2014 1LE w/NPP & Mild2Wild - My Review

[Mark T]

I had read varying reviews and a couple of YouTube video's regarding the NPP exhaust and the 1LE. We have all heard the success it has favored with the Corvette and ZL1 crowd. So I thought I would give it a try since it really isn’t very expensive, and hardly system intrusive.

After viewing the nekidparts.com webpage I sought to achieve the best price. I found a new one for sale on amazon.com by West Coast Corvette. It was 75$ with free shipping. Bamm,.. and instant 25% savings from retail pricing. Ordered at Amazon and was received 4 days later.

It came with the module, 2 remotes, and instructions for the Vette as well as the ZL1.

Since we are talking about the 2014 1LE w/NPP here, I wanted to make absolutely sure that this will apply prior to installation. I emailed the nekidparts.com (they don’t have a phone apparently) with my concerns, (West Coast Corvette was closed at the time).

The instructions were a bit confusing, even with someone like me with considerable electronic and electrical skills.


My reading on the forums left me thinking the m2w plugged into F8 as a replacement. Plus the unit came with an extra white wire that wasn’t making sense to me. Additionally, the instructions spoke of "ZL1 Modification:. Does this apply to my 1LE? What am I supposed to do with fuse F8 and F3? Where does the white wire go and why must it be done this way?

And the images on the instructions weren’t necessarily clear, until which time I read the instructions multiple times, and exchanged emails with nekidparts.com.


Then it finally clicked.


Installation:

I proceeded to pull the carpet and back cover off my trunk interior, and pulled back the right side carpet to expose the fuse block. Then,..

1 - Pulled the F8 fuse (EXH FLAP)
2 - Pulled the F3 fuse (RDO)
3 - Using small wire cutters, I carefully removed the heat shrink tubing on the m2w plug where the white wire goes in.
4 - I pulled the white wire out of the w2m plug
5 - I inserted the 20A (RDO) yellow fuse into the socket, right next to the already installed 10A fuse on the w2m plug.


Ready to install onto the car. (car turned off of course and key removed)

1 - Loosened ground bolt on side panel near fuse block, inserted tab of double-black wire with eyelet and positioned under ground bolt lip. Carefully tightened and made sure was secure. (this is a ground path for auto electrical so be sure to tighten this ground bolt. If not performed, a variety of problems may surface and you don’t want that.)
2 - Plug w2m plug (with both fuses attached) into F3 fuse spot with wires pointed down.
3 - Plug white wire flat spade into LOWER fuse connection on F8 spot. (the white wire powers the exhaust flaps from the m2w unit, with the red 10A exhaust fuse now located on the m2w harness plug. Radio over current protection is still through the yellow 20A fuse now located on the m2w harness plug)

That was it.

I took it for a test drive and using the remote made sure everything was working.

Upon return, Using wire ties, secured the m2w unit to the wire harness and dressed the wires neatly so they wouldn’t be loose and the fuse cover could be remounted. The blue wire that just dangles, just leave dangling, but try to straighten and not to leave it coiled up. This is the antenna.

Finally, buttoned up the trunk carpet, etc, to return to factory look.

Of course I programmed the Homelink for NPP On & Off functionality using two of the three Homelink buttons. (Remember which one does what)


Observations:

Now since this all seemed more difficult than necessary for me, and some of the wiring was questionable as to design, I am glad to have it operating. A couple of design thoughts,...

1 - Kind of a cheesy way to connect to ground. Should be a proper sized eyelet on the ground wire, where it could be properly fastend instead of a compression toe positioned under the ground bolt.

2 - Doesn’t make sense why the F3 (RAD) fuse needs to be used to connect to at all. Unless this is to store the previous state it was in when you shut the car off, till the next time you turned it on. Kind of pointless in my opinion, I would be ok with pulling just the F8 fuse and having to turn NPP off manually every time I start the car. This would also eliminate the "trickle-drain" on the battery when the car is unused for extended periods.

3 - The instructions, allthough well visualized, are a bit confusing to the layman, and some thought still needed for those electrically inclined. They need to be cleaned up and made more user friendly.


Anyway, on to my testing observations:

I originally liked the way my 1LE operated and sounded. But alas, I did the F8 fuse pull and loved the sound the exhaust produced while accelerating on the road at lower than 3500 RPM's. Yes it isn’t near as obvious an improvement as the Corvette or ZL1 sporting this m2w, but yes, it was still significant enough to value it's $75 purchase price, after installing in my 1LE. The additional "brabbling" at deceleration is always a plus, to note. It is easy to install, when you can see the installation path, and the hardest part is getting access to the fuse block in the trunk.

I cannot say it provided any performance improvement, but switching the NPP off and opening up all pipes as I accelerated on the on-ramps to the highway, I can suggest there is a perceived improvement in performance and definite improvement in sound. And I wasn’t expecting any performance improvement, so I think this is a plus.


Final takeaway,...

Cool little add-on for the 1LE that doesn’t change the car in a bad way. The instructions have much to be desired, and I question some of the engineering in the product. But overall, I like it and enjoy using it to date. And if I ever change my mind, it is an easy switch back to OEM in the fuse block.



I would buy it again if I bought another 1LE.

[slick rick]

DPP or NPP?

[Mark T]

Lmao.... yup, some editing required.

Thanks

[Mark T]

Just got a confirmation email from nekidparts that yes, the RDO F3 fuse connection is just used for state retention of the NPP setting.

I think I am going to switch it up and test-install it for non-retention.

IE, not use the F3 connection, and have the white wire connected to F8 via the m2w connector.
This should eliminate the "trickle-drain" I mentioned above.
It will be interesting to see which state it defaults to on ignition power up.
I will post back when I do this.

[SSMY1LE]

Great write up but you could have saved $59 using this one.
I installed it and works perfectly.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/12V-ON-OFF-SW...ff9f0c&vxp=mtr

[CamaroTom]

Does anyone make a NPP controller that allows it to be fully closed on start up?

[Mark T]

Originally Posted by SSMY1LE

Great write up but you could have saved $59 using this one.
I installed it and works perfectly.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/12V-ON-OFF-SW...ff9f0c&vxp=mtr

Yes, but looking at the ebay image, a fuse connector would have to be sourced and added in. The m2w is simple plug and play.

But thanks for the idea. I think it would work too.

[Indydriver]

Sorry, I still don't get the attraction of this mod. You can only choose between factory mode, which of course, we already have, and full on mode, which you can accomplish with the fuse pull. It fails to provide the most important option which is off at will. So, what's the point? I'm thinking I'll just leave it alone. Getting headers tomorrow, so maybe my opinion will change but it seems to me, the best utility would be OFF at cold start when you're leaving the house early in the morning and trying to be quiet.

[Mark T]

Originally Posted by 1LEMayhem

Does anyone make a NPP controller that allows it to be fully closed on start up?

I think that would be more difficult as the system is "normally closed" for bi-operation. Pulling the f8 fuse opens this circuit keeping the butterfly open.

This tells me that somewhere further in the cars circuitry is another relay that closes and supplies power to the fuse (or not) when the car computer reads the rpm setting for either mode.

To select closed all the time would have to be done further upstream in the cars harness and likely near the cars computer.

Or power would have to be sourced from the rear fuse block to the f8 fuse that you could control independently, such as from the radio f3 fuse, which is always powered. I would prefer switched power from an ignition sourced feed so the battery isnt drained while the car is off. Maybe this could be done, using one of those ebay remote systems linked above, but we are stacking up alot of remotes now. Or if you wanted just full time closed, a jumper to the lower f8 fuse connection from one of the other switched power sources would do that too.

I am not going to mess with my car electrical to that level tho.

[rdrfronty]

Originally Posted by Indydriver

Sorry, I still don't get the attraction of this mod. You can only choose between factory mode, which of course, we already have, and full on mode, which you can accomplish with the fuse pull. It fails to provide the most important option which is off at will. So, what's the point? I'm thinking I'll just leave it alone. Getting headers tomorrow, so maybe my opinion will change but it seems to me, the best utility would be OFF at cold start when you're leaving the house early in the morning and trying to be quiet.

For me, I intend to leave my baffles open 95% of the time. However, I wanted the option to close then from time to time. Those times would be perhaps taking off from a traffic light with the police next to or behind me. Or for occasional passengers, usually female (no offense intended), who hates loud exhaust. Then the toned down 1000-3000rpm range that the Mild2Wild switch allows comes in handy.
Plus I imagine when I get my headers and hiflows this summer, the ability to switch back in forth will become even more important.

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted by rdrfronty

For me, I intend to leave my baffles open 95% of the time. However, I wanted the option to close then from time to time. Those times would be perhaps taking off from a traffic light with the police next to or behind me. Or for occasional passengers, usually female (no offense intended), who hates loud exhaust. Then the toned down 1000-3000rpm range that the Mild2Wild switch allows comes in handy.
Plus I imagine when I get my headers and hiflows this summer, the ability to switch back in forth will become even more important.

Well, this is really the crux of the issue, isn't it? My headers are being installed tomorrow and I've signed up for a cruise with my wife on Saturday so, I may be singing a different tune by then.

[Cool1LE]

Originally Posted by Mark T

Just got a confirmation email from nekidparts that yes, the RDO F3 fuse connection is just used for state retention of the NPP setting.

I think I am going to switch it up and test-install it for non-retention.

IE, not use the F3 connection, and have the white wire connected to F8 via the m2w connector.
This should eliminate the "trickle-drain" I mentioned above.
It will be interesting to see which state it defaults to on ignition power up.
I will post back when I do this.

[Mark T]

It may be a week or so, but I am going to be doing a full electrical analysis on the connections...

1 - a "no drain" connection for a switchable circuit

2 - an "always off" solution.

3 - the default power-up state on a switchable circuit without retention backup.


I wont be modifying my harness, but I will be analyzing the electronics.

Stay tuned,.....

[camguynj]

For all those that want an "always ON or OFF" with no wiring and no constant power see the NPP feature of Dashlogic. Yea it's expensive but you don't just buy it for the NPP option.

http://www.palmerperformance.com/sto...k3q03p4r6k4k42