Shark Man

One important thing with DPFs (particulate filters) is that some cars (i.e EuroIV HDi pugs / Citroens as well as many other manufacturers) have a cleaning fluid that automatically injects now and again to keep the DPF clear.

The tank is sometimes located under the car on some models. So isn't owner refillable. It should be done during service. But it can and does run out, causing the filters to block, reducing performance and turning on that dreaded light. Cars that are used for short journeys, urban driving and not driven hard enough can also suffer. Not to forget cars that are producing excessive particulate from an ECU/sensor fault or a bad re-map.

We have devised a "cheap" method of cleaning these DFP units that have failed due to the fluid running out or cars used in excessive stop/start/short journeys without needing to replace the unit: It involves a steam cleaner, truck wash, and alot of spare time .

I suspect that tuners offering DFP bypass pipes will become alot more popular soon, just like de-cat pipes on petrol cars.

corradoboy

Many manufacturers are now specifying particular oils for their cars. A quick look somewhere like Opie Oils and you'll see codes like "Mercedes Benz 228.3, 229.1, Volvo VDS 3, Volkswagen VW 501.01, VW 505.00, Cummins CES 20077/20078, Allison C4, Renault RLD2, Caterpillar ECF-1". My vRS needs VW505.01, but it's no more expensive than any other decent synthetic oil and there are dozens of approved brands....SEE HERE

lordlucan

At the moment the widely regarded best diesel engine around is the Honda 2.2 cleaned up the awards when it came out. I have one in a 57 Civic type S GT, not as frugal as the PD engined car it replaced or the e46 320d but the power band is so like a petrol, it pulls cleanly all the way to the red line, just had the car remapped to 195bhp, made a huge difference. My only gripe is its not rear wheel drive ! Has quite a trick turbo im told which probably accounts for the power delivery.