Exhaust flaps (S3) - modify?

After reading this thread I decided to give it a try, popped under the car unplugged on each side took me about 40 seconds n gave it a blast....no noticeable difference
 
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15audis3 said:
Maybe a stupid question but if you disable the exhaust flaps via VCDS does it matter if the car is running or not e.g. does it check what state they are currently in or just stop controlling them?
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AFAIK you can't do it with the engine running as it won't accept the coding.
 
Gazjs said:
I keep meaning to try this, but ideally I don't want to raise a fault which may ask questions at the dealer - especially if I dontn like it and plug them back in anyway.

What is putting me off is that people don't really describe a noticeable gain. I want something that others will notice and comment on to make it worthwhile difference?

Are there any videos or a video someone is willing to make with the valves connected then disconnected?

People mention there car gets "louder" as is it beds in also. Again, is this noticeable? I am still under 1k miles. Sometimes I love the sound and others I struggle to hear anything.
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My car is 2 years old and gone 22k roughly. Sometimes it could be too loud and i haven't done anything to it. There are a couple streets i drive down on way to work at 7am and a friend lives on one of them. He always knows it's me going by cos of the noise.

Mine is a manual and if i time it just right when changing up through the gears it does get loud and tbh sounds good esp with windows down head out Ace Ventura style.. haha

Long story short..plugs are staying in and milltek or equivalent will stay on the shelf..
 
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AndyB-S3 said:
My car is 2 years old and gone 22k roughly. Sometimes it could be too loud and i haven't done anything to it. There are a couple streets i drive down on way to work at 7am and a friend lives on one of them. He always knows it's me going by cos of the noise.

Mine is a manual and if i time it just right when changing up through the gears it does get loud and tbh sounds good esp with windows down head out Ace Ventura style.. haha

Long story short..plugs are staying in and milltek or equivalent will stay on the shelf..
Click to expand...

Thanks for this feedback. Mines a manual too. Perhaps I just need to learn to play the gears.

I do change early on. The only time I get the "pop" is if I accelerate out of gear at a junction or such.
 
Gazjs said:
Thanks for this feedback. Mines a manual too. Perhaps I just need to learn to play the gears.

I do change early on. The only time I get the "pop" is if I accelerate out of gear at a junction or such.
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my manual will pop on every gear change, no matter where it is in the rev range, so long as I'm more than say 25% throttle.
it makes even better noises if its top end of the rev range and 75-100% throttle!
 
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How noticeable are your pops?

I went for a drive tonight, stuck it in comfort mode and some how it seemed a lot louder to the point my passenger commented too.

Sitting at around 750 miles now
 
Hi All,

Got my first service tomorrow.

I forgot i have had my exhausts unplugged so i have just plugged them back in this morning. However I am now wondering whether the error code will have cause my an issue with Audi?

i did tape up the clip and the plug so nothing would have been damaged.

What do you guys think?

I do not have vcds to wipe the code.

Live Watford/Hertfordshire
 
ConorA said:
Hi All,

Got my first service tomorrow.

I forgot i have had my exhausts unplugged so i have just plugged them back in this morning. However I am now wondering whether the error code will have cause my an issue with Audi?

i did tape up the clip and the plug so nothing would have been damaged.

What do you guys think?

I do not have vcds to wipe the code.

Live Watford/Hertfordshire
Click to expand...

I'd be very surprised if they notice this unless you ask them to investigate an exhaust related problem they won't go looking for it.
 
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Just purchased my car and had it in at Audi who done a health check

They found my exhaust flap motors to have been removed and disconnected

£450 to replace!

I think I will live without them.
 
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r3stu said:
Just purchased my car and had it in at Audi who done a health check

They found my exhaust flap motors to have been removed and disconnected

£450 to replace!

I think I will live without them.
Click to expand...

Ouch !! Sounds like it's had a different exhaust on it at some point and someone needed the original back on in a hurry !
 
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Good feedback on this topic here guys. I've unplugged (whilst turned off) and sealed up the plugs today. Seems slightly louder but nothing hugely different. More throaty than anything and a more of a burble in the lower revs which is nice. No fault lights either. Win win.
 
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Tom_86 said:
Good feedback on this topic here guys. I've unplugged (whilst turned off) and sealed up the plugs today. Seems slightly louder but nothing hugely different. More throaty than anything and a more of a burble in the lower revs which is nice. No fault lights either. Win win.
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There will be a diagnostic code left relating to an exhaust valve fault. But nothing to worry about of course
 
Digging up an old thread. So just to be clear, the plugs should be pulled when the car is off or do you pull the plugs with the car idling in dynamic mode?
 
ThatBlueS3 said:
Digging up an old thread. So just to be clear, the plugs should be pulled when the car is off or do you pull the plugs with the car idling in dynamic mode?
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I’d do it with the engine off and first thing in the morning or when the cars been sat for a while to cool.
 
On my 8V I disabled the flaps via VCDS....exhaust seems to be slightly louder at lower revs...but still no comparison to the sound of an RS3 with all those pops etc.....


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Just pulled the plugs on mine with the car off. Covered the connector with electrical tape and stuck it back into the socket. It's not a whole lot louder than before but I definitely notice little pops when I up shift with medium throttle. It happens at lower RPMs now though. Keep in mind I'm in the States so the exhaust still doesn't sound anywhere near as good as you guys across the pond.
 
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Best thing about having the flaps always open is that you get far less sooting of the inner pipes.
 
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Rob2k68 said:
Best thing about having the flaps always open is that you get far less sooting of the inner pipes.
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Agree, I haven't cleaned my tips for at least three weeks and there is only a small trace of soot at the very bottom of all four.
Dynamic all the time and flaps open :grinning:
 
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Rob2k68 said:
Best thing about having the flaps always open is that you get far less sooting of the inner pipes.
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Yup! One of the reasons I did it was I hated having only one set of pipes get dirty!

@ThatBlueS3 - I am in NA and can verify the same exhaust soot behavior when disabling using VCDS
 
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I tried this, but couldn't get the connector to release. Is there some technique?
 
Mark_86 said:
I tried this, but couldn't get the connector to release. Is there some technique?
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Just about every connector has some sort of latch that needs to be released prior to the connector becoming released - look for some sort of flat that looks like you could get a finger on and press or a slot where you may be able to insert a screwdriver and carefully lever whilst pulling on the connector.
 
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Rob2k68 said:
Just about every connector has some sort of latch that needs to be released prior to the connector becoming released - look for some sort of flat that looks like you could get a finger on and press or a slot where you may be able to insert a screwdriver and carefully lever whilst pulling on the connector.
Click to expand...

Cool. I'l have a play when it stops raining :)
 
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Stupid question but aren't the exhaust flaps closed normally untill 3k or what ever? So how would unplugging it make them open all the time surely it would remain closed all the time now as it has no signal telling it to open ?
 
Because the car keeps them shut!
 
Rayner_1704 said:
Stupid question but aren't the exhaust flaps closed normally untill 3k or what ever? So how would unplugging it make them open all the time surely it would remain closed all the time now as it has no signal telling it to open ?
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They might open when you shut the car? So they're ready for when it starts? As they're open on idle / startup
 
Power to activate the solenoid to close the valve , no power = always open ??
 
Does this store soft codes by unplugging ?
 
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Sorry to dig this back up but has anyone else had issues plugging them back in? Mine seem like they've seated correctly but still pull out without touching the clip?

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Mine gave a definite click when I tried them, unless the connectors have got mud or some dirt in them preventing them from seating properly.

One thing I did notice was unplugging them does not guarantee that the flaps will be always open.
When I first unplugged mine I checked and both flaps remained closed.
It was only when I put the S Tronic in sport and then switched off and then unplugged did they remain open.
 
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mikemod said:
Mine gave a definite click when I tried them, unless the connectors have got mud or some dirt in them preventing them from seating properly.

One thing I did notice was unplugging them does not guarantee that the flaps will be always open.
When I first unplugged mine I checked and both flaps remained closed.
It was only when I put the S Tronic in sport and then switched off and then unplugged did they remain open.
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I want to get them to open again as I unplugged them and then had then coded closed and now I need them open again I can't get the plugs in

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Ok, I'm going to ask a stupid question and you can tell me to *** off, but you're not trying to plug them in upside down. :chuncky:

Here is a picture I took when I was doing mine if it helps any ..

Valve
 
mikemod said:
Ok, I'm going to ask a stupid question and you can tell me to *** off, but your are not trying to plug them in upside down. :chuncky:

Here is a picture I took when I was doing mine if it helps any ..

View attachment 137618
Click to expand...
Was worth checking but I've already thought of that and they're the right way

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Quick question tried pulling it out whilst on the ground to no avail.

Does it simply come out or need unclipping/prying?

Thanks
 
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