2020-2026 GR Supra Exhaust: Akrapovic vs HKS vs Borla

Choosing a GR Supra exhaust for the A90 comes down to three systems that almost nobody puts side by side honestly: the Akrapovic Slip-On Line in titanium, the HKS Super Turbo Muffler, and the Borla ATAK cat-back. Here is the part that surprises everyone who walks into our Tampa shop asking for "the loud one": the cheapest system in this comparison is the loudest, and the mid-priced Japanese system is the quietest. Get that backwards and you will spend $4,600 on an exhaust that is calmer at highway speed than the one you took off.

Why the A90 Supra's Exhaust Is the Mod Everyone Starts With

Toyota itself proved that exhaust flow is where the B58 hides its power. When the GR Supra 3.0 jumped from 335 horsepower and 365 lb-ft (2020) to 382 horsepower and 368 lb-ft (2021 and later) — a 14 percent increase Toyota announced without touching displacement — the changes were a new dual-branch exhaust manifold with six ports instead of two, plus a redesigned piston that dropped compression from 11:1 to 10.2:1. Toyota found 47 horsepower largely by letting the engine breathe out more freely. That is the entire argument for an aftermarket exhaust on this car, made by the factory.

The A90 is worth investing in for another reason: it is finished. Toyota ended MK5 GR Supra production in March 2026 after a 2020–2026 US run, with no direct successor announced. A 3,400 lb, twin-scroll-turbo inline-six coupe with a 6-speed manual option (added for 2023) is now a closed chapter, and the cars that get built properly are the ones people will want in ten years.

One critical fitment fact before you shop: US-market A90 Supras do not have an OPF/GPF (Otto/Gasoline Particulate Filter). That soot filter is a Euro 6 requirement, not a US one. It is the reason American owners can run systems — like the Akrapovic Evolution Link Pipe — that are explicitly sold "w/o OPF/GPF" and would not physically fit a European car.

GR Supra Exhaust Comparison: Akrapovic vs HKS vs Borla

A GR Supra cat-back exhaust is the section of the exhaust system downstream of the catalytic converter — designed for the 2020–2026 A90 3.0 to change the car's sound and shed weight without touching any emissions hardware. A slip-on, like the Akrapovic, replaces less: only the rear muffler and tips. All three systems below retain the factory electronically actuated exhaust valve, so Sport mode still changes the car's voice, and none of them requires an ECU tune. The differences that actually matter are material, volume, and how much of your stock exhaust you have to destroy to fit them.

Akrapovic Slip-On Line (Titanium): The Lightweight Benchmark

The Akrapovic Slip-On Line is the only GR Supra exhaust in this comparison that removes meaningful weight from the car: Akrapovic publishes a 6.1 kg (13.4 lb) saving over the factory system. It is built from high-grade titanium throughout, with a valve housing cast in Akrapovic's own foundry and a set of titanium tailpipes finished with an annealed violet-blue inner face. Note that this SKU ships with titanium tips, not carbon fiber — the carbon tips in this comparison belong to the Borla.

Now the honest math, because no other article will give it to you. At $4,604.63 for a claimed 2.95 horsepower, the Akrapovic works out to roughly $1,560 per horsepower — or about $343 for every pound it removes. Nobody buys an Akrapovic for power. You buy it for the titanium, the sound quality, and the fact that it is the only system here that makes the car lighter. Owners on the SupraMKV forums consistently describe it as refined rather than savage, with less cabin resonance than stock at highway speed and only mild drone when loaded uphill.

The catch that no competing buyer's guide mentions: the Akrapovic slip-on requires cutting the factory exhaust to install, unless you pair it with the Evolution Link Pipe Set or an Akrapovic downpipe. That cut is irreversible on your OEM system. If keeping a pristine stock exhaust to reinstall at trade-in matters to you, this is the single most important sentence in this article.

HKS Super Turbo Muffler: The Quietest Way to Build Loud

The HKS Super Turbo Muffler is the quietest system in this comparison, and it was designed that way on purpose. HKS publishes just +2 to +3 dB over the stock exhaust — despite the fact that its main shell and tailpipe are fully straight-through, with an 85 mm straight pipe and no narrow restriction points. HKS rates the design as effective on everything from a stock B58 up to 600+ PS builds running upgraded turbines.

How does a straight-through system stay quiet? HKS engineered a feature it calls the Slotted Tail, a serrated tip design copied from the leading edge of an owl's feather — the same biological trick that lets owls fly silently. Releasing air through the slots reduces air-friction vibration and cuts roughly 2 dB without adding any restriction to the pipe. The system is a full cat-back (not an axle-back muffler, despite how some retailers list it), with 85 mm center pipes stepping down to twin 70 mm sections and 110 mm titanium-gradation tips. It carries SUS304 stainless construction with ADVANTEX glass wool packing and is tuned to meet JASMA noise standards at idle, cold start, and high-speed cruise.

Here is who this is really for, and it is genuinely counterintuitive: HKS positions the Super Turbo Muffler for owners running a catless or high-flow downpipe who need to claw the volume back down. If your build is loud upstream and you want it civilized at the tailpipe, this is the correct $3,750. If you are stock and you want drama, it is the wrong purchase.

Borla ATAK Cat-Back: The Loudest System for the Least Money

The Borla ATAK is the loudest GR Supra exhaust in this comparison and, at $1,883.99, also the cheapest — it costs less than half the Akrapovic. ATAK is the top tier of Borla's sound ladder, sitting above Touring and S-Type. Borla does not publish a Supra-specific decibel figure, but across other platforms its ATAK systems measure roughly 100–104 dB against a stock baseline near 86 dB. Treat that as a ranking, not a Supra measurement.

Technically it is the most interesting cat-back of the three. A 3.5-inch pipe splits into dual 3-inch sections and finishes in 4.5-inch round carbon fiber tips with black anodized centers. Inside, Borla's patented Polyphonic Harmonizer uses chambers of deliberately different pipe diameters and lengths so their notes harmonize instead of beating against each other — the mechanism behind Borla's "drone-free" claim. It is T-304 stainless (not the cheaper 409), it retains the factory valve using your original actuator, and because a cat-back starts downstream of the catalytic converter with every piece of emissions hardware untouched, it is 50-state legal.

It is also the easiest install here. Borla's guide (A-36024) describes a fully clamp-on system — no cutting, no welding — needing a 3/8-inch ratchet, 8/10/13/15 mm sockets, an E14 socket, and a pry bar, with the Accuseal clamps torqued to 32–35 ft-lb. Do not reach for an impact gun: bent flanges are the number one cause of leaks on these. Expect a little smoke on first startup as the mandrel-bending oil burns off; that is normal, not a defect.

Two honest warnings. First, on the drone claim: ATAK owners on other platforms do report a resonance around 2,500 rpm, which is exactly where you cruise. "Drone-free" is Borla's engineering intent, not a guarantee for every ear. Second, and more important, Borla's own installation guide specifies the 3.0L with automatic transmission, while Borla's marketing lists the full model-year range with no transmission qualifier. Since the manual arrived for 2023, manual owners should confirm fitment with us or with Borla before ordering. We would rather tell you that than take the order and process a return.

Titanium vs Stainless Steel: What Does the Weight Actually Buy?

Titanium is worth roughly 40–50 percent less weight than stainless steel for an equivalent part, because titanium alloy has a density of about 4.5 g/cm³ against stainless steel's 7.8–8.0 g/cm³. That is physics, not marketing, and you can watch it play out across these three systems.

The Akrapovic, in titanium, removes 13.4 lb. The HKS, in SUS304 stainless, weighs 24.7 kg (54.5 lb) against a factory cat-back that SupraStore measures at roughly 58 lb — a saving of about three and a half pounds. In other words, the stainless system sheds barely three pounds while the titanium system sheds nearly four times as much. If you have ever wondered what the titanium premium actually purchases, that gap is the answer.

Material also changes the voice. Titanium's lower density produces a sharper, higher-frequency, more metallic and exotic note. Stainless produces a deeper, bassier, smoother tone. This is the single most common source of buyer regret we see: someone wants a deep Supra and buys titanium, or wants an exotic race-car shriek and buys stainless. Decide which sound you are chasing before you decide on a budget. Titanium also tolerates far more heat — stable to around 1,200°C versus roughly 600–800°C where stainless begins to discolor and oxidize.

How Much Horsepower Does a GR Supra Exhaust Add?

A cat-back or slip-on exhaust alone adds very little horsepower to a GR Supra — Akrapovic's own published figure for its titanium Slip-On Line is +2.2 kW (about 2.95 hp) and +7.4 Nm (5.5 lb-ft), and even that is measured at 2,400 rpm, not at peak. Anyone promising you 20 or 30 horsepower from a muffler swap on a B58 is selling, not measuring.

The reason is simple: on a turbocharged A90, the meaningful restriction sits upstream of the cat-back. It is the downpipe and the catalytic converter, not the muffler. That is where the exhaust gas is hottest, densest, and most constrained, and it is why a high-flow downpipe paired with a 93-octane ECU tune is the modification that produces real, dyno-verified gains — the kind measured in tens of wheel horsepower, not single digits.

If power is genuinely your goal, the smarter sequence is to sort the intake and cooling side first — a dry carbon air intake box and an upgraded heat exchanger to keep intake temps down on hot Tampa afternoons — then add the downpipe and tune. The exhaust you choose from this comparison is what the car will sound like while it does it.

Exhaust Laws and Warranty: What GR Supra Owners Must Know

In California, the constraint that actually catches people is noise, not CARB. California Vehicle Code section 27151 allows an aftermarket exhaust on a vehicle under 6,000 lb GVWR only if it measures 95 dBA or less under the SAE J1169 test. Since AB 1824 took effect on January 1, 2019, a citation is no longer a correctable "fix-it" ticket — it is an immediate fine. The practical consequence is worth stating plainly: a cat-back can be perfectly emissions-legal and still get you ticketed in California. Given that Borla's ATAK tier measures around 100–104 dB on other platforms, California owners should think carefully before choosing it.

On warranty, a cat-back is the safest performance modification you can make. Under the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a dealer cannot void your warranty simply because an aftermarket part is installed — they must show the part actually caused the failure. Forum consensus across the SupraMKV community matches this: cat-back systems rarely cause friction, while downpipes and ECU flashes are what generate denied claims, because the dealer can read how many times the DME has been rewritten.

The one part in this article that is not street legal is the Akrapovic Evolution Link Pipe Set ($1,645.60). Akrapovic states it does not meet emission compliance requirements for street or highway use, and it requires an ECU remap — install it without one and you will get a check engine light. It converts the Slip-On into the full Evolution system and is a legitimate staged upgrade path for a track car, but buy it with your eyes open.

Which GR Supra Exhaust Should You Buy?

Match the system to the outcome you actually want, not to the price tag:

• Buy the Akrapovic Slip-On Line ($4,604.63) if you want the best-built, lightest exhaust on the market for the A90 and a refined, exotic note. It is the only one that makes the car meaningfully lighter. Accept that it must cut your stock exhaust and that it will not be the loudest car at the meet.
• Buy the HKS Super Turbo Muffler ($3,750.00) if you are running or planning a catless downpipe and need to keep tailpipe volume civilized, or if you want straight-through flow rated to 600+ PS with genuinely engineered drone control.
• Buy the Borla ATAK ($1,883.99) if you want the biggest sound for the smallest spend, a fully reversible clamp-on install, and a 50-state-legal system backed by a Million Mile Warranty. Verify manual-transmission fitment first, and think twice if you live in California.

At our Tampa shop the question we ask every A90 owner before they spend a dollar is simply: do you want the car to be lighter, louder, or quieter? On the GR Supra, those are three different exhausts — and, counterintuitively, three descending price tags in exactly that order.