With the current political and economic state, the future of diesel performance seems questionable at best.
From horrific fines and prison sentences for performance manufacturers to a serious government-driven push to have everyone driving EVs, enthusiasts like us are left to wonder if we’ll be able to drive our turbocharged, diesel trucks much longer.
But fear not, we believe there is hope.
Are the days of deleting over?
Let’s address the elephant in the room—no, deleting (removing/disabling the DPF/EGR/DEF systems) is not going away. Despite the government’s best efforts, deleting has not stopped.
That said, removing emissions equipment is a riskier activity than ever before. Individual states and counties have begun cracking down—forcing owners to reinstall emissions equipment, pay hefty fines, or worse.
And make no mistake—we understand why people do it. Federal crime or not, the ultimate fix for avoiding emissions equipment-related problems is to simply remove it.
But emissions-on is boring!
For years, a common thought was that emissions-on diesel trucks weren’t any fun. But let us be the first to tell you—that’s just not the case anymore.
We have personally driven 600+hp Powerstrokes and Duramax trucks that retained all the factory emissions equipment. And as much as we appreciate the sound of a straight-piped diesel, we didn’t mind the lack of smoke, odor, and noise.
We’re not the only ones either—Wehrli Custom Fab has assembled multiple 700+hp emissions intact Duramaxes, as well as Kori Willis of PPEI pushing over 630rwhp from an emissions-on 6.7 Powerstroke
TLDR: Owning a rowdy diesel truck doesn’t require deleting anymore.
Cool story—I’m still deleting my truck.
Look, we’re not here to preach the gospel of keeping your emissions equipment. We understand why people delete, and we won’t tell you otherwise.
However, as more owners look to avoid the potential legal trouble, warranty voiding, and general hassle of illegally modifying their trucks, emissions-on upgrades are gaining popularity.
No, you won’t see a 1,500+hp emissions-on monster any time soon—but let’s be honest, most truck owners don’t want that anyway.
For the vast majority of enthusiasts, 500+ reliable horsepower is more than enough—but what about the “reliable” part?
Is emissions equipment doomed to fail?
Beyond performance, which as we’ve established, can be had without deleting, what about reliability?
After all, aren’t the EGR/DPF/DEF systems guaranteed to fail? The real answer, despite what you might read in Facebook groups, is not black and white.
Yes, emissions systems can be problematic. But, deleting is not the only solution anymore.
With the emergence of emissions-on solutions like EGR Filter Kits, modern diesel owners are often going hundreds of thousands of trouble-free miles. By keeping emissions systems in place while filtering out 85% of the particulate matter that normally circulates throughout the EGR system and engine, an EGR Filter Kit provides drastically better reliability.
In fact, we expect truck owners to get 6x (yes, 6x) or more life out of their EGR system than they would have without filtration.
Diesel performance is here to stay.
While the future of diesel performance might be a cleaner, quieter version of its former self