Bimmerlink opening exhaust valve

[H2O_Doc]

I think maybe most people know this is one way do-it-yourself way to keep the exhaust valve open in normal driving mode, but I met a member who didn't and thought I'd share the a video. The flap actuation sound is kind of cool:

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[dkmcclelland]

Wait. Is this stock exhaust?

 

[H2O_Doc]

Wait. Is this stock exhaust?

Yep.

 

[dkmcclelland]

Yep.

How did you use Bimmercode to keep the valve always open? I emailed them and they said it wasn’t possible!

 

[KellyJoe]

How did you use Bimmercode to keep the valve always open? I emailed them and they said it wasn’t possible!

Bimmerlink you can that as in the vid, not Bimmercode. Bimmercode can change the default start-up mode to sport where it's open when you start the car.

 

[dkmcclelland]

Bimmerlink you can that as in the vid, not Bimmercode. Bimmercode can change the default start-up mode to sport where it's open when you start the car.

Doh! ??‍

 

[TimM.]

Doh! ??‍

To be clear, Bimmerlink doesn't change the default settings for the exhaust valve. The Bimmerlink app must be open and connected to your vehicle's OBD system for the valve to be opened/closed. Anytime your Bimmerlink app isn't open and connected to your OBD port, the car resumes it's default setting.

At least that's my experience. If I'm wrong, hopefully someone will enlighten me on how to make my preferences stick without the app connected.

BTW, I love having the Bimmerlink app and my OBDLink CX adapter. Opening the exhaust valve, turning off ASD, and the ability to monitor and record tons of sensor information in realtime and after track runs is friggin' awesome! I highly recommend it. Only problem I have had so far is, if I don't unplug the OBDLink CX adapter from the OBD port, the car alarm goes off when I lock the car.
I guess it thinks someone is trying to hack the car and steal it.

 

[H2O_Doc]

It changes the default setting. Open is “always open” even in normal mode. I’m in the car now and went to the exhaust to confirm.

 

[H2O_Doc]

To be clear, Bimmerlink doesn't change the default settings for the exhaust valve. The Bimmerlink app must be open and connected to your vehicle's OBD system for the valve to be opened/closed. Anytime your Bimmerlink app isn't open and connected to your OBD port, the car resumes it's default setting.

At least that's my experience. If I'm wrong, hopefully someone will enlighten me on how to make my preferences stick without the app connected.

BTW, I love having the Bimmerlink app and my OBDLink CX adapter. Opening the exhaust valve, turning off ASD, and the ability to monitor and record tons of sensor information in realtime and after track runs is friggin' awesome! I highly recommend it. Only problem I have had so far is, if I don't unplug the OBDLink CX adapter from the OBD port, the car alarm goes off when I lock the car.
I guess it thinks someone is trying to hack the car and steal it.

Apologies, I posted thinking I had replied to you, but it was a new post.

I went outside and confirmed that Bimmerlink changes the setting so that the flap is always open. My flap (er...the Supra’s flap) stays open even in normal mode and after turning the car off and on.

What you don’t get is the exhaust back-off gargle (aka burbles, which is not my preferred term for the phenomenon).

 

[rotary heart]

Only problem I have had so far is, if I don't unplug the OBDLink CX adapter from the OBD port, the car alarm goes off when I lock the car.
I guess it thinks someone is trying to hack the car and steal it.

I've had my MX+ adapter plugged since December without any issues. Just a FYI in case you want an adapter that doesn't trigger the alarm.

 

[TimM.]

Apologies, I posted thinking I had replied to you, but it was a new post.

I went outside and confirmed that Bimmerlink changes the setting so that the flap is always open. My flap (er...the Supra’s flap) stays open even in normal mode and after turning the car off and on.

What you don’t get is the exhaust back-off gargle (aka burbles, which is not my preferred term for the phenomenon).

Hmm, maybe yours is different than mine for some reason, or there's a mis-communication but...

If my app is running in the background on my phone when I start the car, the app opens the exhaust valve automatically because that's the setting I have chosen in the app. However, if I don't have the app running on my phone, or my adapter is unplugged, the car defaults back to factory settings.

If you close your app completely (not running in the background, or in airplane mode), You're saying Bimmerlink has recoded your default exhaust valve settings? If so, I didn't know it would do that. It's a head scratcher.

 

[TimM.]

Ok, I just went to read up on it at www.Bimmerlink.app and found this review with a developer response to this subject. Maybe something has changed since the developer's response on Apr 2020...

"JK.2011, 04/10/2020
Weak app and they don’t stand behind it.

*WARNING* BimmerLink incapable of keeping the exhaust flap in an open state.
I purchased the BimmerLink app specifically to keep the exhaust flap open on my new 2020 X3 M40i without disconnecting wires or other crude methods. It bothers me to start up that nice car and see exhaust only coming out of the passenger side tail pipe. It makes the whole car seem fake and cheapens the overall appeal. I thought BimmerLink was an elegant solution to my problem. I was initially happy to see that flap finally open for the first time, but was VERY disappointed to see it revert to closed again. Then I realized that you have to open your iPhone, start BimmerLink, connect to the OBD device, select the flap control option and open the flap every time you get in the car. Really? I thought these supposedly smart guys who write BimmerCode would come up with something a LOT better than this weak app for that amount of money. Lots of fluff and no substance. Very disappointed in this app, and they keep your money!

Developer Response,

Hi, the app uses a diagnostic function to control the exhaust flap. This is not a permanent setting and when the car is restarted the exhaust flap is reverted to the default mode of operation. There is no way around it unfortunately."

 

[H2O_Doc]

Ok, I just went to read up on it at www.Bimmerlink.app and found this review with a developer response to this subject. Maybe something has changed since the developer's response on Apr 2020...

"JK.2011, 04/10/2020
Weak app and they don’t stand behind it.

Developer Response,

I’ll make a video of the whole process and confirm. I’ll start with Bimmerlink off and will connect and make sure that the flap isn’t (or is) triggered when the connection is made.

 

[TimM.]

I’ll make a video of the whole process and confirm. I’ll start with Bimmerlink off and will connect and make sure that the flap isn’t (or is) triggered when the connection is made.

Probably the easiest thing to do is just unplug the OBD adapter from your OBD port and see if the valve closes... and reopens when you plug it back in. That way the possibility of the app continuing to run in the background is removed.

 

[H2O_Doc]

Probably the easiest thing to do is just unplug the OBD adapter from your OBD port and see if the valve closes... and reopens when you plug it back in. That way the possibility of the app continuing to run in the background is removed.

You were absolutely 100% correct. I was completely wrong. Yes, the car resets to the default (flappy-flap closed in normal mode) after you turn off the car.

the good news is, who runs in normal mode anyway?

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