488 Forza Controller Installation In Spider

Sounds great.

A question. An interesting thought about the ability to permanently keep the exhaust quiet. Our local dealer here will not install Forza controllers on the turbo cars as they are of the opinion that using the controller to permanently close the exhaust can cause damage to the engine and turbos due to high back pressure and severe heat. They are perfectly fine with installing the Capristo unit, as that only allows the user to permanently open the exhaust. Has any actual testing been done to verify that the engine will not be damaged if the controller is used in fully closed?

It might seem out of place for some to use it like that, but there are some very real situations where it is desirable. One is on tracks with high noise restrictions, which is pretty much all tracks these days. It simply means you can enjoy your trackday without fear of getting black flagged etc.
The other is on a long journey. Sitting on the Autobahn for hours doing 200-220 kph with the open exhaust droning on is no bueno. It's just tiresome and makes it hard to carry a conversation with a passenger or listen to the radio.

What are the thoughts of these things from the guys making the Forza controller? Can the fully closed mode be used on the turbo cars safely, and has this in fact been thoroughly tested?

 

On the Pista Forza set up there are two settings - one being the stock setting and the other being valves permanently open. I do recall there being 3 settings on the 488gtb where you could have the valves set permanently closed but I never had need to use it. My thoughts are that if you are looking to keep the car quiet by driving it at light throttle and at low speed then the valves would be closed anyway.

 

Okay. Yes, on the 488 GTB/Spider there's the third option usually found on the Forza controller, and thus Ferrari advises against it.

The issue with driving slow, is that when you're cruising on derestricted motorways, it opens above 135-140 kph or so, so cruising quiet at higher speeds than that, is impossible. I think in both the 458 and 488, the drone that is around those speeds when just cruising is not a very nice or sporty sound. It's great will all the noises and things when blasting around having run, but that drone at 3.5-4k doing steady state speeds is not very nice.

 

I haven't been in the Pista yet, so not sure how it works exactly. As I understand it, it opens when you get on it, but will it keep closed even when cruising at say 200 or 250 going steady state?

 

The Forza controller for most Ferrari's (except the 488 Pista) has three modes of operation:

1. Normal mode ... the car's ECU manages the exhaust bypass valves
2. Always Open ... the valves are forced open at all times
3. Always Closed ... the valves are forced closed at all times

As stated in the installation instructions, Forza advises that use of the Always Closed option be used with discretion. The following is a quote in the installation instructions ...

When the exhaust bypass valves are closed, the back pressure in the exhaust system will likely be greater. This is not a problem under most normal conditions. It will, however, limit the engine power at higher RPMs. With normally aspirated engines, it is quite likely that you may experience less power at high engine RPM. We recommend you limit the use of this option to short time periods if the engine is running at high RPM (for example, passing another vehicle on the highway or engage when running through noise monitoring points at tracks with sound limitations). With turbo charged cars, at high engine RPM, the increased back pressure may have adverse consequences on the efficiency and operation of the turbo charger and its ability to scavenge exhaust gases. As a precautionary measure, Forza recommends that if you have a turbo charged vehicle, that you do not engage the Always Closed option at high engine RPM. Keep in mind, when you have the controller in Normal mode, the vehicle’s ECU will manage the bypass valves and at lower speeds and engine RPM (e.g., urban driving and highway cruising) the valves will typically be closed anyway. Engaging the Always Closed is not necessary in these conditions.​

If the valves tend to open at steady speeds where the engine RPM is less than 4000 RPM, forcing the valves closed at that point it is not going to cause any harm on a turbo charged car. The turbo charger at those speeds is not applying that much boost pressure and the increased back pressure that may be induced by closing the valves at that RPM will hardly be noticeable.

In summary, the following table is included in the installation instructions ...
Image Unavailable, Please Login

The Always Closed option can easily be disabled and those users who desire to disable the feature, can easily do so. For example, the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV and Stelvio QV use the same controllers with the Always Closed option disabled and the device is provided with only a 2-button remote fob.

In addition, the remote fob has a sliding cover for the buttons ... you can position this cover to expose only buttons A and B (leaving buttons C and D covered). If you have the 4-button remote, you can use this measure to prevent inadvertent activation of the Always Closed function.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

Hope this helps assuage any concerns.

Steve

 

In Pista the valves open upon standstill Idle and after a relative degree of throttle input, but other than that they close upon throttle release which knocks out the sound along with any burbling or pops you tend to get when the system is running as a straight through pipe when the valves are open. The same situation would remain even if you put on an after market system so any real increase in the volume of sound can come from using high flow cats as the stock muffler already has very little attenuation.

The reason why the valves close upon throttle release in both Pista and GTB is to provide not only a reduction in sound but more so to create a boost preload within the pipe which gives the immediate throttle/turbo response. If you were looking for maximum performance from the engine then for sure it's best to leave the control of the valves to the factory ecu because if the valves are kept open all the time you will lose the level of immediacy even though it may appear not that noticeable due to the engine being of such high HP. The same case applies with GTB hence why its not desirable (from a performance standpoint) to permanently disable the valves by disconnecting them. And, the only reason why the ECU wont throw a CEL with the valves permanently disabled is because there is no pressure sensor between the turbo and Plenum in Pista or GTB however, in F8 there is as well as post cat. So it's pretty well game over for F8.

 

Great to hear!