Quadrifoglio Exhaust Sound Controller

One of the nicest features of the Giulia Q are the switchable exhaust valves. As soon as they are in the open position, the Ferrari V6 clears a throat that bleaches the late Mr. Pavarotti. In short SPECTACLE !. But unfortunately Alfa Romeo software engineers have not thought about when the valves should be open or closed.

It is logical that the valves must be permanently open in Race mode, but not everyone always wants to drive in Race pnly to enjoy the sound. The enthusiastic shifting behavior in Race is not always necessary and some backup of the traction control system is often desirable. That last is missing when driving in R mode. However, the valves will only open at higher engine loads and revolutions. This often happens at a time when you actually do not expect it, which causes you a certain amount of shock/unrest. Outside the car it also sounds strange when the valves open and close again a moment later. Not so tough ….

The ESC v2 dongle puts an end to this inconvenience. In this case ESC does not stand for Electronic Stability Control, but for Exhaust Sound Control. “v2” stands for the second version. The ESC v2 is based on the hardware of our Performance Loggers. This means that in the future the ESC v2 can be upgraded to a Performance Logger, if desired.

With the ESC v2 dongle the outlet valves can be opened under all circumstances. So also in the A, N and D position. However, the original control strategy runs parallel. So either the dongle opens the exhaust valves or the car does it itself. The dongle cannot force the outlet valves to stay closed.

How does it work?

For 6-speed manual versions.

The ESC dongle v2 is plugged into the EOBD plug next to the steering column under the dashboard. The red LED inside the ESC dongle v2 comes on.

The outlet valves are opened by pressing the lane depature button for about 2 seconds.

  • On the instrument cluster , in the speedometer, the ESC light flashes for 3 seconds to indicate that the system is active.
  • The green LED lights up inside the ESC v2 dongle
  • On the info line on the TFT screen between the speedo and RPM the text “Exhaust Valves opened” appears for a few seconds. The info line is only visible when the TFT screen  setting is tuned to the digital speedo.
  • The lane departure setting returns automaticly into it’s original state.

Closing the valves is done in the same way; press the button for the lane departure for 2 seconds.

  • On the dashboard, ESC OFF lights up continuously for 3 seconds
  • The the green LED switched off.
  • On the TFT scrren the text “Exhaust valves closed” appears.
  • The lane departure setting retunrs into it’s oroinal state.

For 8-speed automatic versions.

The ESC dongle is plugged into the EOBD plug next to the steering column under the dashboard. The green LED on the ESC dongle comes on and then needs about 4 seconds to start up.

The outlet valves are opened by pressing the button on the gearselector

  • On the instrument cluster , in the speedometer, the ESC light flashes for 3 seconds to indicate that the system is active.
  • The green LED lights up inside the ESC v2 dongle
  • On the info line on the TFT screen between the speedo and RPM the text “Exhaust Valves opened” appears for a few seconds. The info line is only visible when the TFT screen  setting is tuned to the digital speedo.

Closing the valves is done in the same way; press the button on the gearselector for 2 seconds.

  • On the dashboard, ESC OFF lights up continuously for 3 seconds
  • The green LED switched off.
  • On the TFT scrren the text “Exhaust valves closed” appears.

When the igntion is swithed off and the ESC v2 dongle remains installed in the EOBD port, it remembers the last set position of the outlet valves.

The dongle is designed to be able to sit semi permanently. About 1 minute after the ignition is switched off, it falls into sleep mode to minimize power consumption to 15 mA. This allows the dongle to remain connected for several weeks without any problems.

SGW firewall present?

When a SGW firewall is present, the dongle does not work. In that case our SGW bridge can be installed.

All Giulia’s and Stelvio’s are equipped with the SGW firewall from production month February 2018. Therefore, if in doubt, include the chassis number of the car in the E-mail so that we can find out whether an SGW is present.

Prices and ordering

Click this link to go to the pricelist and ordering details.