How many 458 Italias with original ecu and exhaust crackles?

I was just passing by your house and almost pinged you....been a while since I have heard the magic.

 

That's funny!! 10 cars will definitely violate most city sound ordinances!

Many new 488 owners here commented on how they liked the 'turbo' sound. I wonder how many of them have heard the original ECU on the 2010-2011 Italia. No other V8 sports car can come close to that raw, animalistic sound since. IMHO, it is one of the most endearing experiences of driving the 458.

 

mine has stock eco 2011 model year

 

And I went to Bea's Bakery in the very loud Tesla.

Steven has us down for a 488 spider which turns into a f12m!
Finally back to a loud ferrari.

 

Lets imagine our worst fears come to life and the dealer updates our ECUs inspite of our clear instructions... What can we do muffler/cat/exhaust/manifold-wise to revert the situation back to the best of our abilities and limit the damage (i.e. loss of pops and crackles), or even get the pops and crackles even louder/clearer?

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

Ha yeah that was awhile ago! Oh man i still remember the day I took the car in for a service, drove out and the crackles were gone! It took a good 6 months for the dealer to revert the ECU back to its previous state. Numerous letters to Ferrari HQ etc but it was finally reverted and the crackles returned!

Unfortunately many others tried the same route after my experience and all were denied by the dealer. I guess it all depends how loud your voice is and if your threat to move to Lambo/McLaren is convincing enough

I will say this though, in those 6 months without the crackles and pops, the fuel economy greatly improved and i also found the throttle response/pickup to be even more responsive.

So it was a slight trade off that i am sure suits individuals differently.

Pre 2011 ECU - Crackle & Pops
Post 2011 ECU - No crackle and pop, better fuel economy and tighter throttle/pickup response (in my opinion)

Also, from what i was told the whole crackle and pops come from some valves within the engine/headers/intake (different to the tail pipe valves) which slowly close/open allowing for the overrun to be extended. The ECU update speeds up the closing of the valves hence eliminating the crackles and pops. So a new exhaust probably wouldn't make much of a difference....
I was also told 2012+ models actually had a hardware change to these valves/bearings being changed or something like that. That meant off throttle they would shut immediately (ON/OFF rather than gradual close) therefore even if you some how got a 2011 ECU on a 2012 model it wouldn't crackle and pop due to the new hardware.

Take that as a grain of salt though, that was information i was told years ago. I thought it was just a fuel mapping thing

FYI i had the vacuum hoses plugged so the valves (tail pipe) were always open. So i have no experience with crackle and pops with the stock valve system open and closing.

Also another very interesting observation. It crackled the most in WET mode compared to any other mode!!!

 

Oh forgot to mention. They didn't actually 'revert' the software back. They had to wait until another 2010-2011 458 came into the shop with crackle and pops. Take note of its software version then apply the same version to my vehicle.

There is no way to revert unless they took note of the previous version, which they don't. After that i had to explicitly remind them every service to not update the software.

More info in this old thread

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/458-italia-488/423335-software-updates-2012-458-italia-2.html

 

Who wants that?

Interesting. They most likely copy the 2010-2011's ECU code and "paste" it on the destination ECU. If I understand correctly, one can alter it, just not revert it to a prior code/file/program. I'm sure it makes 2010-2011 458s more valuable, as it's the only way for other 458s to get the crackles and pops back!

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

Mine's got the sound and is probably stock based on the software # and version I have.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Am I reading this correct: You can take a 2010 or 2011 car that has an ECU that has been updated, and you can copy/paste the software form a non-updated ECU car, and return the run-on??!!! If so, Carlo, I'm going to go buy a 2010 or 2011 car right now, and ask you to send me a zip drive with Lola's ECU DNA loaded onto it!!!

How can we confirm that this is actually do-able??

 

When someone “reflashes” your ECU (in our case there are two), they’re essentially rewriting all the data stored on the PROM chip. This would include all the algorithms and lookup tables necessary for the engine to run. Typically, only a few lookup tables are actually changed, for example max redline rpm or injector on/off time during deceleration (one factor affecting pops and burbles).

However, to do this they first need to READ and save all the STOCK OEM data. This initial data dump (file) is subsequently decrypted and decompiled to reveal all the performance related variables and tables. The original file is always kept unmodified so the system can be restored just in case some reprogramming doesn’t work as planned.

When I was tuning I used Dimsport hardware and software. They do the hard part of breaking the OEM crypto which allows access to tables the OEM doesn’t want messed with. Unfortunately, Ferrari makes things tough by regularly changing the crypto even for the same model year vehicles. At last count I think they had 5 or 6 different ORIGINAL versions for the early year 458s decompiled and readable via Dimsports proprietary software.

In cases where they don’t have the version required (like mine), they (Dimsport) depends on the user to supply them with the raw dump (a hex file) for their software engineers to decompile and make compatible with their tuning software. On the 458, this requires the user to pull both ECUs, remove the covers and manually attach probes to specific pins and terminals so that the Dimsport reader can access and read the data inside the PROMs. With most OEMs the reader is capable of accessing the file using the OBD2 connector, but NOT Ferrari. The process was just a pain in the butt so I sold my equipment.

However, the point being there are definitely early model ORIGINAL OEM data files floating around, just need to find the person or company that has one.

Here’s an example (see below) of one SW version 1037515416 and the tables Dimsports software gives access to. If you want access to a table not on the list you can request Dimsport to do the research and make it available at a fee. Is this an original OEM version which keeps or removes the pops and burbles? I couldn’t say for sure, but based on my research and the dates published I believe it’s a good one.

There are many other tuning systems out on the market today. Most are simple one time modules which plug into your OBD2 connector where the software engineer has written a script to bypass the security crypto and re-write the applicable files based on whatever performance enhancements the tuner saw fit to change. They’ll typically send you a piece of hardware which connects to the OBD2 port and then copies the original PROM data onto a file you’ll need to email back so they can create a re-flash file specifically for your serial number ECU. This keeps you from re-flashing all your buddies’ cars for the price of one flash. I’ve even seen a few tuners claiming they found a way to re-flash without this back and forth process but I’m a bit skeptical how they manage to do this.

In all cases, as a consumer, you really don’t know what was changed and most tuners are very vague if asked as they don’t want others to reverse eng their efforts. Personally, I didn’t want to be limited to some other tuner’s unknown skills so I opted for a system where I could control the modifications. However, I’m sure if there’s demand some enterprising tuner will create a one shot module specifically to revert the system back to the early models, pops and burbles included.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Mark,

Thank you very much for sharing that stockpile of knowledge and data with us. Very useful and enlightening.

Can't any of us store the original ECU's programming somewhere in order not to lose it, in case another 458 we may know wants pops and crackles back? I believe it would be more practical than to wait for an untouched 458 to come along.

Is that feasible? To access, download and store original code to a flash usb or hard drive and "paste" it to any 458 that has been updated?

Personally, if I lost my original exhaust's sound magic, I would pay to get it back. I'd grab the chance on the spot. If someone had the original file and was inclined to sell the service of reinstalling the original software onto my 458, I'd take it.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

My old 2010 italia is here in Nashville still and has the pops/cracks (and Novitec love). I REALLY miss that sound in my spider (but at 6'5 I will settle with a Novitec exhaust and top down)

 

Yes, with the right hardware/software you can save the original tune. Unfortunately, to do it yourself you'd need to spend around $5K just to down load and save the file.

The reading hardware is pretty simple but it's the firmware that gets you ($$$). The system must first have the ability to communicate with the ECU. There are several different OBD2 communication protocols used in modern CAN systems (and most dictated by the government) but each mfg has it's own little tweeks to these basic comm protocols. So whatever reader you get it needs to be able to talk to your make/model vehicle (more specifically, the micro controller inside the ECU of which there are many. The 458 uses the BOSCH MED9.6.1 ECU and it uses the Motorola MPC561 / MPC562 chipset (microprocessor).

In addition, the reader must use some kind of algorithm to defeat the OEM crypto (security) so that after communications are established, you can actually get to the data you want to dump.

To kinda "pass go and collect two hundred dollars" many readers require you to open up the actual ECUs and hardwire the readers to the proper terminals. This helps simplify some, but not all, of the comm and crypto hurtles but it's a PITA.

So now you've spent $5k and you have your original OEM code (in hex) copied into a text file somewhere. Typical the same read device can also write. Again however, you'll probably need to pull your ECUs out and hardwire them back to the comm device to upload the old file.

In addition, whatever data you've got is probably unique to your specific ECU serial number. In other words, you can't use it to re-flash your buddied car without some software engineering (hacking to find cracks).

I was going to offer such a service, but my tuning software required disassembly of the car's ECUs which meant downtime and undesirable logistics for folks not local. So I gave up on the idea and sold my $15k Dimsport system.

 

Does anyone have a sound clip of their 2010-2011 unflashed exhaust that can be posted here? I want to compare to how mine sounds.
Not that I can take it out anytime soon with the blizzard we have going on here in NY now [emoji30]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

wish i did
sickest sound in the world! was addicted to it