OK I know I am not the first to do this, someone had to clue me in, but instead of plugging, crimping, or otherwise disconnecting the vacuum line under the car, just unplug the actuator in the trunk in front of the drivers side tail light. I was a little unclear as to how this works, but it's dead...

i think this would be good for those of you that are weary of getting under the car without knowing exactly what the results are. what should be done is a combination of both, first do it this way, if you like the results, plug it back in, get under the car and do it the other way. that way there are no error codes logged for those who care if it does log it.

i dunno just my .02.

but great write up anyways, kinda made me laugh with the wording.

It's so easy "I" can do it. golf tee (ball bearing) mod is so quick and dirty.

any cons of having this logged into the ecu?

Cannot think of any other than having a bunch of codes for the dealer to sort through if you have an issue. I cannot imagine what other possible use the valve is other than sound.

I'm not too worried about it. I figure if you are really concerned about it, just play dumb while they replace your actuator. ME? I'll prolly just tell em, "I unplugged it cause it makes the VROOM VROOM Sound better"...

Cannot think of any other issues. Hope you all enjoyed the step by step pics.

It's a damned simple thing, but hearing folks tell you how easy and obvious it is is not as handy as a picture showing you that, "Yup, just that damn easy"...

Interesting. Maybe I'll give this a shot.

even if the fault is recorded, what happened? Apparently the connector was poorly fitted at the factory and it came undone by itself.
No mods, no cuts, nothing.

b-e-a-utiful!

Just what I noticed with the GolfTee or any metohods of allwing the actuar valve to be open all the time is gas mileage and a bit of off the line punch . I plugged in my hose again and I'm getting 2 mpgs better gas consumption... anyone else has this experience??
but for what is worth, the slight sound increase was nice..going for my 2nd tank of gas and Im averaging 17.8 mpg (85%city 15% hwy) and with the valve off I was done to 15 to 16 mpg weird...

All in your mind most likely, kind of a seat of the Pants dyno effect... Prolly getting better mileage because you're not busy revving your motor to listen to the music? Looking at the layout of the exhaust system and given that it's a turbo motor, a little flapper valve out back appears to do little more than quiet things down a bit. Turbo's don't rely on exhaust back pressure to improve torque, there is no gain or loss to be had. My understanding anyway.

Had the actuator behind the taillight unplugged when i took it to the dealer to get my idrive updated. They didn't mention anything to me or even plug it back in.

Maybe it doesn't record a fault or maybe my dealer just didn't give a sh!t

Stock- 18.7mpg
PROcede car /no golf tee mod- 18.3 mpg
Golf tee only mod- 16.4 mpg
SS/TT and golf tee mod 16.0 mpg
Who the hell knows...................

So uhhhh, since I am lazy, what the hell does this do? Yes, I know it shuts of a vacuum line. What's the end result? Car gives me bjs?

Yep... BJ's and an occasional hand job too

if you did a you would know that it just keeps the flap open on the exhaust to make it sound a little louder

Ads a little more bark to your Dog... Not much else. Pretty minor really but it gives your ride a voice when just puttering around. Trust me on this one, you'll start seeking out parking garages... It sounds great. Deep and Rorty.

The BJs are just gravy...

Great job on the write-up Revlis! Did it today, while doing some other mods to my 335.

Yeah, too bad you don't hear a difference with the e90s.

hahah. I wrapped up the plug back to the wiring harness with felt tape; it *almost* looks like the factory wanted it that way, save for the useless solenoid and vacuum line. It seemed like asking for trouble to leave the plug bouncing around behind the trunk lining.

Oh ok. I've got an exhaust so maybe I will try it and if I hate it I will just plug
'er back in.

Completely disagree from my experience.

sigh. did you not see that my comment was a reply about something unrelated to this thread?

Revlis, awesome DIY pictures!

I agree to disagree with you and concur with Scott. Didnt notice enough to warrant doing it.

Secondly, and this could be pure coincidence, but 3 days after I unplugged mine in the trunk I had an o2 sensor go bad. When I took it to get replaced, my SA showed me the tech sheet where the solenoid sensor malfunction was recorded over 200 times. Then the tech said that the closing of the butterfly isnt necessarily for sound restrictions, but has to do with backpressure as well. This helps the cats warm up properly and get to operating temps. He said when this is disabled, you run the risk of damaging your emissions equipment.

Now I dont know if that was a load of bunk, but with the amount of issues Im having with this car, I dont need to give it anymore pushes in that direction.