[MancDavo]

After yet another trip to Mangos to try and sort the rough running whilst regenning (EGR valve replaced today - will cross fingers that solves the problem!) I am now SERIOUSLY considering a trip down the road to St Helens for DPF removal and remap.

I have a couple of questions that hopefully you guys will have some thoughts on:

1) Are there ANY adverse points to having this done (the initial outlay aside!)? Everyone on here seems to be very positive about this but surely there must be something??

2) In terms of the remap are there different options in terms of power? I'm not particularly bothered about gaining any additional power (but obviously if its unavoidable I'll have to put up with it:thumbs.

3) I will be keeping this car for another 4 years due to the way I financed my purchase - is the work going to last that long (silly question I know but I'm just a bit worried any fixes/repalcements will be expensive.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Broggers]

Well - there's a couple of obvious ones. Firstly, any additional power will put more strain on the drivetrain - so theoretically the life of clutches, gearboxes, diffs etc. will be shortened. Insurance will also rise with the increased power (and may even rise if there's no power increase). As far as the EGR delete and DPF removal are concerned, I haven't experienced any downsides, and there's no reason why the work shouldn't last the lifetime of the car - potentially making it more reliable along the way. According to Adie at AHM, you can use a wider selection of better oils once the DPF's been removed as well. I'd certainly 'put up with' the extra power - it transforms the car and increases the grin factor no end.

 

[CuriousOrange]

Clutch and flywheel become 'consumables' mine lasted 15k and cost 1k

 

[cloverleaf159]

if you dont want to go with the full monte remap have a word with the guys at st helens

my car has the qtronic auto box and the power increase on qtronics is not as much as on manual cars so their must be some scope to go with a less extreme remp whilst still doing the egr and dpf delete

 

[MBadger]

Clutch and flywheel become 'consumables' mine lasted 15k and cost 1k

How many miles had the car done before the 15 k OR did you have a brand new clutch at same time as remap / dpf.

Personally I think there are few downsides. They can remap it with less power I believe but take it all - you never know when you will need it.

If you drive with a steady foot your not going to put an real pressure on the clutch and gearbox. If you try flooring it and running full boost all the time then I'm sure it will shorten the lifespan of such components.

I've only done 6 months on it so hard to say but I've got used to how to drive it and when not to smack all that torque through the gearbox and keeping revs higher etc when needed.

You can get black smoke but I've found if you use a good fuel or mixers it burns much better and I've only seen smoke twice so far.

Ahm were saying they have people who have gone past 50k on original clutch with remap.

Any others done decent mileage yet with a remap ??

Basically - Get It

 

[Clogz]

MancDavo,

In short: no...

Just be sensible with your driving after the DPF delete & remap. If you drive it sensibly there is no reason why there should be a problem. Some cars have done way more than 60k miles after an Alfatune/AHM remap. Mine's now done 25k miles and drives fantastic! :thumbs:

Just give Gus a ring - he's not far from you and he'll explain it all.

Good luck! :thumbs:

 

[MancDavo]

MancDavo,

In short: no...

Just be sensible with your driving after the DPF delete & remap. If you drive it sensibly there is no reason why there should be a problem. Some cars have done way more than 60k miles after an Alfatune/AHM remap. Mine's now done 25k miles and drives fantastic! :thumbs:

Just give Gus a ring - he's not far from you and he'll explain it all.

Good luck! :thumbs:

To be honest Clogz I'm pretty much sold and will def be getting the work done. Car has today had a new EGR fitted but has now developed some low end hesitancy, god knows why! Has only served to make me more determined to lose the DPF and EGR gubbins! I will never get another diesel though, unless my driving needs change substantially.

Just need to find the dough......

 

[stefanocirillo]

My car has done over 90k miles. Had the dpf delete and remap at about 80k. Runs like a dream. One thing that was underestimated by me was the smoke increase. By no means is it very noticeable but I find the back bumper gets covered in soot very quickly indeed. Apparently the 210bhp is cleaner than the 200bhp (my one). I'm not too fussed about it though because the car feels awesome to drive and it just gives me an excuse to clean it more often

 

[Alfa male 1]

I have run a tuning box by dtuk. on this engine cdti 1.9 16v vauxhall signum and then on a zafira both 150 bhp models. I did 37k in the signum from 9k when Ihad it put on to 45k when I sold it, there were no problems. Then I put the same box on the zafira that had 68k when I conected it, at 76k the dreaded swirl valve failed, (rod off) this clogged the DPF and it needed AA recovery, £800 At vauxhall to change loads of un-needed parts, after 2 spurious DPF's fitted and removed I finally had the DPF brick removed and a re-map by northwales tuning. I had just the DPF delete done not the EGR too. I DIY fixed the swirlvalves with info from a thread on a forum and then ran remapped and no DPF. (the tuning box was removed first) the swirl valve fix lasted a year and was still going strong after 14K miles when I traded the car in.

I am going to be 100% honest!!! the car ran better more power all over, 3 Mpg improvement in all conditions so thats average all round driving real world.

There was a downside!

On start up first thing there is blue smoke for about 10 secs and a smell! Then the engine would run fine smoke free! (the blue smoke was like valve stem oil seal leek on old ford RS turbo that only happend on frist start up.) back to remap: when driving normally she was fine Untill you nail the car or accelerate hard then there is soot Galore ! which is nasty if you ease off the soot goes. And if you accelerate hard a few times there is a little less soot each time as if its clearing a build up.

I am getting my car remapped in the next fortnight by ecotech in north wales. Its only a generic map and fairly cheap they will do DPF delete and EGR delete free with that but I would have to remove the brick myself, so wont bother at the moment.

I hope this helps because its honest feedback from real world conditions.

I had no clutch or gearbox issues at all and never have on any chipped car escort Rs turbo 250bhp heavily modified and a Rover 220 turbo coupe also about 270 bhp.

The other thing to mention is tyre and break pad wear are increased!

one more thing to mention is in some cases insurance can actually go down with a modded car not always an increase Adrian flux was cheaper than standard on 2 occations in the past. Both on escort RS and 220 Turbo. either way I would tell them.

Mark Flintshire

 

[johnnygal]

I really think the soot produced is down to how the map is done.

I had a 156 JTD 150 mapped at Reddot, and it smoked like a chimney when on hard acceleration. More so if I hadn't booted it for a while.

I have had my 159 JTD 150 mapped by Alfatune and there is NO smoke visible in the rear view miror, AT ALL. I have no signs of soot residue on the back bumper. I have been running this for 3K miles and the driveability and performance increase is incredible. It's what it should have been like from the factory.

I'm beginning to think that if your remap is particularly smokey, it is overfuelling all the time and not a very effective map.

In terms of effect on components after a remap, I ran my 156 (150) at 190hp for about 35K miles and had no issues.

 

[Clogz]

I really think the soot produced is down to how the map is done.

I had a 156 JTD 150 mapped at Reddot, and it smoked like a chimney when on hard acceleration. More so if I hadn't booted it for a while.

I have had my 159 JTD 150 mapped by Alfatune and there is NO smoke visible in the rear view miror, AT ALL. I have no signs of soot residue on the back bumper. I have been running this for 3K miles and the driveability and performance increase is incredible. It's what it should have been like from the factory.

I'm beginning to think that if your remap is particularly smokey, it is overfuelling all the time and not a very effective map.

In terms of effect on components after a remap, I ran my 156 (150) at 190hp for about 35K miles and had no issues.

+1:thumbs:

My 2.4jtd 210 doesn't smoke either. Even under maximum acceleration I get a small single puff of grey-ish smoke once and that's it. The Alfatune DPF remove, EGR delete and remap will also pass the recent, more stringent, MOT tests for soot.


@MancDave: sorry to read about your troubles. Sounds like you've been a bit unlucky. You won't regret the Alfatune remap when you have it done. Engine will run like never before. Revs much more freely with plenty of power and better economy. Oh, and no more worries about the DPF & EGR. It's a bit of money but it'll save you much more in the long run - especially if you do short-ish distances. The problems you've described can&do happen on all diesels with DPF&EGR regardless of brand.

Hope the remap will sort it all out - I think it'll completely change your current view of diesels... :thumbs:

 

[156Chris]

There seem to be rumours going round that if a car has had DPF removed ("any obvious modification of emissions components") that from 2012 it would fail the MOT. I haven't seen anything explicit from the uk.gov about this but might be worth asking the question to someone who actually knows (i.e. not me!!!)


You could obviously just get the DPF put back on for the MOT though just like petrol drivers do with CATs.

 

[cj romeo]

Drivetrain is obviously a concern, but just be sensible, all high performance clutched transmissions eat themsleves up quickly.

My mate got a brand new Mitsubishi FQ400 not that long ago - it has a compulsory half day instruction for drivers, he thought this was about handling, its not, its about how to treat the clutch and drivetrain!

 

[alipet]

There seem to be rumours going round that if a car has had DPF removed ("any obvious modification of emissions components") that from 2012 it would fail the MOT. I haven't seen anything explicit from the uk.gov about this but might be worth asking the question to someone who actually knows (i.e. not me!!!)

You could obviously just get the DPF put back on for the MOT though just like petrol drivers do with CATs.

In Northern Ireland, it is already an MOT fail to remove the DPF. The workaround is to split open the DPF, run a pipe straight through the centre of it, and close it up again. I think some places on the mainland are doing it this way now.

Of course, this won't help if they start to do an emissions check.

 

[ALFA TUNER]

In Northern Ireland, it is already an MOT fail to remove the DPF. The workaround is to split open the DPF, run a pipe straight through the centre of it, and close it up again. I think some places on the mainland are doing it this way now.

Of course, this won't help if they start to do an emissions check.

The way we do it they pass emission tests as set out up to Euro5
If in the future they change regulations then it will probably start from the year they do it as it happened twenty years ago with cats

 

[Nefe 159]

After you map the car you'll get a very anoying turbo whilstling

 

[doopercoupe]

More evidence against the dreaded DPF, Audi Q7 Turbo wastegate stuck, back pressure from a blocked DPF to blame. Let's hope this is not the reason for premature failing EGR's and worse to come on Alfa's !!

 

[dastocks]

There seem to be rumours going round that if a car has had DPF removed ("any obvious modification of emissions components") that from 2012 it would fail the MOT. I haven't seen anything explicit from the uk.gov about this but might be worth asking the question to someone who actually knows (i.e. not me!!!)

The above is consistent with the advice I received, which is that a lot of MOT testers will go through their careers without ever seeing a Brera and wouldn't be expected to know what they're supposed to look like underneath. However, a tester wouldn't be able to pass a car presented without the DPF if they knew it was supposed to be there.

 

[Clogz]

Regardless of what your car looks like, for diesels, as I understand it, they test for the amount of soot it emits. If it's too much it'll fail. If it's below the required maximum level it'll pass...
All Alfatune/AHM remaps with DPF removals have passed...
:thumbs:

 

[dastocks]

Regardless of what your car looks like, for diesels, as I understand it, they test for the amount of soot it emits. If it's too much it'll fail. If it's below the required maximum level it'll pass...
All Alfatune/AHM remaps with DPF removals have passed...
:thumbs:

... that's true now, but I'm not sure you can be confident that's the case next year.