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      05-26-2008, 07:54 PM   #1
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DIY: Golf tee mod / exhaust flapper disable w/ pictures

This mod will yeild a slightly louder exhaust note below 3000 rpm which is when the valve would normaly open. This method will not cause a CEL/MIL or be detectable by a scan of the DME/ECU but it can be seen pretty easy if visually inspected.

Needed items: two 3/16th vacum line plugs, one 3/16 vacum line male/male barbed fitting and about 15 mins.

The procedure:

1. Park car on level surface and set parking brake. I also recomend using a wheel chauk to prevent the car from rolling onto you in a freak acident.

2. Crawl under the car right behind the drivers side rear wheel and locate the flapper valve actuator on the left exhuast tip tubing. It will have a black hose with a yellow stripe pluged in to the actuator.

3. Remove the hose from the actuator by pulling and twisting on the hose.

4. On the actuator use one of the 3/16 vacum plugs and plug and cover the nipple you just pulled the hose off of.

5. Put the other vacum plug on one end of the male/male barbed fitting.

6. Use the plugged male/male barbed fitting to plug the open hose you removed from the actuator.

7. Tuck the plugged hose behind the metal bumper support.

8. Start the car and enjoy the new found grumble.


An optional install would be to have the car running while you pull the vacum hose from the actuator. you will hear the flapper open and the new sound. Make sure the car is not in gear so you dont run yourself over and dont let it run too long or the exhasut could get hot.

Pics below....
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      05-26-2008, 09:00 PM   #2
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nice..
can you really tell that its louder?
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      05-26-2008, 09:03 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silverbullet135i View Post
nice..
can you really tell that its louder?

Thanks..yes for sure....the idle is much deeper and anything below 3000rpm will be deeper pitched. With the car idling jut reach under there and pull the hose off real quick...you will hear a metal "klank" which is the flapper opening and the sound will get way deeper. I have been "golf teed" for over 3500 miles and luvin it.
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      05-26-2008, 09:28 PM   #4
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no check engine lights?
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      05-26-2008, 09:30 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FreeBMW View Post
This mod will yeild a slightly louder exhaust note below 3000 rpm which is when the valve would normaly open. This method will not cause a CEL/MIL or be detectable by a scan of the DME/ECU but it can be seen pretty easy if visually inspected.

Needed items: two 3/16th vacum line plugs, one 3/16 vacum line male/male barbed fitting and about 15 mins.

The procedure:

1. Park car on level surface and set parking brake. I also recomend using a wheel chauk to prevent the car from rolling onto you in a freak acident.

2. Crawl under the car right behind the drivers side rear wheel and locate the flapper valve actuator on the left exhuast tip tubing. It will have a black hose with a yellow stripe pluged in to the actuator.

3. Remove the hose from the actuator by pulling and twisting on the hose.

4. On the actuator use one of the 3/16 vacum plugs and plug and cover the nipple you just pulled the hose off of.

5. Put the other vacum plug on one end of the male/male barbed fitting.

6. Use the plugged male/male barbed fitting to plug the open hose you removed from the actuator.

7. Tuck the plugged hose behind the metal bumper support.

8. Start the car and enjoy the new found grumble.


An optional install would be to have the car running while you pull the vacum hose from the actuator. you will hear the flapper open and the new sound. Make sure the car is not in gear so you dont run yourself over and dont let it run too long or the exhasut could get hot.

Pics below....

Not a single light
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      05-26-2008, 09:55 PM   #6
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Thanks for the tutorial/pics. Sound clips please? :biggrin:
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      05-27-2008, 01:32 AM   #7
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YES YOU CAN HEAR THE SOUND DIFFERENT'S AND YOU CAN ALSO SEE MORE EXHAUST POUR OUT OF THE PIPES. YOU CAN TEST THIS OUT BY PLUGGING THE ORIGINAL TUBE BACK INTO THE FLAPPER VALVE WHILE THE CAR IS RUNNING AND IMMEDIATELY YOU CAN HEAR THE FLAPPER SHUT AND EXHAUST IS SUPPRESSED. I USED A SIMPLE ZIP TIE TO KEEP THINGS TIDY.
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      05-27-2008, 01:46 AM   #8
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i would love to hear a sound clip, just to get an idea if its worth it..=D thx
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      05-27-2008, 01:59 AM   #9
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Why dont you just reconnect the hose, so it does not look modified?
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      05-27-2008, 10:54 AM   #10
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so you dont have to remove any under panel to get to this?
its just right under the driverside wheelbase?
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      05-27-2008, 01:58 PM   #11
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Guys,

Just wondered if the exhaust valve is not just for noise emissions?

Quite commonly in the motorbike world they use a similar valve to improve back pressure in the lower-to-intermediate revs range and so improve low down torque. I wouldn't be surprised if you would loose a little of the torque way down low (say 1,300-2,500 rpm) by making this modification.

Just my 10$ worth.

Mad Chemist.
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      05-27-2008, 02:06 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mad chemist View Post
Guys,

Just wondered if the exhaust valve is not just for noise emissions?

Quite commonly in the motorbike world they use a similar valve to improve back pressure in the lower-to-intermediate revs range and so improve low down torque. I wouldn't be surprised if you would loose a little of the torque way down low (say 1,300-2,500 rpm) by making this modification.

Just my 10$ worth.

Mad Chemist.
This is a very good theory and I'd be interested to see 2 different dyno plots to see if you're right. Based the amount of technology in these engines and the fact that if the valve was used in the tuning of the motor, I'm guessing the flapper itself would have a sensor on it to check the state at all times (not just "open" or "closed", but the actual angle of the flapper as well).

I'm not ruling out your thought (by any means), but feel that it's probably not going to hurt anything to disable the valve..
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      05-27-2008, 02:19 PM   #13
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no panel needs to be removed. just slide underneath your exhaust pipes and you'll see it.
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      05-27-2008, 02:21 PM   #14
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oh and I meant to ask....look on my last post. see the black cylinder at the top of the picture, welded to the exhaust pipe....What is that? nothing is connected to it, no wires/hoses - i can't figure it out.
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      05-27-2008, 02:36 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wrongprotocol View Post
oh and I meant to ask....look on my last post. see the black cylinder at the top of the picture, welded to the exhaust pipe....What is that? nothing is connected to it, no wires/hoses - i can't figure it out.
It's a vibration damper on the muffler, to keep the car from shaking.

Btw, your yellow golf tee pic looks like it could have been taken from the underside of my car, down to the ziptie used too.
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      05-27-2008, 02:45 PM   #16
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Any word from a mechanic/tuner on the reason bmw did this other than the obvious noise issue (performance, emissions, etc)?
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      05-27-2008, 02:47 PM   #17
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I have read that when the car is shut off, it blocks some emissions. :iono:
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      05-27-2008, 06:51 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blklacker View Post
YES YOU CAN HEAR THE SOUND DIFFERENT'S AND YOU CAN ALSO SEE MORE EXHAUST POUR OUT OF THE PIPES. YOU CAN TEST THIS OUT BY PLUGGING THE ORIGINAL TUBE BACK INTO THE FLAPPER VALVE WHILE THE CAR IS RUNNING AND IMMEDIATELY YOU CAN HEAR THE FLAPPER SHUT AND EXHAUST IS SUPPRESSED. I USED A SIMPLE ZIP TIE TO KEEP THINGS TIDY.
blkacker ... Just to confirm, by bending and sealing the hose with a cable tie, you've completed the entire mod? And am I correct that the system adds pressure to the hose to close the flap when below 3000rpm, and pressure drops over 3000rpm, causing the flap to open?
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      05-27-2008, 08:28 PM   #19
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Quote:
It's a vibration damper on the muffler, to keep the car from shaking.
ah okay, I didn't think of that!

I went to the dealer today and asked the mechanic about the flutter valve in the exhaust. He said it is "strictly for sound dampening". I asked him if it could possibly change the backpressure but he said no, it is not for performance, only to quiet the car a bit. I mentioned the idea of pinching the hose, or disconnecting it for a "louder rumble", he thought it was pointless , but said it wont harm anything.

Just thought i'd share!
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      05-27-2008, 08:30 PM   #20
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Quote:
Btw, your yellow golf tee pic looks like it could have been taken from the underside of my car, down to the ziptie used too.
nice color choices :-p it actually bothered me that I only had yellow, I wanted white to match the rest of the car haha!
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      05-27-2008, 08:38 PM   #21
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so i did it..and it didnt make that much a of difference, the only thing i liked was that cool sound when it got above 3000 rpm
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      06-09-2008, 07:08 PM   #22
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That same type of valve is on my 2003 Infiniti M45. I disconnected. After 5 years of ownership the exhaust pipe with the valve show less wear than the one without.
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