The standard system
Possibly the most well known feature of the F-Type, and it’s most divisive, is the exhaust sound. It has a reputation gained from the early cars with every subsequent model year becoming tamer. Most models come with active exhaust valve which bypasses the back box, however the way this works is slightly misleading, especially in 2021MY and onwards cars. A button on the centre console lights up when the system is active. However this is not the same as saying the exhaust valve is open. When the car is stationary a lit light does indeed correspond with the valves being open. However move off and the valves close and will not reopen until the revs rise to 3500+.
| STANDARD SYSTEM | VALVE BEHAVIOUR |
|---|---|
| STATIONARY, BUTTON LIGHT ON | the valves being open |
| MOVE OFF | the valves close |
| REOPEN | when the revs rise to 3500+ |
Fuse 15 and claws out
A common trick is to remove fuse 15 from the car which will keep the valves open no matter what. However there has been some forum comments that this can cause problems with the particulate filter regeneration. A second approach is what has become known as the claws out mod described by Jag Bass on JaguarForums.com. This takes a remote relay switch to effectively allow fuse 15 to be ‘pulled’ at anytime while still in the car. It’s a fun project to put together. However valve position is only really selectable when the car is stationary and works best at the start of a drive.
After having the sports cats, I now feel that the exhaust note change when the valves open during accelerating was a bit much. It can be heard in the video below at 4 seconds.
ASR exhaust valve controller
This sudden jump with the valves opening can get a bit obnoxious. The solution for me was to fit the ASR exhaust valve controller. This taps into the cars CANBUS and matches the exhaust valve position to the light on the control switch just as might be expected.
Fitting requires removing a fair bit of trim for the boot of the car and tapping into the CANBUS wires. However when fitted the active exhaust valve works just as you would expect.
The car now has a lot of control over how well behaved it sounds. With the valves closed and the car in normal mode it’s just like any other modern car puttering around town. Put it into sport with the valves open and it sounds a lot more aggressive. However the pops burbles and occasional bangs only come with lift off when the accelerator is in dynamic mode.