Woohoo, looking forward to this one.... :yes:

DPF is all reassembled and Ben has just gone 'over the yard' to fit the remapped ECU.

Well! Got all assembled, went on a couple of Road Tests to get the ECU/gearbox settled in, all pronounced good and left Ben @ 5:45pm.

I had a very enjoyable fast run home last night. The performance seems to be very close to my mapped Octavia vRS TDI pulling 205bhp! Certainly there is noticeable acceleration on the motorway whereas before Kevin would merely gain speed. The gearbox has already learnt to pull a higher gear with the extra torque available, at least it does not change down at the slightest opportunity, and I even executed a couple of A-road overtakes very comfortably that I would shied away from before.

I did a little performance testing en-route to work this morning.

I have a long uphill M-way entry slip road a few miles from home with the entry off a tight roundabout and have, over the last week or so, done some acceleration runs (using my mobile phone as a stopwatch and looking at the speedo; not hugely accurate but at least indicative) over 30 - 70 mph in 4th with an average time of 19.5 secs. Several runs done this morning with an average time of 14.75 secs. An improvement of 4.75 secs.

Kevin is running very smoothly, with gearchanges being smoother than before. As well as the clear increase in torque the 'top end' has improved noticeably. Previously there was little point running above 3,750 - 4,000 rpm in 4th or 5th as the rate of rise in engine revs dropped of. Now; there is a strong and steady pull to 4,500rpm and beyond.

Overall I now have the car I'd wanted in the first place; a CR170 with DSG (albeit it feels like its pulling 185/190 bhp for sure; perhaps a tad more).

Wee hee!

Sounds ideal! Once both you and Kevin settle down a bit :p it'll also be interesting to note any changes to mpg.

Sounds ideal! Once both you and Kevin settle down a bit :p it'll also be interesting to note any changes to mpg.

MPG on the way home was worse than on the way up; but then I was driving more briskly.

Terrible MPG this morning; but then I did several full throttle acceleration runs.

Refuelled just before I got to the office so will aim for 'normal' driving from now on.

Guy,

Will be interesting to see if you get any significant improvements in MPG, has the removal of the DPF created any booming or extra noise from the exhaust system. I'm seriously considering having the DPF removed as well for the 'alleged' improved MPG and SPG

what did it cost to have the dpf cut out??

Guy,

Will be interesting to see if you get any significant improvements in MPG, has the removal of the DPF created any booming or extra noise from the exhaust system. I'm seriously considering having the DPF removed as well for the 'alleged' improved MPG and SPG

Too early to tell on MPG, but my hunch is that it will be better due to more torque meaning easier driving style.

On the noise/sound point; I wouldn't say that it has made a huge, noticeable difference. If there is a difference, its a subtle deepening of the general tone of the engine, with it overall sounding smoother/quieter. I have tried listening for the exhaust tone driving under a 50m long railway bridge in the village with the engine under power and windows open but I can't say that it has made it any noisier.

what did it cost to have the dpf cut out??

£200 for the DPF delete software and £150 labour; total £350.

If anyone has an older car that needs the DPF replacing this is a 'no brainer' as I think you'll find this is less than half price of a replacement. Dealers will probably charge you £360 labour (4.5 hours @ £80 per hour) plus the cost of the replacement DPF.

Is the £200 for the DPF Delete software on top of the cost of the re-map? Oh one more thing, do you have any visible smoke now when you boot it?

Is the £200 for the DPF Delete software on top of the cost of the re-map?

Yes.

Oh one more thing, do you have any visible smoke now when you boot it?

Not that I have seen.

I'll be very interested as to what differences you find in fuel consumption without the DPF restriction....VERY Tempted now!

I'll be very interested as to what differences you find in fuel consumption without the DPF restriction....VERY Tempted now!

Too early to tell on MPG, but my hunch is that it will be better due to more torque meaning easier driving style.

What I mean Guy is over and above the car being remapped, as you know, I have the CR170 remapped by Shark and it will easily see 50+ mpg when on a sustained run at 70-80mph, with the DPF removed it should be theoretically be less restricted hence better mpg and performance to boot!

My conscience had been pricking me for a wee while about particulate emissions since I had my DPF removed, so I popped along to my local friendly MOT testing station this afternoon and had a Diesel Smoke Test done.

Very interesting experience because, as a lot of readers will know, the diesel smoke test requires the following test;-

After checking the oil temperature to ensure the engine is warm the tester will accelerate the engine from idle until the governor cuts in a maximum of 6 times. Your engine will not be held at full speed for any length of time. If your engine has been maintained, the test should not cause damage to your engine.

The "... until the governor cuts in ..." is reckoned to be at max revs of (usually) c. 4,000rpm or more and the emissions testing unit is looking for a reading around this level.

Problem! Whilst the red line on Kevin is set at 5,000 rpm, and he will run close to this speed with alacrity on the road (DSG 'box does up-changes @ 4,500rpm even in S or manual), the ECU 'self preservation' programming will only allow the engine to run to 2,500 rpm if it's in park or neutral. So the standard smoke test program will not run. :'(

Solution is to set the smoke test machine to 'manual' and run the test from there. Hook up the detector probe in the exhaust, three acceleration runs and reading obtained of 0.16, 0.16 and 0.24; average 0.19m-1 against a test limit of 3.00m-1 Test passed.

OK; if Kevin had been able to run to 4,500rpm the particulate emissions would likely have been higher but even if they were quadrupled would only have been 0.76m-1; still significantly lower than a test limit of 3.00m-1 or even a (possibly) proposed lower limit of 1.50m-1.

Conscience clear. and as Ben proudly states; I don't do smoke! Too true; he doesn't.

Interesting, so the CR engine will actually pass the new proposed emission limits without the DPF.....so whats the actual point of the DPF on it?? have you sen any noticeable improvement in the MPG Guy?

....... have you seen any noticeable improvement in the MPG Guy?

I happen to have done a full tank fill up this morning having covered nigh on 1,000 miles from remap; as you can see in my 'fuely'.

It is slightly difficult to judge any change because I moved office just before the remap and my daily commute has lost a proportion of easy 40-50mph driving so arguably my current consumption should be very marginally worse.

Overall, without being too scientific and geekily statistical, over and above using a 'fuely record', I would say my consumption is the same BUT my driving isn't.

I am frequently using all the available extra performance, for example, my Motorway cruising speed is now c. 10mph higher with Kevin being most comfortable with it. If I drove at the same speed I did before the remap, I would expect to see better fuel consumption but unlike some (e.g. Rockhopper) I got the remap for better performance rather than better economy.