@DAVE396LT1 makes a good point, and I was going to suggest that myself, but didn't want to get into your HOA situation. You can always check the CCR (usually found on the management company's website) and find out if it is even a violation to start with. Then there's always running for election on the board, which is what I did a few years ago because I was sick of petty violations. It was effective. Don't blame you at all if you don't want to be on the board, but I would verify it's a violation in writing. Keep in mind they CAN fine you for anything, but if it's BS, you can challenge it and they'll fold like origami.

But assuming it IS a violation to have loud exhaust and you don't want to get on the board, you can rest easy knowing that in touring mode, it starts in stealth mode and it's pretty dang quiet!

 

That's not true on my 2018 M7 Z06. I just went out & verified this but I can only speak to how a 2018 Z06 operates. Though I would imagine they would all be the same. I should add that I when I initially set up the car I left my exhaust sound setting on the default option in the menu (i.e. exhaust tied to driving mode selector).

• I shut my car off in 'sport' mode the last time I drove it = Valves were open when I went out a few minutes ago (visually verified)
• I held the start button for 5 seconds to put it into 'service mode' (i.e. not accessory mode). This allowed me to change the driving mode without starting the car.
• I rotated the mode selection **** from 'sport' over to 'tour' mode = I heard the valves close & then I got out & visually confirmed the exhaust tip valves were closed.
• I then started the car = It started quietly & I then got back out & verified that the valves were still closed (the car is currently idling in the driveway as I write this)

 

YUP

 

I have a similar problem but not from the HOA, from my wife. She complains to me about it being to loud for the neighbors. So I usually set the engine sound mode to Automatic and leave it in Tour when I come into the subdivision. When I start it up in the morning it is fairly quiet. When I go out of the subdivision I just switch to Sport mode and the exhaust is louder. Sometime I leave the engine sound in Track, but if I do and forget to change it when I come home, in the morning I actually start the car with the garage door closed, then open it when it is running and I can switch driving modes. --Bob

 

You can, as @Oneslackr mentioned, just push and hold the start button for 5 seconds to enter service mode so you can change driving mode without starting the car. That way you can put it in touring before you actually start the car.

 

As long as I can show that Im still being mindful (ie stealth mode) when I start, I have a feeling I wont get much push back. To give some context about how "tolerant" my HOA is, on the edge of my neighborhood, there is a 4 acre lot owned privately and not part of the HOA. The house wives and retirees decided the grass was too high on that lot and complained in mass to the HOA "demanding" the owner cut it. The HOA sent a demand letter to the owner and the owner promptly laughed and told the HOA to suck it since he didnt fall under their HOA.

When I first moved in, if I or anyone parked in front of my house for more than 30 mins, I got a fine. If the trash cans werent promptly brought back into my garage by 7pm that day, I got a fine. If my mulch level was low, I got a $75 charge for more. Every week the landscaping company (hired by the HOA) would slowly blow out all my mulch so every 3-4 months, you guessed it, another mulch charge. The HOA is $300 a month with no pool, neighborhood facilities, and just a gate that is constantly broke (requiring more special assessment fees). Yearly I have to budget $3-5k a year in special assessments on top of the monthly fees. Nothing would please me more than to blast my pissy neighbors into oblivion every time I start the beast, but I like my house so I have to play nice (and bring my checkbook).

 

Doing this procedure every time I start the car would get old very quick. This was the main reason for having something automated like pushing a button on a remote to open/close the valves.

 

Wow. That's completely absurd. There is no way I could put up with that kind of B.S. You must have one hell of a house to put up with all of that nonsense.

 

Those were just the steps that I did this morning to verify that the car does start with the valves closed since the other poster said the cars always start with the valves open, which is incorrect.

All you need to do is turn you mode selector to 'touring' as you get into your neighborhood or before you shut your car off & then it will start in 'touring' mode with the valves closed the next time you drive it or when you start it up in the morning. It doesn't get easier than that.

If for some reason you were to forget to switch it to 'touring' mode before you turned it off & wanted to close the valves before starting it up in the morning then you would do this:

1. Press & hold your start button for 5 seconds which puts the car in 'service mode' (your instruments etc...light up)
2. Turn your mode selector to 'touring' mode, which would close your exhaust valves
3. Start the car

Once again very simple. No expense, hassle, or wiring up extra crap to the car.

 

I need to turn my selector back to touring mode at least a block before I get to my house and shut off the engine, or it may start in "loud" mode again.

 

I'll have to see if my car does the same thing in touring mode the next time I have a chance to drive it. I've never noticed since I just leave it in sport mode 24/7. I don't have an HOA to worry about & I only have 2 neighbors on either side of me. The neighbor's house on the east side is a 1/4 mile away & I can't see his house as there are a couple of hills between us. My neighbor on the west side is 500 ft. away with woods in between us. Behind me I have the rest of my east side neighbor's 320 acre ranch. I'm glad I don't have to worry about what my car sounds like when I start it.

 

I agree with the post below....I could never deal with that. It's like being taxed again. It's basically mob rule and if your neighbors don't like you you'll pay through the nose to stay, so that better be an amazing home and schools for your kids and such. I like my freedoms and while I don't intentionally try to annoy my neighbors, there are plenty of them who bug me...kid across the street at midnight with the bass thumping my house, mariachi bands for parties well into the night, etc. So I do enjoy my car and I don't worry about them until I finish with my house out in BFE and have peace and quiet again. I start mine in the garage in the morning and leave the exhaust in Track mode. Yes, it's loud in the garage, but even then it's not all that loud outside of it and the door open....at least to me. Leave the door closed to enjoy that and it's almost not an issue, especially if the door is insulated at all. It's not a Lexus for sure though. But then idling out and cruising away it's not making much noise at all...engine is cold and no reason to be revving it. Coming home, with any vehicle I drive like with my turbocharged Porsche to let everything run at lower rpms just to let the whole thing settle down and cool off a bit before parking it. May not be required, but it's how I got used to driving to help keep my turbo going (and with 225k plus miles on it, it's still going with no play in the shaft) and it means you're not roaring up and squealing into your driveway anyway. Frankly my boyfriend couldn't hear it much before break in was over at lower rpms in track mode as I did some passes getting some pictures of it. But then again, in an HOA full of petty people trying to control others......sigh.....

 

I use Sport mode with the exhaust in Touring all the time. If the car is cold, it will start loud for a couple seconds. You can just start it with the garage door closed, then raise it after a few seconds, you will be fine.

 

 

What makes that any simpler than just turning the **** on the console. M2W switch provides no benefit on the C7 M7 and little benefit on the A8.

Bill

 

 

He's talking about the **** on your console where you turn to go from sport to touring (or track, or eco, or weather). Come on now...

 

 

Above a certain RPM going to STEALTH mode?? I haven't noticed that, just the opposite. If I go WOT in touring, once I get to like 4k RPMs, it gets louder, not quieter.