Opening up or uncorking 2011 Aston Martin Rapide exhaust

[shemiranipour]

Dear fellow Aston Owners,

I just bought a 2011 Rapide and I love it, but it doesn't sound like it should. The exhaust only is open when you start it up, and then again at higher RMP. But not in between. Is there a way to open up/uncork the exhaust system? I was watching some videos on you tube about removing fuse #22, but there is no fuse 22 on my car. Which fuse would it be on 2011 Rapide?

Thanks guys and I'm happy to be amongst like minded enthusiasts.

Much respect from Houston, Texas!

[LalC]

Fuse 3 on RAPIDE

On a RHD Uk car, the carpet in the passenger foot well thats behind the FRONT PASSENGER seat is lifted. That reveals 2 flat head screws that release the carpeted panel under the seat behind the front passenger seat. The fusebox and Sat Nav cd player are behind this under seat panel.

On LHD car it maybe behind the driver side seat instead of passenger side.

Will make a big difference to the car.

You can also buy a remote switch to control the bypass valves.

[pynhead]

I just removed my FUSE 3 on my 2011 Rapide last week. To confirm the previous direction you will find that fuse under the rear LHS seat. Easy to remove but you'll want a telescoping mirror to get a look at the fuses in order to pull the right one given the angle of the fuses. Without the mirror it would require your head to be planted on the floor to see the fuses in order to read the fuse number.

[shemiranipour]

Thanks a million!!

I didn't drive it today but as soon as I get home I will take a look. I can't wait! I will let you know. I'll check both sides since not sure which side it will be on in a Left Hand Drive car. Is the carpet easy to pull up?

And I now know the fuse box in the boot is not the place to go.

Also will this cause any check engine lights to come on?

[shemiranipour]

pynhead said:

I just removed my FUSE 3 on my 2011 Rapide last week. To confirm the previous direction you will find that fuse under the rear LHS seat. Easy to remove but you'll want a telescoping mirror to get a look at the fuses in order to pull the right one given the angle of the fuses. Without the mirror it would require your head to be planted on the floor to see the fuses in order to read the fuse number.

Thanks! so its under the driver seat? did you like the results?

[LalC]

Night and day difference.

Another tip suggested was to lower down the boot divider, you will hear the exhaust sound even more

[shemiranipour]

will it cause check engine lights to come on?

[starlight225]

shemiranipour said:

will it cause check engine lights to come on?

No, it is not something that will affect emissions, and therefore will not illuminate the MIL/check engine light.

[pynhead]

shemiranipour said:

Thanks! so its under the driver seat? did you like the results?

Yes...if you could pull your heels towards your butt while sitting in the seat behind the driver's seat (assuming LH side driver seat) they will hit the panel that covers the fuses. When you remove the seat (plenty of instructions on how that's done around here) you just need to pop a couple carpet stays and pull the carpet back just a bit to see the fuse box. It's a little fiddly given the angle but it's not difficult to navigate and certainly worth the effort.

The results are truly night/day. The sounds is not offensively loud so i don't (personally) see a reason to get a remote switch...although that would likely be dependent on your neighbor scenario.

[shemiranipour]

It worked!

Thansk all for you help! And Jeff thanks for detailed instructions. I pulled the fuse out. It doesnt have the roar that I expected, it sounds like a honda civic with after market muffler while its on automatic mode. But when I use the paddle shifters then the sound comes to life!

[burntout]

If noise is what you want then look into changing the back box?

I run a quick silver super sport back box along with a set of cat delete pipes. I often get a warning up on the dash due to the cats but just the rear back box wont give you any problems at all... In my opinion the noise from the quicksilver is the best....

www.quicksilverexhausts.com

[starlight225]

burntout said:

If noise is what you want then look into changing the back box?

I run a quick silver super sport back box along with a set of cat delete pipes. I often get a warning up on the dash due to the cats but just the rear back box wont give you any problems at all... In my opinion the noise from the quicksilver is the best....

www.quicksilverexhausts.com

I’m surprised you get a dash light (MIL) as the secondary cats are not monitored by the OBD system. Do you get a fault code?

[burntout]

starlight225 said:

I’m surprised you get a dash light (MIL) as the secondary cats are not monitored by the OBD system. Do you get a fault code?

I'm not sure about any code.... I will get it checked out...

[shuzzy]

I have a 2013 DB9, that used to have secondary decat pipes, I never got any warnings or lights while they were in place.

[Lukeprice99]

Hi, I own an Aston Martin rapide and want to uncork the exhaust. I have read that it is fuse 3 on RHD but I can’t locate which one is fuse 3

[GF1-Aston]

Lukeprice99 said:

Hi, I own an Aston Martin rapide and want to uncork the exhaust. I have read that it is fuse 3 on RHD but I can’t locate which one is fuse 3

I put two caps (one on each valve) on my valves and plugged the vacuum tubes. This mod will prevent your ECU from showing a DTC. If you pull the fuse out you will cause a DTC to be logged in your ECU. It will not set a engine light but it will be there. When you remove the vacuum from the valves it lease the exhaust valves in the "OPEN" position, this will get you the "uncorked" effect you are looking for.
This is very easy to do, does not cause a DTC, cost a couple bucks at your local parts store and best of all you get the sound you are looking for.
You can see in my photos I put a blue cap on the valve and a yellow cap on a vacuum union on the vacuum lubes. Then I zip-tied the vacuum tube up out of sight and to keep it secure.
The can also be reversed in just a few minutes. No lift needed, you can access everything while the car is on the ground.

[CB07]

I installed a CCC exhaust switch on mine. I got Clive to build me one so it starts in loud. It is as he points out on his website very loud, especially on cold starts. Quite daft!

I “think” I am right in saying the Rapide exhaust is different from the others, perhaps a larger bore?

I like the fact it’s switchable and use it far more than I thought I might. In quiet mode at motorway cruising speeds the luxury nature of the car coupled with the vault like ride with the valves closed does in fact really suit it (imho). After all that’s how it was designed.

Everywhere else full chav mode engaged, naturally!