“For the people who still want to delete, a lot of it is driven by past experience,” Lopez said. “Maybe they had a truck they had to spend a lot of money on, but the problem kept coming back. More often than not, that can be tied back to misdiagnosis, along with a lack of understanding of how an aftertreatment system actually works. Maybe the dealer or shop didn’t catch everything when that truck was in for service. They just treated a symptom, but not the root cause. Our shop likes to focus on finding the root cause so we can give the customer a lasting fix.”
Because many of his customers are driving heavy-duty pickups in stop-and-go traffic, Lopez said he also takes the time to educate them on what they can do to improve the performance of the aftertreatment system.
“We explain how that type of driving is hard on an aftertreatment system,” Lopez said. “We advise them to drive the truck a bit harder once in a while to try and get those temperatures up to passively cook off some of that soot. If they simply can’t avoid taking a lot of short trips, we recommend that they take a bit longer drive at the end of the day.”
Lopez said the Bullet Proof Diesel service shop also likes to follow an old-school diagnostic process. Some technicians love looking at sensor data. That’s important, but not the end-all.
“We like to check for things like a common boost leak in the air intake system, which can lead to more soot development that plugs up an EGR cooler or DPF,” Lopez said. “We also check for exhaust leaks, fuel injector condition, and overall signs of engine and aftertreatment system maintenance. That’s where you’ll often find the root causes of aftertreatment issues.”
Lopez said a lot of issues tie directly to the EGR cooler. Some coolers, even OE coolers on some trucks, are lacking in quality. Bullet Proof Diesel sells its own EGR coolers that Lopez said are heavier-duty and built for better flow. Simply switching to a higher-quality EGR cooler can make a lot of difference, Lopez said. Plus, it’s entirely legal.
Another thing to keep in mind is that some tuning is also entirely legal.
“Not all tuning is bad tuning,” pointed out Steve Hoke, president of Diesel Emissions Service (DES), a provider of parts and service. “With an electronically controlled engine, perfecting the injection timing is a good thing. I think fleets should have their own tuners for their own specific trucks, applications, and drivers. But the tuning is for fuel mileage, performance, and carbon atomization to keep their aftertreatment system working efficiently.”
After getting hit by the EPA, Calibrated Power Solutions is extremely careful to communicate the fact that its tuners are designed to help truck owners optimize truck performance while leaving emissions systems intact.
“Tuning a diesel engine is one of the most efficient things you can do with a vehicle,” Wilson said. “You can actually change the computer programming in the vehicle so it makes more power, but still puts out less soot and smoke than a factory calibration would. We focus on safely increasing horsepower, torque, and fuel economy—all while retaining all factory emissions equipment and safety settings in the truck. We’ve actually done comparison testing. The mileage gains from deleting vs. tuning the right way is less than a half-mile difference.”
That’s a pretty modest reward for a pretty monstrous risk. When you get down to it, there are right ways to go about improving vehicle performance and efficiency, and there are right ways to go about maintaining aftertreatment systems. When fleets focus on what’s right, they usually can’t go wrong.
