Who has Milltek's Active Controller Installed?

[LuckysDad]

For those of you that purchased Milltek's Active Valve Controller.
Was it worth it?
Was it easy to install?

 

[brett_g]

Button 3 (the small one) puts it back in OEM mode. You won’t hear a difference between OEM and Closed modes at idle in Tour engine mode as the valve is closed by default under those conditions anyway.

To verify you’re in OEM mode, put the car in Sport or Track mode, then press 3 on the remote. Yoy should hear the exhaust get quieter if you were in OPEN mode or louder if you were in CLOSED mode.

There is NO difference between sound levels with factory and closed. When I put it in factory, and change the modes - I get no sound difference. I am worried to run it in "OEM" mode because it seems like its functioning the same as valves closed mode; Hence my question if there was some sort of reset or certain mode when putting it in the OEM mode.

In my mind - open should be the loudest. Factory should quiet the track mode down a little, and closed quiets everything down the most (and I understand, shouldn't be ran).

Is it possible that the unit is not functioning as intended?

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

At idle, in OEM mode you should notice:
From Tour to Sport, slight change in the tone.
From Sport to Track, almost no difference.
If it is exactly at cold start, (5/10 secs max) you will notice the difference better, since the car revs are a little bit higher.
If you notice no change at all at idle between Tour and Sport, then something is not working properly with the valve opening.

Of course if you are above 4.000 rpm’s and change the mode should be much more noticeable

 

[brett_g]

At idle, in OEM mode you should notice:
From Tour to Sport, slight change in the tone.
From Sport to Track, almost no difference.
If it is exactly at cold start, (5/10 secs max) you will notice the difference better, since the car revs are a little bit higher.
If you notice no change at all at idle between Tour and Sport, then something is not working properly with the valve opening.

Of course if you are above 4.000 rpm’s and change the mode should be much more noticeable

Thanks for this. I will have to try next time I drive the car.

 

[hellasf1]

I confirmed with an inspection camera. My controller was pinned wrong so I wanted to make sure “open” was actually open.

My findings…1 is open, my 2 is OEM & 3 is closed. For those asking about track vs Milltek open, track mode OEM is 3/4 open at idle and Milltek open is 100% open. You can see the difference on the camera. Sorry couldn’t capture pictures I was working myself. All this was at idle so I’m sure track OEM would open 100% under higher rpm’s.

 

[JKP]

Just installed Grp decat pipe and milltek valve controller. Wow, what a difference. This is a "must" mod for those of you wanting more grunt from your car. It is definitely much louder/better.

 

[Go Kart]

I confirmed with an inspection camera. My controller was pinned wrong so I wanted to make sure “open” was actually open.

My findings…1 is open, my 2 is OEM & 3 is closed. For those asking about track vs Milltek open, track mode OEM is 3/4 open at idle and Milltek open is 100% open. You can see the difference on the camera. Sorry couldn’t capture pictures I was working myself. All this was at idle so I’m sure track OEM would open 100% under higher rpm’s.

Others have had their modules pinned wrong as well. Milltek needs to do better QC before sending these out.

 

[LuckysDad]

Just installed Grp decat pipe and milltek valve controller. Wow, what a difference. This is a "must" mod for those of you wanting more grunt from your car. It is definitely much louder/better.

Does the third cat delete add more power or just more noise?

 

[JKP]

Does the third cat delete add more power or just more noise?

I don't know that it adds more power or not, but it certainly feels like it does (could be the extra noise). Either way, it was worth the price of admission. The car sounds like a proper exotic car now.

 

[gottspd]

Running with the valve open is transformative, to the extent I removed the aftermarket Y, J and muffler I was running (which were causing CELs) and went back to stock exhaust with the valve controller, and I have no desire to modify it further. Sounds awesome even with the factory 3rd cat.

I suspect the factory muffler is almost a straight pipe when the valve is compeltely open.

One IMPORTANT thing to be aware of with these is that running the valve forced closed can potentially damage the engine due to excessive backpressure. The factory valve is a complex device that varies the amount it opens based on a number of factors, including engine mode, RPM and a load sensor that measures the pressure against the valve in realtime and adjusts the position of the valve accordingly to minimise backpressure whilst maintaining minimum exhaust volume.

By default, the valve returns a P1018 "Valve unable to reach commanded position" fault code and puts the car into limp mode when the valve does not operate correctly, but the Milltek controller overrides this by returning an OK response at all times, so it is removing a layer of protection. I'm not sure if this is the case even in OEM mode or not, however.

I'd highly recommend mapping only the OEM and Open modes to Homelink, and then putting the remote away from the car so theres no chance of running the valve closed accidentally. The difference between "Closed"and "OEM" isn't as obvious as you may think, especially in Tour mode.

Because of this ability to force the valves closed, there are potential warranty implications associated with running this mod.
I hope Milltek release an updated version that omits the "Always Closed" setting as even their own literature states that you SHOULD NOT use this mode.

If you program to homelink, does that override the homelink buttons ability to operate the garage door?

 

[gottspd]

What’s the best place to buy the controller in the US?

 

[LuckysDad]

What’s the best place to buy the controller in the US?

Greg's Race Parts.
He's a forum sponsor and an active member.

 

[JKP]

Greg's Race Parts.
He's a forum sponsor and an active member.

I bought mine from Greg's Race Parts, quick shipping, even included a couple of dum dum suckers in the box for me (a nice touch).

 

[Blackthought_]

At idle, in OEM mode you should notice:
From Tour to Sport, slight change in the tone.
From Sport to Track, almost no difference.
If it is exactly at cold start, (5/10 secs max) you will notice the difference better, since the car revs are a little bit higher.
If you notice no change at all at idle between Tour and Sport, then something is not working properly with the valve opening.

Of course if you are above 4.000 rpm’s and change the mode should be much more noticeable

You sure about this? When I changed from sport to track the sound gets louder as the revs idles are higher…

 

[luciddaydream]

I don't know that it adds more power or not, but it certainly feels like it does (could be the extra noise). Either way, it was worth the price of admission. The car sounds like a proper exotic car now.

It doesn't sound obnoxiosuly loud, does it?

I am really confused on if you can turn it off and still be in sport mode and be at factory loudness?

 

[JKP]

It doesn't sound obnoxiosuly loud, does it?

I am really confused on if you can turn it off and still be in sport mode and be at factory loudness?

No, its not obnoxious. It's definitely louder, deeper, throatier, but only starts to scream if you put your foot all the way down and mostly after 4k revs. It definitely doesn't sound like a toyota engine anymore though, even at idle (a good thing).

 

[1stLotus]

Is it easy to remove and put back to OEM in the event there is a warranty issue and you want to bring it in for service?

 

[JKP]

Is it easy to remove and put back to OEM in the event there is a warranty issue and you want to bring it in for service?

I would think so, the install only took an hour and it just bolts on.

 

[luciddaydream]

No, its not obnoxious. It's definitely louder, deeper, throatier, but only starts to scream if you put your foot all the way down and mostly after 4k revs. It definitely doesn't sound like a toyota engine anymore though, even at idle (a good thing).

Ok, yeah I just don't want to sound like a jerk driving this thing around.

 

[Sentinel]

If you program to homelink, does that override the homelink buttons ability to operate the garage door?

There are 3 buttons. I use one for my garage door and the other two for valve open and OEM.

 

[gottspd]

There are 3 buttons. I use one for my garage door and the other two for valve open and OEM.

Hmm. I would need two buttons for the garage doors. Sounds like I’d just need to stay with the remote.