Sponsored

Active exhaust DIY

axios

Active Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Threads
4
Messages
43
Reaction score
30
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
Vehicle(s)
2015 Mustang GT PP
Hacking together an active exhaust setup using Arduino. I am actually using BMW exhaust valve actuators as they can be found for cheap on ebay + they're all made by one and the same company.

Got the actuators to spin both ways, next step is to solder everything up and add a fancy switch LOL

IMG_6589.jpg
Sponsored

 

Mach VII

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2017
Threads
13
Messages
787
Reaction score
1,924
Location
Berkshire Hills, MA
First Name
John
Vehicle(s)
2019 Mustang GT 401A, 1989 Lincoln Mk VII LSC
OP
OP

axios

Active Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Threads
4
Messages
43
Reaction score
30
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
Vehicle(s)
2015 Mustang GT PP
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/2018-active-exhaust-install-guide.101913/post-3023075

According to the attached post you will need to crack the BMW actuator case and reclock to work with muffler designed for Mustang...
They came with with straight coupling pins so they might work out of the box - I'll test it out and report back.


Might want to consider adding the BMW heat shields as well....

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-bmw-parts/thermal-protection/18307628041/
Already tried fitting those, no luck. The only option would be to cut the shields in couple places or cut the mounting base on the exhaust. I think I'll just fabricate my own at this point using one of those embossed aluminum sheets.

IMG_6595.jpg
 
OP
OP

axios

Active Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Threads
4
Messages
43
Reaction score
30
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
Vehicle(s)
2015 Mustang GT PP
Just tried doing a test fit and those BMW coupling pins are too long, they hit the side wall of the actuator base. Tried tweaking one and ended breaking it. Looking for an alternative solution.
 

Geosh

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 29, 2020
Threads
36
Messages
350
Reaction score
365
Location
Gilbert AZ
First Name
Josh
Vehicle(s)
2019 Mustang GT
Just tried doing a test fit and those BMW coupling pins are too long, they hit the side wall of the actuator base. Tried tweaking one and ended breaking it. Looking for an alternative solution.
very interested in your setup. I ended up hardwiring the motors like in the other thread, but I’d love to do it a little better in the future and not have to hack them. I’d also like to figure out presets for modes.

Option number two for the springs would be to add new notches to the valves on the muffler that are ~90deg opposed. That might just do the trick and you could use the Ford or BMW round style springs without having to change the clocking of the shaft on the actuator. (Dodge might have something that works too)
 

Sponsored

Wernerj18

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2019
Threads
17
Messages
103
Reaction score
29
Location
South Carolina
First Name
Josh
Vehicle(s)
2015 mustang gt
OP
OP

axios

Active Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Threads
4
Messages
43
Reaction score
30
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
Vehicle(s)
2015 Mustang GT PP
very interested in your setup. I ended up hardwiring the motors like in the other thread, but I’d love to do it a little better in the future and not have to hack them. I’d also like to figure out presets for modes.
Yeah, I wanted to avoid cracking them open. I'll post my current setup/progress below.

Option number two for the springs would be to add new notches to the valves on the muffler that are ~90deg opposed. That might just do the trick and you could use the Ford or BMW round style springs without having to change the clocking of the shaft on the actuator. (Dodge might have something that works too)
That would def solve it. Just not sure what tool to use as there's not that much space on the top.

Dodge actuators use the same setup as Ford but I'm having a hard time finding those springs online - that's why I originally started looking into the BMW setup, it's easy to get it on ebay.
 
OP
OP

axios

Active Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Threads
4
Messages
43
Reaction score
30
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
Vehicle(s)
2015 Mustang GT PP
Looking forward to your solution. I just ordered active exhaust mufflers and need to figure out a way to actuate them. The ford units are way too expensive.
Yeah, they're basically just reselling them. The markup is insane, especially when you look at US made off-the-shelf solutions (Roush and others).

Someone in the DIY thread said they used the actuators from this and just tack welded it in.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-SETS-2-5...ric-Control-Valve-Kit-With-Pump-/183717235938
I did look at those a while back and decided to do something a bit more OEM. Didn't like the inner protrusions as those could cause additional turbulence. Plus, no one discloses the material specs.
 
OP
OP

axios

Active Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Threads
4
Messages
43
Reaction score
30
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
Vehicle(s)
2015 Mustang GT PP
To shed some more light on the project...

Soon after I started digging into those actuators, I found out that they're all made by the same company called Kuster. Ford, BMW, Volvo etc all use pretty much the same actuators (with some small differences). This kinda peeked my interested so I continued digging.

I soon found that they use the PWM (pulse width modulation) control protocol which helps optimize energy transmission and deliver a digital-like signal via an analog circuit.

After some more googling (this time armed with the right keywords), I landed on a super interesting forum post where a guy from Australia posted his working setup (based on Arduino). I didn't have the exact same components laying around as in his schematic, so I hacked together a circuit on my breadboard using what I had, turned it on and... nothing. So I ordered the same components he used in his setup, connected them from scratch, turned it on and... again, nothing. At that point I was like, ok wtf. Then I noticed his actuator enclosure was different, which got me thinking about the actuator pin positions so naturally I moved the outputs around but still couldn't get them to work. I was still not ready to give up so I went searching for BMW service docs, trying to locate one that would tell me more about how to hook up the damn thing... and I finally found one, moved the outputs around based on their schematic and BOOM, they moved... but only one way LOL. It took some messing around with the PWM duty cycle to get them to move the other way.

I rewrote the original Arduino code from scratch in the process because it was doing some things that didn't make much sense to me. Next step was putting together a project in KiCad and then getting a PCB board professionally made by OSH Park - still waiting for it to arrive. I will actually be getting an extra 2 PCBs so shout at me if you need them (you would need to get the components and solder them). Plus I think those can be made open source, meaning they can be ordered directly from the OSH Park website. If there's interest, I can post KiCad project files, bill of materials and full source code as well.

All in all, this was one crazy ride but hey, I love hacking things so kinda enjoyed it :)

2021-01-17 at 11.37 PM.png


2021-01-17 at 11.38 PM.png


2021-01-17 at 11.39 PM.png


2021-01-17 at 11.48 PM.png
 

Wernerj18

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2019
Threads
17
Messages
103
Reaction score
29
Location
South Carolina
First Name
Josh
Vehicle(s)
2015 mustang gt
To shed some more light on the project...

Soon after I started digging into those actuators, I found out that they're all made by the same company called Kuster. Ford, BMW, Volvo etc all use pretty much the same actuators (with some small differences). This kinda peeked my interested so I continued digging.

I soon found that they use the PWM (pulse width modulation) control protocol which helps optimize energy transmission and deliver a digital-like signal via an analog circuit.

After some more googling (this time armed with the right keywords), I landed on a super interesting forum post where a guy from Australia posted his working setup (based on Arduino). I didn't have the exact same components laying around as in his schematic, so I hacked together a circuit on my breadboard using what I had, turned it on and... nothing. So I ordered the same components he used in his setup, connected them from scratch, turned it on and... again, nothing. At that point I was like, ok wtf. Then I noticed his actuator enclosure was different, which got me thinking about the actuator pin positions so naturally I moved the outputs around but still couldn't get them to work. I was still not ready to give up so I went searching for BMW service docs, trying to locate one that would tell me more about how to hook up the damn thing... and I finally found one, moved the outputs around based on their schematic and BOOM, they moved... but only one way LOL. It took some messing around with the PWM duty cycle to get them to move the other way.

I rewrote the original Arduino code from scratch in the process because it was doing some things that didn't make much sense to me. Next step was putting together a project in KiCad and then getting a PCB board professionally made by OSH Park - still waiting for it to arrive. I will actually be getting an extra 2 PCBs so shout at me if you need them (you would need to get the components and solder them). Plus I think those can be made open source, meaning they can be ordered directly from the OSH Park website. If there's interest, I can post KiCad project files, bill of materials and full source code as well.

All in all, this was one crazy ride but hey, I love hacking things so kinda enjoyed it :)

2021-01-17 at 11.37 PM.png


2021-01-17 at 11.38 PM.png


2021-01-17 at 11.39 PM.png


2021-01-17 at 11.48 PM.png
Oh nice! So which actuators are you using? Not sure i would be able to go through all this to make that.
 

Sponsored

Wernerj18

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2019
Threads
17
Messages
103
Reaction score
29
Location
South Carolina
First Name
Josh
Vehicle(s)
2015 mustang gt
Yeah, they're basically just reselling them. The markup is insane, especially when you look at US made off-the-shelf solutions (Roush and others).



I did look at those a while back and decided to do something a bit more OEM. Didn't like the inner protrusions as those could cause additional turbulence. Plus, no one discloses the material specs.
I believe the guy only used the actuators in that ebay link I posted. Not the rest of the set up.
 

Andrew@Lethal

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2020
Threads
10
Messages
1,006
Reaction score
576
Location
West Palm Beach Florida
First Name
Andrew
Vehicle(s)
2003 10th Anniversary Cobra / 2003 Ford Lightning
Hacking together an active exhaust setup using Arduino. I am actually using BMW exhaust valve actuators as they can be found for cheap on ebay + they're all made by one and the same company.

Got the actuators to spin both ways, next step is to solder everything up and add a fancy switch LOL

IMG_6589.jpg
Nice! Excited to see how it turns out installed and done.
 
OP
OP

axios

Active Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Threads
4
Messages
43
Reaction score
30
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
Vehicle(s)
2015 Mustang GT PP
I believe the guy only used the actuators in that ebay link I posted. Not the rest of the set up.
Yeah, that could work. They do come with a remote so it would be a plug and play solution.

Wiring them up to a physical button would take some work, depending on the communication protocol they use. Based on photos I've seen on Arduino forums where people were asking for help, I think they use different internals (chipset, etc.)

EDIT: It would still be fun to plug them into a PWM controller to see if they would move
 
Last edited:

Liam O

Active Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2018
Threads
3
Messages
42
Reaction score
31
Location
UK
Vehicle(s)
Grabber Blue Mustang GT Shadow Edition
To shed some more light on the project...

Soon after I started digging into those actuators, I found out that they're all made by the same company called Kuster. Ford, BMW, Volvo etc all use pretty much the same actuators (with some small differences). This kinda peeked my interested so I continued digging.

I soon found that they use the PWM (pulse width modulation) control protocol which helps optimize energy transmission and deliver a digital-like signal via an analog circuit.

After some more googling (this time armed with the right keywords), I landed on a super interesting forum post where a guy from Australia posted his working setup (based on Arduino). I didn't have the exact same components laying around as in his schematic, so I hacked together a circuit on my breadboard using what I had, turned it on and... nothing. So I ordered the same components he used in his setup, connected them from scratch, turned it on and... again, nothing. At that point I was like, ok wtf. Then I noticed his actuator enclosure was different, which got me thinking about the actuator pin positions so naturally I moved the outputs around but still couldn't get them to work. I was still not ready to give up so I went searching for BMW service docs, trying to locate one that would tell me more about how to hook up the damn thing... and I finally found one, moved the outputs around based on their schematic and BOOM, they moved... but only one way LOL. It took some messing around with the PWM duty cycle to get them to move the other way.

I rewrote the original Arduino code from scratch in the process because it was doing some things that didn't make much sense to me. Next step was putting together a project in KiCad and then getting a PCB board professionally made by OSH Park - still waiting for it to arrive. I will actually be getting an extra 2 PCBs so shout at me if you need them (you would need to get the components and solder them). Plus I think those can be made open source, meaning they can be ordered directly from the OSH Park website. If there's interest, I can post KiCad project files, bill of materials and full source code as well.

All in all, this was one crazy ride but hey, I love hacking things so kinda enjoyed it :)

2021-01-17 at 11.37 PM.png


2021-01-17 at 11.38 PM.png


2021-01-17 at 11.39 PM.png


2021-01-17 at 11.48 PM.png
Great work figuring it out! If you wouldn't mind posting the pcb and the Arduino code I think that would a great help for people that are looking to do this, myself included!
Sponsored

 
 




Top