DPF Delete: Worth the Risk? Performance vs Legal and Environmental Concerns

[sullybosco]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been considering a DPF delete on my truck to improve performance and fuel economy, but I’m unsure about the potential downsides. On one hand, I’ve heard it can reduce maintenance costs and increase horsepower, but on the other, I know it’s illegal in many places due to emissions regulations.

Has anyone here done a DPF delete? What were your experiences with performance gains versus reliability issues? Did you run into problems with inspections or fines? Also, I’m curious about the environmental impact.

Does removing the DPF make that much of a difference in pollution?

Lastly, for those who’ve gone through with it, did you tune the ECU afterward, and if so, which tuner or kit would you recommend?

 

[sullybosco]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been considering a DPF delete on my truck to improve performance and fuel economy, but I’m unsure about the potential downsides. On one hand, I’ve heard it can reduce maintenance costs and increase horsepower, but on the other, I know it’s illegal in many places due to emissions regulations.

Has anyone here done a DPF delete? What were your experiences with performance gains versus reliability issues? Did you run into problems with inspections or fines? Also, I’m curious about the environmental impact.

Does removing the dpf delete make that much of a difference in pollution?

Lastly, for those who’ve gone through with it, did you tune the ECU afterward, and if so, which tuner or kit would you recommend?

Looking for honest pros and cons before making a decision. Thanks in advance!

 

[BadShot]

Not sure this is the best place to ask about deleting emissions from a truck considering this is a forum for gas powered Fiestas.

 

[SteveS]

Considering that this type of delete/tune is what precipitated the whole crackdown on aftermarket tuning and modification, I'd say don't do it. I can't stand huge clouds of diesel smoke fouling the air around the roads.

 

[BadShot]

Considering that this type of delete/tune is what precipitated the whole crackdown on aftermarket tuning and modification, I'd say don't do it. I can't stand huge clouds of diesel smoke fouling the air around the roads.

This 100x over. My wife and I bicycle around town and there's not much worse than some Kyle in his deleted Cummins blowing soot as us.

ps: if you think rolling coal on people in fun/entertaining, you're an A-Hole, period.

 

[dhminer]

Depends on the truck. Some are known reliability issues and if you have one of these trucks and no state emissions inspections, I’d probably do it. Still illegal and you should expect a hefty fine if caught. If it’s not a known issue on your truck, no real reason to do it.

 

[atlantaM3]

Resale/trade of a deleted truck is problematic. A lot of dealers wont touch them, for obvious legal reasons as they cannot sell it without repairing the emissions controls, which are $$$. So expect the value to take a material hit.

Also, I dont see the value in it - I own a diesel dually to tow a 21k load. It would take a literal lifetimes worth of fuel savings to offset the replacement costs of the emissions systems since it is for personal use. And if ticketed, that is going to sting too. Deleting a truck essentially makes it like a 70's diesel from an emissions perspective. Do you like being stuck behind a truck that stinks like that? More often than not, people having DPF problems arent following guidance on regeneration, etc. People buy these things to be daily drivers, lots of short trips, not getting up to temp, etc. which causes much of the emissions issues with diesels.

Agree with the statements on 'rolling coal'. Any time I see 'Chad' in his bro-dozer doing this, they look and act like complete assholes. Doing that to a bicylist is a total douche move. I see the Chad's being asshats frequently, so want no part of that association to 'save' 2 MPG.

Irony is the people that do this to 'save fuel' are generally the same idiots that have lifted the truck by two feet, have giant wheels, etc. that cause a large decrease in efficiency. Plus, make the truck utterly useless for its intended purposes - to move heavy things places.