Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance Turbo Magazine dynos 9 exhaust systems for Celica

Just got the Sept issue of Turbo magazine, and it has a quick breakdown of 9 exhaust systems on the market for the Celica. I was surprised that they had the Veilside exhaust, since I seem to recall that it came out only a couple of months ago. Anyways, for those w/o a subscription, money, or the patience to go read a copy, here's the info:

1. Factory
MSRP: $219.60
27.5 pounds
90 mm tip
75 db at idle
76 db at 3000 rpm
161.0 hp peak
119.6 lb-ft peak

2. 5Zigen Fireball
MSRP: $N/A
26.5 pounds
85 mm tip
79 db at idle
85 db at 3000 rpm
163.0 hp peak
120.4 lb-ft peak

3. A'PEXI N1
MSRP: $560
23.5 pounds
90 mm tip
77 db at idle
88 db at 3000 rpm
164.0 hp peak
120.8 lb-ft peak

4. Blitz Nur Spec
MSRP: $530
21 pounds
95 mm tip
82 db at idle
98 db at 3000 rpm
162.4 hp peak
119.9 lb-ft peak

5. GReddy Evolution
MSRP: $599
35.5 pounds
115 mm tip
82 db at idle
83 db at 3000 rpm
166.3 hp peak
122.0 lb-ft peak

6. Tanabe Racing Medallion
MSRP: $660
29 pounds
100 mm tip
83 db at idle
93 db at 3000 rpm
166.5 hp peak
122.6 lb-ft peak

7. Rod Millen
MSRP: $550
28 pounds
95 mm tip
75 db at idle
88 db at 3000 rpm
166.4 hp peak
122.5 lb-ft peak

8. TRD
MSRP: $648
25 pounds
100 mm tip
75 db at idle
88 db at 3000 rpm
166.7 hp peak
123.5 lb-ft peak

9. Veilside Teardrop Titanium
MSRP: $690
8 pounds
115 mm tip
82 db at idle
90 db at 3000 rpm
165.3 hp peak
122.6 lb-ft peak

10. HKS Hi-Power
MSRP: $710
28 pounds
95 mm tip
79 db at idle
90 db at 3000 rpm
165.7 hp peak
121.7 lb-ft peak

Summary:

Peak Power (highest to lowest in hp):
166.7 - TRD
166.5 - Tanabe
166.4 - Rod Millen
166.3 - GReddy
165.7 - HKS
165.3 - Veilside
164.0 - A'Pexi
163.0 - 5Zigen
162.4 - Blitz
161.0 - Factory

Peak Torque (Highest to lowest in lb-ft):
123.5 - TRD
122.6 - Tanabe/ Veilside
122.5 - Rod Millen
122.0 - GReddy
121.7 - HKS
120.8 - A'Pexi
120.4 - 5Zigen
119.9 - Blitz
119.6 - Factory

Price (highest to lowest in dollars):
710 - HKS
690 - Veilside
660 - Tanabe
648 - TRD
599 - GReddy
560 - A'Pexi
550 - Rod Millen
530 - Blitz
220 - Factory
N/A - 5Zigen

Weight (Lightest to Heaviest in lbs):
8 - Veilside
21 - Blitz
23.5 - A'Pexi
25 - TRD
26.5 - 5Zigen
27.5 - Factory
28 - Rod Millen/ HKS
29 - Tanabe
35.5 - GReddy

Noise (Most quiet to Loudest in dB at idle):
75 - Factory/ TRD/ Rod Millen
77 - A'Pexi
79 - 5Zigen/ HKS
82 - Veilside/ GReddy/ Blitz
83 - Tanabe

Noise (Most quiet to Loudest in dB at 3000 RPM):
76 - Factory
79 - 5Zigen
83 - GReddy
88 - A'Pexi/ Rod Millen/ TRD
90 - Veilside/ HKS
93 - Tanabe
98 - Blitz

Keep in mind that although the numbers may differ from individual to individual, the test were done together by Turbo, so the ranking should not be that different (except price). As you can see from the little tables, TRD is probably still the best overall performer. Veilside is pretty good, except that it fall short a bit on the peak horsepower (again, can't just look at peak power, and I didn't compare the entire dyno graphs) and it's physically daunting. GReddy has previously posted on nc.org about it having a high quality exhaust and from the data gathered, it's not quite true. Even tho it's pretty darn close to the highest peak powers and peak torques, the Evolution is by far the heaviest, which more than likely offsets whatever power advantage it may have. Blitz makes very little power above factory, probably even negligible; its saving grace are sound (from what ppl have said), price (lowest next to factory), and weight (second lightest). Tanabe consistently ranks well as does Rod Millen (probably b/c of its close ties to TRD). TRD and Rod Millen also makes the biggest jump in noise at 13 dB between idle and 3000 rpm; 5Zigen doesn't change in that range.

Anyways, this may all be old news to most of you, but it was cool seeing Turbo still keeping up with its project Celica. In fact, there is a little 3 page article updating ppl on the project as well as a few scattered articles mentioning the 7 sec Celica from turbonetics. Well, enjoy!

EDIT: Oops, sorry I forgot to mention that www.turbomagazine.com [turbomagazine.com] will have sound clips of all exhausts, at least according to the magazine. The sound clips are not yet there as of July 4th.

Thats good information too know

Personally I'm glad to see that TRD is on top of its h!t. My friend has a GTS and he put the Tanabe exhaust system on his car. I must say it sounds pretty nice, looks clean.

But I'm going to stick with TRD on my celica!

I am glad I went with TRD.

i was going to go for the trd as well, but opted for the hks. hks has proven to do very well in performance parts. i know that trd is based on toyota studies and all, but i wonder if it will work well with turbo.

EXHAUST SOUNDS BY TURBO MAG [turbomagazine.com]

NUMBERS NUMBERS NUMBERS.

So I'm sitting here what all these numbers mean. I know how much power each exhaust puts out and I know how much each one costs. I know which one costs the most, and now I know thich one is the loudest. I think that the ranking system listed above is a fallacy though. TRD had the highest HP. Isn't HP and Torque related by some equation? Surprisingly the HP ranking list looks strangely similar to the Torque ranking list. So here's the deal. Why not re-analyze these numbers.

How about we figure out which exhaust performs the best using power-to-weight ratio (HP/lb) as a measure? Just because an exhaust puts out more horsepower doesn't mean its better if it is a heavy mother*****. Right? Then, what about value? Fine, we know HKS costs an arm an a leg and Devine Brown is a cheap choice for Hugh Grant. But how do you determine value? Well, to me, I think dollars per horsepower is a good measure. So here I go. I'm no statistician, but my numbers seem to make sense to me, and it kind of reorganizes your rankings...

HORSEPOWER/POUND (best to worst)
1)Veilside 20.66 HP/LB <-CHEATER
2)Blitz 7.73 HP/LB
3)APEXi 6.98 HP/LB
4)TRD 6.67 HP/LB
5)5Zigen 6.15 HP/LB
6)Rod Millen 5.94 HP/LB
7)HKS 5.92 HP/LB
8)-STOCK- 5.85 HP/LB
9)Tanabe 5.74 HP/LB <--WTH
10)GReddy 4.68 HP/LB <--WTH

DOLLAR/HORSEPOWER how much does 1 HP cost u?
(least expensive to most expensive)
1)-STOCK- $1.36/HP <-- economies of scale
2)Blitz $3.26/HP
3)Rod Millen $3.31/HP
4)Apexi $3.41/HP
5)GReddy $3.60/HP
6)TRD $3.89/HP
7)Tanabe $3.96/HP
8)Veilside $4.17/HP
9)HKS $4.28/HP

So, there's the breakdown. Of course you wonder. Who in the world is going to pay to buy an HKS exhaust that gives you only mediocre bang for your buck? Well, I think there is an untangible price on the "look" of the exhaust that affects our willing to pay.

Hope you enjoyed my perspective.

[ 09-19-2002, 06:25 AM: Message edited by: RACarboy ]

does any know of a good site that has the veilside exhaust cheap?

Damn, my HKS is weak. Should have stayed with my TRD exhaust. Oh well, I like the look of HKS a lot better than TRD.

The difference is so small, to my surprise...

The tanabe is awesome...gotta love that and the TRD.

Interesting perspective, but there are a few problems with it. First of all, the prices listed are not realistic. I know I bought my TRD exhaust brand new shipped from e-toyotas.com for $488, not $650, and I image the other exhausts sell at different prices as well. Also, the weight comparison only really makes sense if you take into account the relative weight compared to the rest of the car.

If one VVT-I sticker weighs twice as much as another VVT-I sticker one can't say that it is twice as good (cuz we all know they give about 20hp). If you redo the calculation taking into acount the relative change in the cars curb weight and the relative change in the cars overall power, then it might be a little more fair.

In the end, however, these guys don't add a heck of a lot of power and its more about the sound and look than anything else.

just a thought.

(PS- I love my TRD)


[ 01-07-2003, 08:16 PM: Message edited by: btagoc ]

wut do you guys think is the best sounding exhaust? Since exhaust isn't THAT much of a power gain, do you think it would be better to go with sound rather than performance? i've heard the exhausts and in my opinion the apexi is best. wut do you think?

tanabe super racing medallion

I agree with Silverice, definitely the Tanabe Super Racing Medallion.

I hear the Apexi gen 2 can match TRD in terms of torque and horsepower and beat them low to mid range. (can't find dynos though) So I'd go for that. Assuming of course you won't mind a relatively quiet exhaust.