FF OEM exhaust valves

It's fairly simple stuff. The X-Pipe (shaped like an X) or the H-Pipe (shaped like an H) sits about halfway down the exhaust system and often replaces a small centre mufflers as many models have two sets of mufflers. Once installed, they allow the gasses comes down each bank to mix and that changes the sound as they travel down and out of the exhaust tips. With an X-pipe the gases flow more freely and mix together, the result is usually a slight increase in volume and often a few crackles and pops when you downshift, or on overrun, as tiny amounts of unburned fuel is pushed through the system. With an H-pipe, the noise is deeper, more bass in sound, with the X-pipe, the pitch it a little higher.

ANOpax is right to say that the difference is more noticeable on a v8 usually. As for power, theoretically you release power by allowing the exhaust gases to flow more freely however it's a tiny amount and I don't think it's truly noticeable.

Next stop after the centre pipe is usually the back boxes (or mufflers) which are far more expensive. Novitec, IPE, Capristo, Larini etc all make versions. The noise will increase again and the sound is sublime! But you do need the valve control otherwise it can be too loud when you are just cruising at 70/80.

If you want to go completely mad, after the back boxes comes the cats and cat pipes. Changing these to 100 cell fast flowing, along with the other exhaust part changes will make your car sound like a Schumacher era F1 car. And it will likely spit flames out the back. Too much for most, unless you are trying to get more subscribers to your YouTube channel....

 

Thanks for a good answer!

Just one more question: What is YouTube? No kidding I know what it is, I just don't have a channel.

 

It's a bit more complicated that just saying it adds a bit of power which is hardly felt. It's not entirely true. The thing is that what happens is that you move the power spread up. You may not notice 10 more bhp up top, what what will probably feel is the torque peak which is moved up maybe 200 rpm. This change in the torque curve will make the car feel a bit less responsive in the bottom, you can compare it a bit to running with the valves open all the time. In other words, the X will remove some low end torque and add a bit of peak power. An H pipe will do the same, but usually to a lesser extent.

As for the sound of an F1? Only a V10 revving to 18000 rpm sounds like a V10 revving to 18000 rpm. Some of these exhausts, such as the IPE sounds incredibly artificial to me, and nothing like an F1 V10 or 90's V12. The IPE F1 is just really odd sounding to my ears.

 

Well, to my ears, the 3.5L F129 V8 at 8,500rpm sounds pretty close to a 3.5L F1 V8 at 10,500rpm. There's not much in it (only a couple of thousand revs)!

 

Not following you here. Which F1 V12 are you talking about? A 90's V12 revved way beyond 17 k rpm.
The sound IPE is trying to create for the 458, FF, F12, 812 etc, is the high pitched F1sound of the mid 90's and early 2000's. So what the sound of an F355 have to do with the sound of a Tipo 044 or Tipo 052, I don't really know, because they sound nothing alike. IPE is not trying to recreate the sound at 10500 rpm, but rather 17-19 rpm and the result is pretty darn odd sounding. Not sure IPE has made anything F1 for the F355, so I don't see the relevance.

 

IPE>Capristo sound all day for the FF though.
The best sound I ever had by far was Kreissieg on Testarossa -> real F1 sound, amazing


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It was more an observation that the sound of a 3.5L Ferrari V8 of the 90's is pretty damn close to the 3.5L F1 V8s of the 90's too. And those F1 V8's didn't rev much beyond 10,500rpm at the time (some going up to 13,000)

 

Ok, so the bit about sounding like an F1 car was a bit of a stretch. Call it poetic licence. But when you listen to this, it’s brilliant...

 

To get back to original question. If you would like to have the valves open all the time just unplug the two vacuum hoses at the rear exhaust and plug the hoses with small screws och golf pegs. Easy fix and costs $0. I've done it on my F12 and it sounds a lot better but not too loud.
I had the Forza controller on my old Italia, works great, but since I always run them open I disconected the hoses on my F12 and Speciale instead and saved a couple bucks.

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Maybe someone can take a picture of those plugged vacuum hoses the next time it's being done. Hey, a picture is worth a thousand words!...Always worried about messing something up.

 

It's of course individual as far as what someone prefers. I personally feel that the plugged hoses devalues and cheapens the car somehow. I don't like it when things don't work as supposed to. With a controller you add something without taking anything away - an elegant solution so to speak. Unplugging the lines seems like a crude shortcut. But hey, that's just me.