Emira OE exhaust with Miltek active valve controller

[KJD]

remove the swaybar completely which will let you remove the muffler + cat,

That won’t help I think. The crossmember of the subframe below the cat stops it coming downwards.

How do you like the result of the cat removal ?

It is good but it’s strangely hard to tell how good.

Like you, I installed the valve controller first and running with the valve open all the time obviously makes the car louder.

Then running with the cat bypass makes it a bit louder but it’s hard to put a number on it without a back-to-back comparison.

I had the valve controller on the car for a few weeks before doing the cat so I’d kinda forgotten how it sounded when completely standard.

If only doing one mod then the controller is the way to go, especially as fitting the bypass pipe is much more work.

 

[EmirOfDenmark]

Milltek valve controller is the best £250 you'll spend, start up theater and more low down rumble. All the noise without needing to be in track if its wet and you want stability on etc.
I've gotba few quick videos I'll upload but I'm off to Spain for a few days tomorrow so will try and get some in car when I'm back

Hi Magicman,

Wondering what your experience is: if you take control of manually opening closing the exhaust flap, does it not bring some engine risks in closed mode? I.e. I can see how the open mode is all good, but the stock controller would open up flaps even in tour under heavy throttle input to prevent back pressure. Did you have any issues with that? Or, I presume you're just driving it in open mode all the time . Some people may want to use the closed mode in track mode, to meet track day noise levels.

 

[Magicman]

Hi Magicman,

Wondering what your experience is: if you take control of manually opening closing the exhaust flap, does it not bring some engine risks in closed mode? I.e. I can see how the open mode is all good, but the stock controller would open up flaps even in tour under heavy throttle input to prevent back pressure. Did you have any issues with that? Or, I presume you're just driving it in open mode all the time . Some people may want to use the closed mode in track mode, to meet track day noise levels.

Miltek did say they don't recommend running full closed all the time, which tbf is not a problem as they've been open 99% of the time, once on the motorway I put it in oem mode.

 

[Porter]

What would be brilliant is if they had a "quiet track" mode. So you could run the car in Track Mode, on track, with the factory logic controlling the valve but the controller limiting the valve to maybe 50% or 60% max open (or whatever is appropriate), to cut the noise.

Could be a big help for track days at places that have very tight noise limits. Or for ripping along at very significant speeds in remote rural areas, without alerting (or enraging) the local farmers, residents, or constabulary more than is necessary.

 

[kitkat]

What would be brilliant is if they had a "quiet track" mode. So you could run the car in Track Mode, on track, with the factory logic controlling the valve but the controller limiting the valve to maybe 50% or 60% max open (or whatever is appropriate), to cut the noise.

Could be a big help for track days at places that have very tight noise limits. Or for ripping along at very significant speeds in remote rural areas, without alerting (or enraging) the local farmers, residents, or constabulary more than is necessary.

Unfortunately that still makes the muffler very hot — before I developed my own GPS based arduino canbus device to close the valves I tried simply closing the valves at a certain amount to pass sound and it heated the muffler to the point where it was heat colored (titanium exhaust).

I’m not really sure how good it would be for the steel muffler and surrounding area to get that hot.

 

[Razz]

@Magicman did you buy the controller from milltekexhaustshop.com ? Just unsure about the website lol.

 

[Magicman]

@Magicman did you buy the controller from milltekexhaustshop.com ? Just unsure about the website lol.

No it was from my nearest authorised dealer

 

[MattJP]

Hi all. I just had the milltek valve controller installed by an exhaust shop but it doesn’t stay open on restart. I have to open it after start each time. Am I missing something? Many thanks.

 

[CDM1855]

Hi all. I just had the milltek valve controller installed by an exhaust shop but it doesn’t stay open on restart. I have to open it after start each time. Am I missing something? Many thanks.

If It’s open when you shut down, it should stay open

Or you can open it again before starting the car. Single press of the button without break pedal to fire up the electronics

 

[MattJP]

If It’s open when you shut down, it should stay open

Or you can open it again before starting the car. Single press of the button without break pedal to fire up the electronics

Thanks, Seems to have sorted itself out after the drive home so I'll keep an eye on it!

 

[Razz]

Hi all. I just had the milltek valve controller installed by an exhaust shop but it doesn’t stay open on restart. I have to open it after start each time. Am I missing something? Many thanks.

Hey Matt, where did you buy the controller from? Just unsure about ordering it from milltekexhaustshop.com.
Thanks.

 

[MattJP]

My local exhaust place tuned it but the online shop you linked is fine. I asked them for help too - legit company.

 

[Razz]

My local exhaust place tuned it but the online shop you linked is fine. I asked them for help too - legit company.

Thanks Matt!

 

[virtualmacho]

Anyone based in the UK or EU planning a trip to Japan in the near future with room in the suitcase for an exhaust valve controller? The online shops offering Black Friday discounts don't ship to Japan...

 

[vcappp]

Milltek valve controller is the best £250 you'll spend, start up theater and more low down rumble. All the noise without needing to be in track if its wet and you want stability on etc.
I've gotba few quick videos I'll upload but I'm off to Spain for a few days tomorrow so will try and get some in car when I'm back

Thanks for sharing the information. Does this device void the Lotus Emira factory warranty?

 

[Razz]

Thanks for sharing the information. Does this device void the Lotus Emira factory warranty?

I reckon it technically does, but the likely hood of any one noticing and reporting it when just doing regular maintenance is slim to none. I had one on my BMW and just set the valve to work like factory when giving it in for service, and no one ever noticed. They want to get your car in and out ASAP.

 

[TomE]

That’s true for regular servicing.

But if for example you took the car in for an engine-related fault that needed warranty work, they might inspect the car more closely for modifications or review the ECU logs for unusual results as part of diagnosis.

If you have a device fitted that allows the normal exhaust valve behaviour to be manually overridden, they might argue that contributed to an engine problem. Forcing the valve closed at high engine load could in theory create excess back pressure.

It’s unlikely (and illegal in some countries) they’d invalidate the whole warranty. But they could disallow a claim in an area affected by a modification.

 

[Razz]

Tom makes a good point.
In that unfortunate situation you may be able to get away with it by removing the device before telling lotus, therefore resorting the car to OEM and if asked about it plead innocent. However with that it comes down to:
1. How much risk your willing to take financially ( if they don’t cover the repair)

2. If your willing to spend time removing it (if you even get a chance)

3. How stringent Lotus is

BMW aren’t to concerned about customer leaving the valve open/closed all the time, they even sell the blanking plug so you can. But Lotus is a bit of a wild card in that respect.

 

[Tony g]

Tom makes a good point.
In that unfortunate situation you may be able to get away with it by removing the device before telling lotus, therefore resorting the car to OEM and if asked about it plead innocent. However with that it comes down to:
1. How much risk your willing to take financially ( if they don’t cover the repair)

2. If your willing to spend time removing it (if you even get a chance)

3. How stringent Lotus is

BMW aren’t to concerned about customer leaving the valve open/closed all the time, they even sell the blanking plug so you can. But Lotus is a bit of a wild card in that respect.

Hi All, I recently purchased the milltek valve and asked Bell & Colvill to fit it but they strongly recommended me against it warning me that it may affect the warranty and could cause problems with errors on the ecu? Can anyone advise if they have had any warning light/ecu problems?
They have scared me off particularly when I had bought the 3 year serving plan.
I’d love to hear if anyone has had any problems since fitting just the remote valve controller?
Many thanks,
Tony

 

[Magicman]

Hi All, I recently purchased the milltek valve and asked Bell & Colvill to fit it but they strongly recommended me against it warning me that it may affect the warranty and could cause problems with errors on the ecu? Can anyone advise if they have had any warning light/ecu problems?
They have scared me off particularly when I had bought the 3 year serving plan.
I’d love to hear if anyone has had any problems since fitting just the remote valve controller?
Many thanks,
Tony

Zero issues in the 5mths it's been on.

The biggest threat to the ecu is lotus and their updates 🙄