used (for 3 whole years) for $700 (CAD) and has run it for a little over a year now on a full catless exhaust and around 15 track days and winter. The thing still looks like brand new, 0 leaks, very little to no rust (only a bit around bolts in the flanges, the pipes are all clean). Very nice sound, altho probably restrictive for any kind of FI if you ever go that route later.

I think you missed my point...

What I was trying to convey is that there is a very healthy used parts market for these cars due to people like @cole who make frequent changes/upgrades to their cars and the high number of cars that get #totaled...

I am sure this is the case in Canada as well as the US, and therefor shipping costs can be avoided. Currency differences aside, the ratio of used to new prices should be relatively constant, and unlike many parts damage to an exhaust system is usually quite evident and there is little risk in buying used. I purchased my TRD system used for approximately 50% retail price, and it had less than 10 hours use on it!

Yes: I am a guilt free parts vulture!

Edit: Ninja'd!

IMO, get a muffler delete. Cheaper, less weight, and honestly not very loud if the rest of the exhaust system is OEM.

Header is where the power is and where you should spend your money. A catless header and muffler delete is loud enough to get attention, but with some driving restraint can be quite muted still, and you get 95% of the horsepower gains of doing a full system.