Emission control issues with chip upgrade?

Alpha7

Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2004
Location
Bella Vista Arkansas
TDI
Jetta, 2000, Silver Jetta Sport Wagan 2011, DTI White
I live in an area in Ohio where the government has found a new revenue stream in the general area of my tail pipe. I recently drove a friends TDI after he upgraded the chip and injectors, effectively destroying my ability to drive my own TDI without these enhancements. I have a concern that these upgrades may affect my ability to pass the emissions check. Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks.
Oh, the upgrade components are: PP520 injectors and Upsolute stage 2.
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
what kind of car do you have? How many miles? What's the condition of the IM?
 

GoFaster

Moderator at Large
Joined
Jun 16, 1999
Location
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
You need to find out with as much detail and precision as possible, what kind of a test that they do.

Here, it is a visual inspection that all the hardware is in place and a check for visible smoke from the tailpipe at idle. As long as it looks essentially stock under the hood (crankcase vent, EGR, catalyst) and it doesn't smoke at idle, it's basically a guaranteed pass no matter what chip or injectors you have.

If it is a check for OBD codes with a scan tool, you have to not have any fault codes. If everything is working as it should, this is not a problem, whether chipped or otherwise.

If it is a dynamometer test but the load conditions are constant-speed cruise, the only thing you have to concern yourself with is NOx, and as long as you keep the EGR in place and working, the worst-case is that you might have to tinker with your VAG-COM to fine-tune the amount of EGR that it uses. And that's only if you change injectors. With just a chip, the EGR operation and fuel delivery shouldn't be affected at part load.

If it is a full-load dynamometer test, then you could be in trouble, depending on what they're looking for.

Likewise, if the test is as in Great Britain, where they rev the engine to redline at no load but full throttle, that could present some difficulties.
 

Alpha7

Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2004
Location
Bella Vista Arkansas
TDI
Jetta, 2000, Silver Jetta Sport Wagan 2011, DTI White
I am sorry about leaving out important details!
The car is a 2000 Jetta TDI 122,000 miles, just replaced the MAF. The test for the VW diesel is different than the other diesels (according to the testing authority)in that the test are conducted all via the on board computer. I will pull the last results to see what gases and emissions they test for.
 

Alpha7

Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2004
Location
Bella Vista Arkansas
TDI
Jetta, 2000, Silver Jetta Sport Wagan 2011, DTI White
One more thing, I know they take the car up to a max speed of 35 MPH while testing. It only takes seconds to pass.
I have a vag-com but never utilized it for anything beyond reseting the CEL.
 

Peter Cheuk

Gasser :P
Joined
Aug 31, 1998
Location
Daly City, Calif., USA
TDI
'06 Jetta GLI
I was reading this thread and realized how ironic it is in California, the most stringent state when it comes to automobile exhaust emissions, that they don't care about diesels. No test, no visual inspection, nothing! You can pretty much do anything you want to the engine and get away with it.
 
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