Chris writes:

“Thanks for the great info regarding the Tundra 5.7L exhaust. I have a question though. The local muffler shops offer dual in dual out exhaust for the Tundra, but they use smaller crush bent 2.25″ pipes for the exhaust. Will the smaller pipes hurt the performance of my truck or break even with the OEM 3″ exhaust? I want the dual exhaust sound, but not at the expense of performance, so should I just replace the stock muffler and keep the stock single 3″ exhaust pipe or dual it out with a couple of smaller 2.25″ pipes?”

Good question.

Most muffler shops will tell you that pipe size isn’t nearly as important as pipe configuration and layout, but I don’t see any reason why you can’t have both. Smaller pipes increase back pressure, but that can be alleviated somewhat by the use of a louder muffler. But, it’s a very inexact science. Generally speaking, you should try to match the factory pipe size whenever possible.

As far as single v. double, single is usually more efficient in terms of performance. One pipe is sufficient to flow the exhaust gases, and the factory system is configured for a single pipe. If you can stand the fact that your truck will sound better on one side than the other, a single exhaust is best. However, all that being said, it’s not a huge difference between single and double (in terms of performance). If you dyno-ed both configurations side by side I doubt you’d notice a significant difference – less than 2 hp.

So, in summary, out of your two options, I like them both. Simply replacing the factory muffler is least expensive, and you might find the sound to be pretty good. If you add two slightly smaller pipes in place of one larger one, you’re probably going to break even in terms of performance and you’ll have a good looking setup. If I were to make one suggestion, it would be to find another muffler shop and get a quote from them. You might like the options they give you better.

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