IRL Exhaust Valve Controller
Next up on the mod list is something I've always been curious about. I picked up an exhaust valve controller to test a theory that I've had.
Ever since I upgraded the exhaust and downpipes I could have sworn that I could hear the exhaust valves closing randomly even though I have them set to fully open in BM3. Well turns out I was right!
I installed the valve controller and immediately noticed more sound throughout the RPM range especially in gears higher than 3rd. in 3rd is mostly when I noticed them closing before.
After digging through various threads I discovered I wasn't the only one that experienced this. It seems that BM3 does open the valves slightly more than before but on G series (and F97/98) cars they have not figured out a way to control them completely. The factory ECU has variable valve control for dozens of situations to where even if you are in Sport + the valves will partially close and open during numerous situations. I even reached out to my tuner Paul to see if we can adjust the custom tables within the ECU that dictate these situations. We set them all to fully open when in Sport + but no dice, they still closed.
So this led me to the valve controller. It turns out we use the same valve actuators that the G8X uses so I picked one up from IRL which is a local company that seems to be similar to the valvetronic unit. I'm guessing they use the same supplier and slap on their branding.
https://irlllc.com/products/irl-valve-controler
Install:
The install was pretty straight forward. Disconnect the factory wire harness to the actuators and remove the three 10mm nuts to completely remove the factor valve actuator. You will reuse the factory spring so pay close attention to how it sits in the flap. Then mount the IRL actuator. Its ok if the actuator does not line up with the valve flap in the closed position. When the on/off is cycled a few times it learns the parameters and adjusts itself.
Now the fun part... running the cables from each valve into the trunk area so they can plug into the signal and power box. This is where I spent most of my time chasing dead end grommets before finding one that would work. On the left hand side of the hatch there is a pull away compartment with a small tub located in the bottom. I removed the tub by taking out 1 T20 torx, 2 push rivets and 1 10mm nut hiding behind the fabric. I pulled the tub out and there was a small vent line with a large opening in the frame that led down behind the exhaust heat shielding. BINGO! I ran both cables over into this hole and fished them up into the hatch. I replaced the tub and used a few 3m pads to mount the box onto the side of the tub. One last cable to run which was the power. It can be hard wired or ran into the 12v cigarette outlet in the rear. I chose the later which was a piece of cake. I tucked the wire into the paneling and zip tied it to the large red power cord going to the battery. I tucked it into the channel raceway and boom I was done! The outlet supplies power when the car is "awake" and is not constant power so the battery won't be drained.
Using the remote:
I figured it was worth mentioning because I too was a little stumped at first. The IRL remote has 3 buttons on it. The top section is closed, the middle section (right on the crest) is a blip action which quickly opens and closes the valves. No idea why you would need this. Then the large bottom section is to open. When I first started messing with it I pressed the middle right on the crest because I thought it was an on/off with one bottom. It kept bliping the valves and I thought it was broken lol.
You can actually program these functions into the Homelink as well, just like a garage opener. Since the signals for open and closed are different you need to program them into different buttons, kinda lame.
There are a bunch of G8X controllers on the market so get whatever you please. I received a discount on this unit to test if it would work on the F97/98 so it was a no brainer to me as it was the cheapest on the market. It gets the job done and works great.
I unfortunately didn't get any sound clips before and after. WOT sounds pretty similar but it's mostly the partial throttle around town driving that sounds different. It's one of those things that you have to kinda experience for yourself to understand.
