I've been working with guru Anuthee in Golden. He's got a Kerma tune for me, but suggested that I not load it before trying to emission. I'm definitely going to get a VCDS, but I'm looking at which model to order. The bummer is that I don't know of any shop that can tweak my IQ, EGR, etc, and do the opacity test themselves. $45-$70 a pop to see if I'm passing yet. The bummer is that I'm the first TDI that I've heard of that has ever failed to many peoples' knowlege in CO, and my car isn't visibly smoking at all.You need the VCDS. Somebody around you has to have one. You're going to have to go through this every year too, so having the tools to modify your car to pass emissions is a must.
If you want it to pass you're going to have to put a bit of effort into decreasing the fueling. It'd probably have passed with the stock injector nozzles...
What about additives? Would 911 or Cetane Boost possibly cut down the smoking? There's a biodiesel place near me (Santa Fe/ Belleview?), but it looks pretty sleazy, and it always has looked closed when I drove by.
As I posted in another thread, I found out last night that my air filter is by far the filthiest one I've ever seen. Popped a clean paper one in there-- hopefully that was the problem.