Originally Posted by javyLSU

I'll preface my comments by stating that I'm not trying to say one exhaust is better than another or convince you of such - just trying to lay out some personal observations (as in "my own thoughts" - not what I "heard" from anyone else) which might help those of you who haven't had the opportunity to see and hear the exhausts in person (which is clearly the best way to pick these things, but obviously not possible for everyone )One of the things that I love the best about the Tanabe is that it produces a nice, deep hum at low RPM's - not ricey at all, but instead is a very "high-end" and classy sound. Additionally, the sound is only there when I want it to be. In other words, when I stand on the throttle, you can obviously tell that I have an aftermarket exhaust. However, in normal driving or in freeway/crusing type situations, there is no cabin drone, and this was a HUGE factor for me in selecting this exhaust. The stock exhaust, I'm sure everyone will agree, is silent. The sound you get from the Tanabe is completely different, and most definitely louder than stock. Now, in regards to the value of the system, I would disagree with you that it's "basically $600 for slightly nicer tips." It's lighter than the stock exhaust, extremely well-built, much better-looking, throws in some modest gains to boot, and I absolutely love the sound.

The LMS exhaust produces a sound that I liken more to a muscle car. It is a very throaty exhaust note, and I like it, too. If I were to pick an exhaust on ONLY sound, the LMS would probably be my pick. However, there were a couple of things that I didn't like about this exhaust: 1) the drone. I had a Magnaflow dual cat-back exhaust on my Chevy Z71 that had better road manners than this thing - as you can tell, cabin drone is one of my pet peeves. 2) More importantly, the smog inspection issue. I don't have time or the desire to come up with a scheme to pass smog tests.

That is usually true. However, the exhaust situation for this car is quite different than, say, a Ford Mustang. The 2GR-FSE engine is already a high-compression engine with a well-designed and efficient exhaust system. Low compression engines like those found in Mustangs and Corvettes tend to respond much better to intake and exhaust modifications because of their pre-existing ineffeciencies. This has basically reduced the exhaust market for the 2IS to "which sound do you like best?" unless you have connections that can help you circumvent your smog inspections. While the LMS supposedly offers the most in performance gains, there are sacrifices in luxury and regulatory compliance which must be dealt with. In the end, it's your car and your money, so spend it on what you like, don't look back!

Hope I've helped!

Javier