Quote:
Originally Posted by David Kirk
I own a 2013 TDi and it will be interesting to learn more about what the trickery does. I suspect it doesn't have a large effect on everyday driving but that the ECU was optimized for the rolling road test done in the EU to give it a better emissions rating which the euros think about when they shop for a car....unlike most of the USA.
dave
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Reading the NOV, it sounds like they basically shut off the lean NOx selective catalyzer. Since that has a finite lifespan based on the amount of NOx catalyzed, turning it off would mean a longer service life for the (very expensive) part. Turning it on full time shouldn't have a performance impact, but it might mean replacing that catalyzer every 30,000 miles hereafter. Since the catalyzer has to operate at a specific temperature, I'm guessing it was pretty easy - only send power to the part when the CARB/EPA cycle is being run - wheel speed indicating dyno/rolling road, specific rpm ranges etc. I guess the government needs to keep those testing protocols even more secret.
It's pretty damn sneaky and not something that got done by accident, that's for sure. And pretty amazing that they didn't admit it until the EPA said, "F*ck you then, we won't type certify your 2016 cars until you explain the variance between the test protocol results and real world results."
Good work government and WVU scientists!