HGV Remapping - Truck ECU Tuning
HGV Remapping is done to reduce fuel consumption, increase power and torque and reduce operating costs. Truck ECU tuning is also done to remove systems such as DPF, EGR and AdBlue. ECU tuning can be done for HGV & LGV.
🚩HGV Remapping - Truck ECU Tuning:
As long as HGV are on the road more than cars, they need more checking in order not to incur heavy costs for us. Hence you have to be aware of what is happening on a diesel engine and what you can do to get the most out of your truck. There are several ways to help you do that such as: Increasing the power, torque, and fuel economy of your truck so that you can avoid extra costs and save money.
On this article we will explain the total story about:
- How to get better MPG in a semi Truck?
- AdBlue, DPF, EGR OFF or Delete for HGV
- Is Remapping safe for your Truck?
- Does it have any effect on Fuel Consumption?
- Is it possible to trick Emissions Equipment?
💬How to get better MPG in a semi Truck?
The first thing which helps you to get better fuel mileage out of your semi truck is a good maintenance schedule. Following a good maintenance schedule is going to make sure your engine stays at top performance. The thing to notice is, your maintenance intervals are going to vary from every 100 000, 200 000 and 300 000 miles. Let's walk through each of them and see what exactly you should do.
At the 100000 miles mark, you are going to be changing out DEF filters. As you may already know, the EPA introduced DEF ( DIESEL EXHAUST FLUID ) With the goal of reducing engine emissions further, specifically regarding NOx and particulate matter in 2010. Basically, they are just filters such as any other filter. But if you are curious about them, let's take a closer look at this fully integrated system on a Cummins ISX-15 for 2010. The Cummins after-treatment system consists of the common particulate filter. A decomposition reactor with a Diesel Exhaust Fluid dosing valve, an SCR catalyst and electronic controls. The OEM will provide a DEF holding tank which will be installed on the frame and incorporate heating elements, the SCR tank and supply lines. Here is how the system works:
The exhaust stream enters the particulate filter over a catalyst into a wall-flow filter. Carbon particles are contained in the filter Nitric Oxide in the exhaust gas is converted to Nitrogen Dioxide in the diesel oxidation catalyst. As the Nitrogen Dioxide flows through the wall-flow filter, it reacts with the Carbon to produce Carbon Dioxide. Then as the exhaust passes out of the particulate filter, a light mist of Diesel Exhaust Fluid is sprayed into the hot exhaust stream at the decomposition reactor and forms ammonia through a series of reactions. Together the NOx and Ammonia pass from a decomposition reactor into the SCR catalysts, where they react to form Nitrogen and water vapor thus reducing emissions to the near zero level.
At the 200 000 miles mark, you should check out the engine belts as well as the belt-tensioner. You are checking out whether the engine belts are worn out or not. Don't wait till these belts fail, otherwise it can cause a lot of damage to your engine.
Another item you are going to be looking for at the 300000 miles mark is getting the after-treatment system clean. That means getting the DPF filter checked out and getting it clean. On the other hand, you have to clean out the DOC filter as well. Also it is a good idea to check the EGR cooler to make sure you don't have excessive build up there or excessive build up around the intake.
❓By doing these items regularly and on time, you can have a good MPG, but the question is, is it enough? How can we get better than this?
✅The answer is “Truck ECU tuning”.
💬Is HGV Remapping Safe For your Truck?
The most important thing when you are tuning your Truck is not exceeding the OEM standard. It may be a question for you what exactly the OEM standard is?
According to the OEM standard, you have to try not to go over a specific horsepower which has been announced by the factory and it is variable depending on your truck. So you shouldn't go over that horsepower. Because the factory never guaranteed the powertrain can pass that. On the other hand, we modify ECU file based on the specific needs of the vehicle, the results of truck ECU tuning will depend on the make, model and year of your truck. Depending on how much horsepower you need for your operation, you can get the best balance between the power to get the job done and improve operational efficiency without taking the risk that high horsepower and high torque adds to the engine. So it doesn't have any harmful effect on your engine.
💬Does HGV Remapping Have any Effect on Fuel Consumption?
The answer is: Yes
By HGV Remapping you can get better MPG, hence it will save you a lot of money in the long run. If you are curious about how it works, let's explain it to you: The ECU has separate tables which increase and decrease the amount of fuel injection based on RPM and engine load. Now what we do here is, while your truck is in cruise mode, it doesn't need high RPM and power to move. So we can run the same speed by two gears up, with lower RPM. That's how you can get better MPG. Like the same way you would do in your truck when you go into overdrive. You shift up to high speed gear and that's the same thing you're doing for your truck when remapping, you're giving it the torque to be able to do that.
🚩Is it Possible To Bypass Emissions Equipment?
DPF Delete/ Removal For HGV & Truck by ECU Remapping:
As you may already know, diesel engines are equipped with what is called a Diesel Particulate Filter or a DPF. This canister’s job is to filter the exhaust stream. The thing to notice is, a DPF has a honeycomb filter on the inside which is going to capture and cleans out the soot coming out of the exhaust. It potentially filters the soot out of the exhaust gas. As long as HGV are working a lot of time on the field, this filter will be plugged up in order to clean the truck’s exhaust. Hence you have to regenerate the DPF. When DPF indicator lights on, the ECU made engine works in Limp mode.
When it block, a burn cycle will start in order to clean the soot that was produced when the truck was working. In fact, it burns the fuel to cleans the DPF filter. The biggest problem is, over time you have to replace the DPF (approximately 3000 hours). There is an excessive cost on this so that is why you should remap your truck. By HGV Remapping or Truck ECU tuning you can trick the ECU and Delete the DPF without any problem.
EGR off for HGV & Truck by ECU Tuning:
On the other hand, there is another system named EGR. It is an Emission Control device developed by manufacturers which functions to redirect(recirculate) a portion of exhaust gas to the engine intake. As the function of EGR is to reduce engine efficiency for Emission standards, it also lowers the engine life too.
So it's a common practice to delete or block off the EGR valve to improve the quality of the engine. Blocking the EGR will regain the engine efficiency to its peak available. This means less fuel is needed to maintain the same power available from the engine. As the engine efficiency is altered to best by blocking the carbon dioxide gas re-entering the engine, it gets better power on pistons at lower RPM. EGR error cause ECU act in Limp mode.
Also carbon soots and particulates get away from re-entering the engine, this makes the engine manifold, pistons and other components clean. A clean engine runs better and gets more working life compared to the one with more carbon particulates circulating in the engine. By remapping your truck, you can delete this system without the check-light turning on. So that is why you should remap your Truck.
AdBlue Delete By ECU Remap For HGV & Truck:
The same story for the AdBlue system. This system is designed to reduce the levels of NOx emissions in the exhaust gasses. NOx is produced when nitrogen and oxygen are bonded or formed together which is a by-product with a combustion process. Coming from the engine, the hot exhaust gasses are first led to an oxidation catalytic converter.
Here, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide are converted to carbon dioxide and water. At the next stage the gasses reach the DPF. Here, the particles are removed from the gas stream and collected in the filter structure. To reduce the NOx to a minimum, at the last stage AdBlue is sprayed to the gas stream.
With the aid of AdBlue the D NOx catalyzer reduces the NOx to nitrogen and water. The thing to notice is, in the long term run, the AdBlue system is costly for the customer. By HGV Remapping or Truck ECU tuning you can easily get rid of it without any problem. When AdBlue indicator lights on, ECU make engine weak to reduce emission but owners not satisfy.
🚨Note: A large amount of the heavy-duty vehicles fulfilling with the Euro 4, Euro 5 and Euro 6 standards are equipped with an SCR system and therefore use AdBlue
🚨Note: There are various modules with different names in the market whose job is bypassing the AdBlue system. The thing to notice is, they are not as useful as they are harmful. Because they cancel the guarantee and they cause errors in the electrical parts and they sometimes turn on the check light. So, it is not recommended to use them.
As an example, in new Renault and Volvo trucks with Euro 4 and above standards, which have an AdBlue or DPF system, all these systems can be removed with ECU remapping. TRW ECUs are found on many Volvo and Renault models. In this article, we explain how to program the ECU with various ECU Programing Tools, including KESS and KTAG.