[TDIwyse]

Originally Posted by Mark M

Very interested in what you find TDI! Question, why not blank the inlet from the exhaust manifold instead so as to minimize risk of hot spots that may crack the EGR cooler? Or am I mistaken with that thought process?

Well, the way the EGR cooler is made, unless you remove the whole thing, there's only a little bit of physical space allowed for modifications before the ends no longer fit.

The exit at the exhaust will be much hotter and under much more thermal stress than at the inlet side where things are significantly cooler. So using a thinner plate at the cool side is less likely to be an issue. And the inlet side is much easier to access. And I'm not sure it's going to work anyway. This way, I should be able to test the functionality of blanking the EGR and the potential codes that might result without doing a massive amount of R&D...

[Puerto Rican 335d]

interesting

[dixy2k]

Does the new 535d have the same setup as the 335d?
Just curious if it will go through the same issues in the future.

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by dixy2k

Does the new 535d have the same setup as the 335d? Just curious if it will go through the same issues in the future.

Yes, it has new DDE and same emissions systems. FYI, many of us believe that the US/CA cars were a test-bed/beta-site for these systems (especially the SCR/DEF) so that BMW wouldn't crash in 2014 when EU cars have to have them.

[TDIwyse]

Originally Posted by TDIwyse

Well, basically he thought it should've been turned off... He suggested trying to physically blank the EGR and was positive it won't throw any codes. So, today I fabed a quick and dirty block off plate (was almost going to try using a blank or reduced opening where the cooler connects to the EGR input as shown in the upper left ... but decided to just make a plate instead).

My replacement accelerator pedal should be here tomorrow sometime so then I'll hopefully be able get the car up and running and see what happens...

Pedal arrived and install went well and the car now lets me raise rpm above idle and is drivable again.

First test of the EGR blocking plate shows no leaks and the EGR duty cycle quickly drops to 0%. Unfortunately, it does this because the DDE notices the EGR flow rate was significantly off and set a pending code 0401 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Insufficient Detected. Not sure if this pending code affects performance/economy yet. Just finished snowing and the roads are snow/ice covered.

Will update further as I learn more...

[Mark M]

Frustrating. So much for what we were lead to believe from the tune. Thanks much for all your leg work tdi.

[floydarogers]

Hmmmm. Seems that those German engineers know their fault-tree stuff. Pretty hard to get around the controls, it seems.

I'm a little annoyed at the fact that the emissions system is kind of a kludge. The reason is clear: they want a system that doesn't use the SCR/DEF stuff if they don't have to use it to meet NOx standards. However, that leaves us with a two-part NOx reduction (some due to EGR and oxidation catalyst, some in the SCR catalyst.) Sure seems like it would be better to have NOx reduction due only to SCR - yeah, more DEF used... but simpler in concept. (Of course what chemistry isn't my core competency...)

It's also annoying that the X5d, with it's additional low pressure EGR, seems to have fewer problems. Hopefully BMW has taken note...

[TDIwyse]

A little more testing this afternoon.

If I use the Android Torque app (I use that each time I drive as part of my routine to monitor operating conditions) to clear the "pending fault" after a drive, then the SES light doesn't come on. But if I don't "clear faults" each time, the SES light comes on. Using the app to clear the code each time adds about 10 seconds of fussing around at the end of each drive.

There was no observed negative impact to full fueling hp/tq based on the numbers from the Torque app.

The DDE reported EGT's for steady state driving are lower with the blanking plate than without it.

The computer reported mpg's with the blanking plate are at least as good as the tests I did with the "back door" EGR delete I tested here:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...0&postcount=60

Feedback from Ecotune is they would be willing to do more work on the remap if I send my DDE back to Redline.

There will likely be more to report in the future, but I need this vehicle to be up and running for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday's, so I'm not likely to be ripping it apart again until after ...

[dixy2k]

I really hope you are on to something good here.

[BB_cuda]

Originally Posted by TDIwyse

Pedal arrived and install went well and the car now lets me raise rpm above idle and is drivable again.

First test of the EGR blocking plate shows no leaks and the EGR duty cycle quickly drops to 0%. Unfortunately, it does this because the DDE notices the EGR flow rate was significantly off and set a pending code 0401 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Insufficient Detected. Not sure if this pending code affects performance/economy yet. Just finished snowing and the roads are snow/ice covered.

Will update further as I learn more...

Somehow, i missed somthing earlier. I even went back and read from page 4 again. Why di you have to change the pedal? You do mean the foot feed under the dash right? I'm lost.

[TDIwyse]

Originally Posted by BB_cuda

Somehow, i missed somthing earlier. I even went back and read from page 4 again. Why di you have to change the pedal? You do mean the foot feed under the dash right? I'm lost.

After getting the car back up and running for a few days it had an unrelated issue with the accelerator pedal that made it undrivable. Turned out one of the dual potentiometers in the accelerator pedal died and the drive-by-wire system would only allow the car to idle (could not raise rpm's with accelerator pedal). Details here:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=915992

[Puerto Rican 335d]

TDi any word on the downpipe

[TDIwyse]

Originally Posted by Puerto Rican 335d

TDi any word on the downpipe

No ETA yet.

[Puerto Rican 335d]

Sucks

[TDIwyse]

So far running with the EGR blanking plate is producing the exact type of operating condition response I was hoping for. EGT's are substantially lower and the engine is so efficient that I'm having to block the front grills and re-install the engine cover to keep the operating temp at 185 F for driving conditions in the ~20 F winter conditions.

The car is still using a little bit of post injection (similar to stock) to help warm things up until the coolant reaches ~140F (see attached... "command time" is in usec's).

Power is not quantifiably affected by the "pending code". Car's reported mpg's are better than the remap by itself (which was better than stock) when the EGR was still opening. Will be doing some long holiday driving coming up and will do hand calculated confirmation on this.

If they can get the remap to not set a code with the simple blanking plate I'd be happy this setup.

[335dFan]

Glad you got your car back together for the holidays. Having a car that is used also as a daily driver puts an awful crimp in our styles.

Couple of questions:
1. Have you noticed any negative effects to leaving the cover off?
2. The exhaust gases that are normally recirculated are now going out the back end? Sorry for a dumb question.
3. Without reading back up the thread, you now also have no DPF in the exhaust "circuit"?
4. Forgot, are you out of or still in warranty?

[TDIwyse]

Originally Posted by 335dFan

Glad you got your car back together for the holidays. Having a car that is used also as a daily driver puts an awful crimp in our styles.

Couple of questions:
1. Have you noticed any negative effects to leaving the cover off?
2. The exhaust gases that are normally recirculated are now going out the back end? Sorry for a dumb question.
3. Without reading back up the thread, you now also have no DPF in the exhaust "circuit"?
4. Forgot, are you out of or still in warranty?

1.) No. In the warmer months I leave it off. In the winters (we get down to -20 F sometimes) I leave it on.
2.) Yes, no other place for them to go now except out the exhaust.
3.) Yes, however I still have the Diesel Oxidative Catalyst (DOC) in the canister. It does a lot to reduce emissions and smell and is a "flow thru" design.
4.) "I am my own warranty". I am a firm believer in anytime we alter any product during its warranty timeline, we should not expect the manufacturer to have to pay to fix anything related to what was altered... That's a simple moral/ethical issue to me.

[335dFan]

Originally Posted by TDIwyse

4.) "I am my own warranty". I am a firm believer in anytime we alter any product during its warranty timeline, we should not expect the manufacturer to have to pay to fix anything related to what was altered... That's a simple moral/ethical issue to me.

I'm with you 100% on that, brother. For the items in my signature block, those are my problem, not BMW's, even though some of them are OEM parts. Thank you for pioneering this effort. Have a nice Thanksgiving. I for one have much to be thankful for.

Here in MD it rarely gets down even to 10F, so I suppose I could leave the cover off year round. Not sure what the dealer would think of that though, as I am still under their warranty services.

[Puerto Rican 335d]

Im with TDi and 335d Fan if you mod the car dont expect BMW to cover up your mess. TDi impressive results cant wait to see new mpgs results

[FormerRotor]

I've been thinking of fabricating a blocking plate for the EGR connection to the intake manifold that would essentially mechanically reduce the maximum flow by partially blocking off the air path (picture a circle of metal with a hole drilled in it). My only concern would be the increased velocity causing turbulaence in the airstream, but I don't think it would really cause issues as it is downstream from any airflow sensors. And still has plenty of path before hitting the manifold.

Think this would help to alleviate some of our EGR woes without having to completely eliminate the system or reprogram the software? The way I see it, the system isn't all bad (although dropping it out completely along with the cooler, etc, to loose weight from the front of the car wouldn't be the worst idea). Thoughts, anyone?

[Puerto Rican 335d]

i think it might work like tdi's

[TDIwyse]

Originally Posted by FormerRotor

I've been thinking of fabricating a blocking plate for the EGR connection to the intake manifold that would essentially mechanically reduce the maximum flow by partially blocking off the air path (picture a circle of metal with a hole drilled in it). My only concern would be the increased velocity causing turbulaence in the airstream, but I don't think it would really cause issues as it is downstream from any airflow sensors. And still has plenty of path before hitting the manifold.

That's what I was originally thinking about doing and then sneaking up on the minimum opening before codes would be thrown. Would be interested in hearing your results. My experience with this EGR/MAF system is that its tightly constrained and sensitive to modifications because of all the cross checking it does ...