Thanks! I think the new tip totally gives the exhaust a quality look, especially when you compare it to the tip it came with. The sound is deep and mellow. In the cabin you will not hear it past 2k RPM. So you only really hear it when slowing down to stop or cruising between 35-45 mph (in 4th gear with the auto trans). It's loudest at 1500 RPM. I visited my parents, who live at the bottom of a hill last week and my mom said I drive like a maniac. I came down that hill in 3rd gear and just coasted it. I wasn't driving fast at all, but if you use engine braking while coasting downhill the exhaust will drone a bit. I guess it's loud from the outside under those conditions.

Here's a video (not mine):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz_yzWNegBE

I've talked to the guy on another forum. He also changed the tip (not seen in the video).

Yes, I'm still running the stock shocks. The only ones out that I know of are the TRD and Tokico shocks. The Tokicos have been on eBay for $315 a set which isn't bad.

Here's a pic of the tip that came welded on this exhaust. As you can see it looks pretty cheap and the opening is narrower than the pipe, so it seemed a little restrictive.



I had a new Magnaflow 35175 tip welded on that looks much nicer.



Then I needed to decide whether or not I wanted to paint the inside black.



I liked the black better so I did painted it with VHT header paint. I also raised the whole exhaust (not pictured) so that it's now hanging about 1/4" from the bottom of the bumper.

mustrd,

Even the NFs leave a bit of gap in the rear wheel wells. I've carried loads in without problems and I even have a bike rack that's hitch-mounted which probably weighs close to 150lbs when loaded with my 2 heavy cruiser bikes. That rack hangs out 2-3ft behind the vehicle so it puts a lot of downforce onto the rear suspension. Every time I load the rear of the vehicle, it will drop a little more, but it doesn't get slammed - more like level.

People have used stock 1st gen xB springs to lower the rear end of the xB2. It evens out with the front but I bet it must lessen the load-carrying ability significantly. It's just not the proper way to drop a vehicle and maintain load capacity. In order to maintain that capacity and lower the vehicle, something has to be traded off. That trade-off comes in the form of firmer springs. The best part about aftermarket lowering springs is the progressive design. The first bit of travel is soft and the more you compress the spring, the stiffer it gets. This keeps cruising nice and comfortable and handling improves the more you push it. It's the best of both worlds. The NFs feel like stock, maybe even better. the Eibach Pro Kit feels stiffer and rides accordingly.

I think springs like the TRD, NF210, and Eibach Pro kit are the middle-ground solution. Springs like the DF210, Eibach Sportline, Hotchkis, Sprint, etc. (over 1.5" drop) are more extreme.

To to add a little confusion to the mix...

I had originally dropped my car on Eibach Pro Kit springs (1" front/1/2" rear). It handled great, but I wanted the rear to be a little lower. I found a used set of Tanabe NF210s and put them in. The first thing I noticed was that the NF210s are physically longer than the Eibach Pro Kit springs (when you look at them unloaded). But if the drop of the NFs is the same in the front and more in the rear, that must mean that the Tanabes are softer (while still dropping the car lower).

I noticed this right away as I got a little bit of the body roll back whan I switched from the Pro Kit to the NF210s. I think the Eibach Pro Kit has the advantage in handling over the NF210s. The ride was also stiffer. The NF210s are soft (in a good way).

So if you want a plush ride and a nicer stance, get the NF210's. If you don't want to lower the car as much, but want improved handling, get the Eibach Pro kit.

I wish I knew where the TRD springs would match up in this comparison. I would guess that they would be more similar to the Eibachs. And that's only because I read somewhere on the interweb that the TRD springs were made by Eibach. I don't know if that's true though.

...just a little clarification on the sway bars. Hopefully I'm not re-stating what is known to us here.

A stock xB2 has a factory front sway bar. The TRD rear sway bar is designed to work in conjunction with the factory front bar.

The Hotchkis set comes with a replacement front sway and a new rear swar bar. I assume it's a stiffer rear than the TRD. I assume that merits having a stiffer front bar to compensate.

That would lead me to believe that the net results in steering response (less understeer than stock) between the TRD and hotchkis would be similar, but the Hotchkis should exhibit less body roll and should be less forgiving on uneven bumps on the road. Please take what I say for what it's worth.

I bought one direclty from ssuperstore.com. I have a thread on it on scionlife: http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=239875

It sounds very mellow and may not be noticeable to some people. The sound is mostly noticleble when starting the car and coasting to a stop with the RPMs dropping below 2k, or when engine braking. You actually don't hear much at all when accelerating. You can hear a little rumble at idle and a little more when the A/C is on. It has gotten louder with more miles. I only have about 350 miles on it now.

I actually really like it for the price. The welds on mine are better than the picture on eBay (or at least in a better location). But the tip is much cheaper looking than the one in the eBay/ssuperstore ads. I have a Magnaflow 35175 tip on the way and hope to get it welded up this weekend. It will look better than the stock tip and still be way less expensive than other exhausts on the market. Plus it'll have a little custom touch.

Other options would be the Borla single exhaust for $249ish. That's the only bolt-on option that comes clost in price. The Borla looks like it's higher quality though, but it's really just a pipe with a nice tip.

In retrospect, I might have spent a little more and gotten the Borla ($250) or Tanabe Medallion ($329), but I would have still changed the tip. I don't like round tips on our cars because there is no notch in the bumper to at least surround half of the pipe. I think a flat style tip looks best if it's just hanging under the bumper.

Very nice. Camping is camping, no matter where you go. I hadn't been in a few years so it was nice to go somewhere far away from people. Being in such a large place with virtually no development makes you feel small - in a good way.

Thanks! That waterfall was awesome and actually only about a 1 minute hike from the main road! We had to hike a couple miles before we saw bears! That happened just a few moments after we took those deer pictures. If I could turn back time I would have attempted to take some shots of the bears, but we sort of panicked and turned around.

If you look at the picture with the river you'll notice a steep trail that goes up the right side. That led to a cavern that you can go through (for $13  ). It takes you straight through the whole mountain. We had to stop about 10-15 ft from reaching the other side but the guide said it went all the way. The cool thing is coming back we were allowed to take a diffrerent route down the creek bed back out of the cave. It's dry this time of year (not for long).

Here are some nature shots and blurry shot of driving down the mountain in the rain.

No that's a Wenger (http://www.wengerna.com/) tent that I got about 3 years ago. Everything they make is that color. But I guess it's not to much of a coincidence that it looks like a Scion tent. I always gravitate towards red, black, white, and silver. It's a good tent and wouldn't have started to take in water if we had taken some preventative measures. My sleeping bags are also "TRD red" 

My fiance picked out the camping chairs. That's why they're green. I probably would have gotten black ones, but I do see how the green blends into the environment better.

Yeah I had to edit the pics. I blurred out the license plates in Photoshop before I uploaded them but they turned out normal. I had to re-upload with different file names to get them to work properly. Anyway, camping was fun. I got about 27 mpg (calculated) with all the mountain driving. My computer said I was getting 35mpg after a day of driving down the mountain. I guess going back up made it average out.

Took the xB camping last weekend at Sequoia National Forest. Those roads are fun to drive on! We got rained on the last night and our tents started taking in water. Packing up to go home was not fun! Everybody there had full-sized diesel trucks and there we were - 2 lowered cars. BTW we saw bears while hiking. That was fun.

Here you go. I haven't looked closely enough to see how well they match up to the 5-axis xB, but they are the only thing out there that even comes close.

http://www.fastscions.com/scionxb2008carbonfiberfoglightkit.aspx

Beautiful Tenzos! Those are probably my favorite rims right now. 18s look huge when the rim doesn't have a lip! When I decide to get rims, I'm leaning toward the machined face type M in 17" for my black xB2. If I was going for a style with a lip, then I'd go 18.

Your car looks awesome.