11-19-07 CarbonGS Gets New Exhaust!
Special Thanks goes out to Paul's Custom Exhaust in Snellville, GA.
Here's the website!
http://www.paulscustomexhaust.com/
I highly recommend anyone who is looking for a Grade A++ installer and fabricator for any of their muffler, exhaust, catalytic converter, etc... work to Paul and his assistant Matt. He is a master at his craft and I am very very pleased with the install that he has produced for my Lexus GS!
As many of you know I have an exhaust manifold (Headers) made by Toyomoto. Due to the headers being originally made for the IS300, which is 4 inches shorter (exhaust pipe wise) there had to be some custom work done to make my setup work for my application.
I installed the headers myself and special thanks to CarbonIS for helping me with that install! He actually did all of the work!
The header pre-install
The header installed and driven for about 10 miles
This is where Paul came in.
When you arrive and pull into the garage bay behind the facility you are greeted with this work of art.
After some coaxing and ramp work we were able to get my car up on the drive on lift to begin the work.
Some pics of my original install I had. This is a great example of a poor install and bad choice in materials. The craftsmanship is horrible and Paul noticed it right away. He said, "We are definitely getting rid of this and starting all over! I can't let you leave with this still on your car."
The stock Y-Pipe with catalytic converter
A non functional H-Pipe and patching job to the two Tenzo R mufflers I had previously on the car
The new Toyomoto Y-Pipe and Remus styled Exhaust Mufflers. So nice and shiny!
You can see the horrible patch that the previous installer did here. They simply cut out part of the original piping and welded in piping in place of the old ones. This is also the last time that you'll see this exhaust on my car.
Mocking up the Y-Pipe to the Headers. There was a slight issue since the Y-Pipie is also made for the IS300 it is not ment to fit on the GS300 right where the two pipes come to one there was slight rubbing on the heat shields and Tranny plate.
So, Paul and Matt decided to heat up the pipe and bend it out of the way towards a more desirable direction instead of cutting and extending the Y-Pipe. They really wanted to keep the look of the install clean and bending the pipe was a more desirable option.
There is now a hint of blue where they did the bend. Looks pretty cool to me.
Paul decided to do a straight pipe till the rear axle to make another Y-Pipe to the mufflers. Here they are fabricating the Y-Pipe.
The product
Time to mock up one side of the exhaust. Paul wanted a clean install so he did a one piece pipe from the Y and bended it to fit.
He duplicated his work for the driver's side.
All welded together.
Here's a look from the Toyomoto Y-Pipe back.
My High Flow Cat
Paul and Matt then painted the piping with some silver coating to make it more durable and clean. With the slight angling out of each muffler I think this flows much better with the body kit that I have on the car.
Here's a link to a short video clip that I took before the install. Much higher pitched and less responsive.
Here's a link to a short video clip that I took after the install. Much deeper and more responsive.
Thanks again to Paul and Matt over at Paul's Custom Exhaust in Snellville, GA. They have taken me on for the 2008 show season and I will represent their name proudly! Great work for a great price. Check them out for all your exhaust needs! http://www.paulscustomexhaust.com/
-T
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