good practice for keeping dpf clear?

Colbaker

Colbaker

Colbaker

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Joined
8 Dec 2004
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Paignton, Devon
Hi all,

I have just got an 11 plate Skoda Fabia 1.6 tdi CR 105bhp and do a lot of trips locally where thr car stays around 20 to 40mph, now I want to take the car for nice hot runs to regen the dpf but not sure how often to do it and for how long.

Yesterday I took it on a motorway trip for 30miles/30 minutes at 70 to 80mph, should I do this run maybe once a week? The car is also used for long trips to the in laws who live 250miles away but thats only around 4 times a year.

What would you suggest for me to prevent the dpf fault light rearing its ugly had, I didnt get a petrol because it was costing me way to much monthly on fuel especially on the long distance runs. Also only pay £20 a year road tax and get 50plus mpgs from it so happy with that.
 
Well i would map ecu and cut that **** filter out.

You will gain MPG and You wont have to worry about it :)

Since we got new mini vans with those bloody things all we got are problems. Within ONE YEAR both mini vans ware back to garage 4 YES FOUR times for filter cleaning....

My mate did it in hes Seat and hes more than happy :)
 
Skoda DPFs aren't bad, unless you got an older Greenline model with a PD engine. The latter are generally too low on revs during normal driving (even motorway speeds) to adequately clear the DPF, necessitating a 4th gear run to empty it properly at 2,500rpm.

Anything non-Greenline as well as the newer (i.e. common rail) engined cars will be fine. Small diesels are unfortunately not really great for town use any more, thanks to the DPF and emissions regs. As above you could remove it, but I'm not sure on the legalities. I think I read somewhere that it's an MOT fail to have an absent DPF on a car that came fitted with one. But that's just from the back of my head so don't quote me on it.

Just drive normally and if the DPF light ever comes on, take it for a stretch down the motorway until it clears. It's not that big a deal and provided you don't routinely ignore a warning light (allowing the DPF to over-fill and seize) you won't have any real problems.

EDIT: By the way, unlike petrol which is much of a muchness (within the same RON grade), diesel is more variable even within the EN specs. Whereas petrol is a set standard, diesel's EN590 spec is simply a bare minimum and as such fuel qualities do vary. They share the same base fuel stock, but the additives make a big difference. Tesco fuel tends to smoke quite badly compared to, say, BP or Shell, and Morrison's isn't far behind. More smoke = more soot = a DPF that fills faster. Just a heads up. I tend to stick to BP as it's only a penny dearer than the supermarkets around here. While it's not 'OMGZ supermarket fuel will kill ur carz', it is true that better additive packages means higher cetane ratings which means a cleaner fuller burn. Which, as I said, means less soot and a clearer DPF for a longer period of time. :)
 
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Colbaker said:
What would you suggest for me to prevent the dpf fault light rearing its ugly had, I didnt get a petrol because it was costing me way to much monthly on fuel especially on the long distance runs. Also only pay £20 a year road tax and get 50plus mpgs from it so happy with that.
Click to expand...

OP welcome aboard the band wagon of people buying the wrong car for the wrong reasons. Yes £20 tax is a saving of £120 a year, but you will have paid more up front for your diesel engine than the equivalent petrol, you pay more at the pump for your fuel, you now are considering driving 120 miles per month just to clean a DPF, your yearly service now costs more, your engine will sound awful, you are spewing all kinds of crap out the exhaust every time you drive (much worse than a petrol), your 50 MPG is a combined figure (if your sitting at 20-40mph your going to be looking at High 30's low 40's).
But that's OK your saving £120 a year in VED, welcome to the club.
 
You should have gone for the 1.2TSi fabia, you would most likely see better economy round town from one of them due to the fact they warm up quicker and theres no DPF as they are a petrol. The 1.2TSi is also a far nicer engine.

I probably wouldn't bother with any extra driving to try and keep it clear as you will be wasting the fuel you apparently saved from getting the diesel. Just see how it goes as you might find you have no issues anyway.
 
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You bought it to save a few quid on tax & fuel but I imagine you paid more for it than a petrol and are considering doing an extra 1500 miles a year in it to keep the dpf clear? Thats 2-3 tanks of fuel wasted not to mention 26 hours a year that you could spend earning money rather than burning it.

I suspect you got the wrong car.
 
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