The Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and How To Delete It

Everyone wants to know: “What the heck is the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF)?  And why does my truck need it?” 

Well, the truth is…your truck does not NEED it. But, because of government regulation in many countries, diesel trucks used by citizens are required to be fitted with some extra parts, such as the Diesel Particulate Filter.

The purpose of the Diesel Particulate Filter is to capture soot and other particulate matter from the exhaust gas. 

The accumulated soot is periodically burned off during what is known as the regeneration process. This requires high temperatures to reduce the particulate build-up to ash and periodically happens by your truck.

The Diesel Particulate Filter system works in conjunction with other systems in your exhaust such as the DEF tank (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) and the EGR system (Exhaust Gas Recirculation), plus a few others.

I recommend you read up on the entire diesel emission system in your exhaust if you are not familiar with it. But wait…

You are probably thinking: If my truck technically doesn’t need “this stuff” to run…Can I just remove it?

No.

Well, yes, but…it’s not that simple. You can’t just grab your wrench and saw and hack it off. First thing:

All of these parts, the Diesel Particulate Filter, EGR, DEF, have sensors. When you remove any of these parts, the sensors are also removed.

These sensors are connected to your truck’s ECM (Engine Control Module). This is basically the main computer in your truck.

If your ECM detects something is missing, for example, the Diesel Particulate Filtersensor is no longer plugged in, it will force the truck into limp mode.

This means, the ECM electronically limits the engine to barely functional speeds.

You will also see an error message on your dash telling you to “SEE DEALER”. That’s basically the way to fix the issue…

Well, There is ONE other way to fix the problem: Delete Tuning. You may have heard of it, but in case you haven’t, I will give you a basic overview below:

Delete tuning is a subtype of tuning, also referred to as programming or “chipping” depending on the country you live in. But we’ll call it tuning to keep things simple. Tuning refers to customizing the electronic controls of your car or truck.

There are many reasons to tune a truck, but It is generally used for performance reasons, or engine efficiency and reliability.

When your truck comes from the factory, it’s tuned by the manufacturer to perform in a certain way.

Generally speaking, the settings set by the manufacturer are placed to comply with regulations. You probably have heard of a guy who had a “normal car” like a Mazda that has 1000 horsepower, and while the engine, turbo system and many other things have been heavily modified, the car was also tuned.

Delete tuning, refers to altering the settings of your ECM so that you can remove the Diesel Particulate Filter, EGR, DEF while your truck still runs without any error codes or limp mode. 

This can only be done with a custom delete tune and a compatible tuner. It’s very important that a delete tune is made by an expert in the field, otherwise it may have catastrophic consequences for your truck. 

Once you install the delete tune in your truck, you can then remove or “delete” the Diesel Particulate Filter, EGR and DEF permanently. Now you might be saying: “Ok Jake…I get it, the DPF is not essential, but why go through all the hassle to remove it?” Well, there are 3 main benefits to removing your Diesel Particulate Filter:

1) Reducing Cost of repairs The Diesel Particulate Filter is notorious for having issues, and expensive ones at that. Anything from a sensor failure, filter issues, to name a few can run you back several thousands of dollars for the parts alone.

When you delete the Diesel Particulate Filter, you don’t have to worry about that any more.

2) Long term engine reliability The exhaust gas is basically being recirculated back into the engine. Over time, this can cause soot build-up and shorten your engine’s lifespan. Once the Diesel Particulate Filter (and the EGR) are deleted, the exhaust simply flows out of the tip of the pipe.

3) Engine efficiency When the DPF is intact, exhaust gas is blocked from freely flowing out of the truck, until it goes through the system.

Remember, the DPF is a filter, the inside of the filter looks like a honeycomb. This is far from the ideal shape if you want something to easily flow through, instead it does the opposite. That means as gas is slowed down in this system, pressure builds up. This pressure is specifically called “back pressure”. Back pressure decreases engine efficiency and also drops engine output and negatively impacts throttle response.

When the Diesel Particulate Filter is removed, exhaust gas flows optimally out of the truck, with no more blockages. This is why, when guys delete their DPF, they see better fuel mileage, and notice a much more responsive throttle.

Also, your truck literally gains 20-40 horsepower when you delete the DPF system, so there is actually more power being produced by the engine. For all these reasons, many diesel truck owners around the world opt to delete their Diesel Particulate Filter once and for all.