If you have the Forza controller, then you do have that setting. I was merely replying to your earlier suggestion of fitting a Forza and not using the valves closed option.
I know. I was simply replying to your earlier suggestion that one could install the Forza and not use the valve closed setting.
Fwiw I have a forza in my 360 and 430 spider. I have no setting for closed all the time as I actively the controller with a dash switch.
Nice. I don’t think that product is available any more. The recommendation from Forza for the OP’s FF is the three way remote controlled model hence my suggestion to avoid it. If Forza is a must then a two way model would be a better bet but Forza only recommended it for the turbo cars. The OP is also in the UK and the Capristo makes more sense financially in Europe just as the Forza makes more sense financially in the US.
I don't get why it drones. Granted I have an F12 not an FF but it's the same motor. Stock and even aftermarket I get ZERO drone. Something's up. Regardless, even if it has a little drone it's a Ferrari it's not a 4 door econobox. Enjoy all the noises and nuances! I've daily driven throughout the years plenty of loud/clunky rides (e.g. boosted/meth injected 6spd Vette, Nissan GT-R, etc.). I believe I read somewhere else the Forza controller will not remember settings and on a power cycle it defaults to factory. I might be wrong. Either way, I spent a few extra bucks and got the Capristo controller. Works great. Settings stick after ignition cycles.
Thanks for your perspective about the F12, which I don't own and have never driven, so I'm not in a position to comment on how my FF compares. It's reasonably well documented that the FF had a louder exhaust than the F12 from factory. The fact it also had a drone is reasonably well documented, enough that Ferrari addressed it with the replacement - the Lusso. I love the FF, I'm happy with everything about it now I've replaced the head unit. The only issue I have personally is in creeping traffic, which as it's a daily drive is a regular occurance for me. The sound/noise in every other part of the reg range is absolutely fine, enjoyable even. I bought this car as I'd wanted one for years and it's designed as a daily driver GT car. For 10 minutes or so it's not an issue. For 30 minutes, 45 minutes and hour, 2 hours - it drones to a degree that it goes through you to the bones and gives me a headache and I feel drained at the end of a long journey. The drone only occurs as you pick up the throttle from standstill in creeping traffic between 1200 and 1500 rpm. Only above 1500rpm does the note change and becomes comfortable. It is a design of the rear silencers which is changed dramatically if they are swapped to aftermarket units. Ironically it appears to make my car quieter at the low end I'll be buying an exhaust designed to make it louder and more tuneful after the valves open. Still thanks for your thoughts on a car that I don't own and have never driven and which I don't have an issue with.
Was out in the car today for about an hour and not bothered one bit about intrusive noise, mainly as I wasn't sat in traffic. So I can understand why other owners are reading this and wondering what on earth I'm moaning about...."drone" "noise" blah blah blah. It's a V12 Ferrari idiot, of course it's noisy! However I'm driving 800-1000 miles a month in the FF on the outskirts of London. It is a very specific problem I'm trying to solve that only occurs when I'm sat in creeping traffic and I'm sure it's simply a frequency of the standard FF back boxes that's triggering me. I would very much like to try a pair of lusso V12 back boxes as a straight swap for the standard FF boxes (before I take the plunge on an aftermarket system) if anyone in the UK has replaced their Lusso exhaust with something ridiculously expensive and exotic and wants to sell me their standard back boxes shoot me a PM please.
i have a FF back box, and i am in kent ashford more than welcome to buy off me and modify to your hearts content
The Forza controller for the FF is a 3-way. It has the always closed option, which not harm will come to the FF as it is not turbo-charged. In the closed mode, there might be a loss of ultimate horsepower, but for higher cruising you do not need high power. So the Always Closed option will help eliminate any droning. The fobs for the Forza have a slide which you can use to cover the buttons that are used for Always Open if you wish to "hide" them and prevent accidental use. Lastly, you can always just get the 2-way controller for a turbo car if you are concerned.
I took the car to a specialist today (KHPC in Maidstone) the owner there daily drives an FF so he was in the best position to tell me if everything is as it should be with my car. It is, everything is standard and working as it should. The "drone" I'm hearing is apparently quite normal. It bothers some people but not others. A third group don't even hear it at all. It's a frequency thing and it happens to bother me. It's also not something you pick up on short drives, it really takes an extended drive before it starts to get under my skin. So we're investigating if the Lusso back boxes are a straight swap, if they are and I can find a pair of "take offs" that are sensibly priced I'm happy to experiment and see what it does. Out of interest they had an F12 there today fitted with the Forza controller (on the standard system), we tried to recreate the sound in the F12 and tested if the valves open/closed made any difference - they didn't. The drone I'm struggling with is sub valves being activiated, so we can remove that from the equation. As I drive daily I find I'm using the paddles most of the time and as such I can actually drive around the drone simply by keeping it out of the 1200-1500 rpm band. Unfortunately it's right in the sweetspot when pulling away from standstill or creeping in traffic and I can't avoid it. Also I find if I'm dealing with heavy start stop traffic, lights, roundabouts, junctions. Auto deals much better with the first and second gear shifts without being jerky. Auto happens to settle in the 1200-1500 rev range constantly. I'll update this thread with anything pertinent as it may help other owners who struggle the same, as I am. This can be solved as it's being created by the rear silencers, so it's just a case of changing or tweaking the back boxes which may involve some trial and error. I don't want to go aftermarket as I simply don't want the volume that most people seek with these cars. The sound it makes standard is perfect for me, bar a very specific frequency vibration. to be continued..... It wasn't a wasted journey as it turned out I need a new tyre as there was a small bulge forming from a pot hole impact, and I got both front wheels rebalanced to remove a steering vibration at speeds around errrr ... 70mph....ish
Resurecting this thread after some time. I'm 9000 miles into ownership of my FF (in 10 months) and I'd still like to increase the cabin refinement a little for longer journeys. I met up with the friend of a friend I mentioned earlier in this thread, he owns a V12 Lusso with Novitec X pipe, back boxes and valve controller. We went out in his car and it's noticeably quieter on startup and when valves are closed than my standard FF. Valves open it's as loud/possibly slightly louder than my standard FF but the note is different, much higher pitched so I'm not sure if it's louder or appears louder simply due to tone/pitch. We then got in my FF and my two passengers commented on the resonance that occurs on pick up from standstill creeping in traffic. The moment you're moving and going up through the gears it dissapears. However it's a frequnecy that makes the floorpan vibrate, so it must be that creating the "drone". So friend of friend has very kindly leant me the standard back boxes from his V12 Lusso so we can fit them on my FF and see if it makes any difference. They look identical to the FF silencers but have a different part numbers. I will report back once I've fitted them. \Will be an interesting experiment.
I finally got around to getting the Lusso back boxes fitted on my FF. They were done on Tuesday this week and I’ve covered around 600-700 miles since. Physically they are identical in every respect to the FF boxes, a straight swap (subject to rusty nuts and bolts!) so the difference can only be internal to give them a different part number. Now all of this comes with a caveat. Sound I have discovered, is very subjective. What annoys one person, another may simply not hear. So if you own an FF and are wondering what on earth I’m whittering on about as it seems perfectly fine to you – then this “solution” is entirely irrelevant to you. Also if you use your FF as a weekend toy and want it to scream like an F1 car with full Novitec enhancement, then the idea of what I’m doing will be alien. If like me though you find sitting in crawling traffic and long distance journeys a little more tiring than they should be then you might find this of interest. So did they work? Did they reduce the drone I was struggling with? In a word Yes. I’ve made my FF sound like a Lusso (unsurprisingly!). I got KHPC to fit the exhausts. The bonus of using these guys is the owner, Roger, daily drives an FF as do I. So I can compare notes with someone who uses the car as I do and is far more knowledgeable in all things Ferrari. Interestingly Roger is very happy with the standard system. But just to put this into perspective, there was a time when Roger’s daily was an F40! After the tech fitted the boxes Roger wanted to come out and do the first start. Immediately we both noticed the same change in tone. It’s probably slightly quieter but there’s little in it, which would lead me to believe most of the cabin sound reduction in a Lusso is sound deadening material. There was an obvious change in tone. Deeper, the idle and valve closed tone was more like a deep rumble than the higher pitch standard FF boxes. Valves open, same thing. You still get the beautiful V12 sound but it has much more depth, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it bass, but it’s just a more full note. On a long motorway run the difference was quite noticeable. It was a far more comfortable cruise, less intrusive cabin noise and simply a more comfortable environment sat at 70 mph and 2,000 rpm. In creeping traffic the increase in volume I was struggling with between 900-1200 rpm before power kicks in is still there, but the frequency has changed. It seems that’s the key. My ears were struggling with the particular frequency created by the standard system. So it wasn’t volume that was the issue. It’s astonishing how this small change has altered the character of the car (for me). I’ll be racking up another 1000 miles or so over the next fortnight and I’m looking forward to it more than ever now. I’m in Kent (nr Sevenoaks) if you live in the UK, own an FF and would like to do a back to back with your own car, experience it in person then I’m sure we can grab a coffee and go for a drive. I’ve had a friend ride in the car today who was instrumental in getting hold of the Lusso silencers. He was very surprised at the difference, he genuinely thought I was wasting my time and they’d sound no different. But he said when I pulled up at his house the car simply sounded different. After a 10 minute drive we both felt this was the sweet spot and it’s how the FF should have left the factory. I do still want to get one thing checked, I’d like to make sure I’m not increasing back pressure and possibly causing long term damage to anything mechanical. I think I need a rolling road session to tell me this. So if any of you out there have any theories on that point I’m all ears. Overall though I’m happy. It was an outright experiment of unknown outcome but I’m very happy with the result.
