I will warn you that although it is a great upgrade, removing the DPF is illegal. Yeah, I know no one gets caught, but you CAN get caught. I know a guy who had his truck cut off after the downpipe and got his tags taken and the truck towed away. Granted, that was a total d-bag cop who is known for picking on diesels but hey, it can happen to anybody.

 

Right...

The sky is falling! THE SKY IS FALLING!!!

Ya, forgot to warn you, once you delete the DPF (which is NOT the same as lopping off the exhaust after the downpipe...IF that story's even true) you gotta watch out for those unmarked black helicopters...now that UBL is dead the government needs DEVGRU to do something...

I gotta go and rip those tags off my mattresses now!

 

Yeah cause I totally made that story up. And cutting it after the down pipe is the same as a straight pipe genius. Either way the ticket is no cat and muffler

 

Please reference my response below to longview1; a cut-off/turn down is NOT the same as straightpiping. Most states have exhaust regs that the tip must extend beyond the cab...ever see a turn down on a delivery truck "genius"? As far as the ticket goes, scan it and post it up or it didn't happen. Your little story is the stuff of internet DPF delete legend...and a cop that has a ******** for diesels? That's rich...must drive a Prius...

 

Why would they cut exhaust off after downpipe? How does that help?!?

 

We don't need backpressure like gassers, so what you do with the exhaust doesn't matter...which is why you see sled pullers with hood exhausts, etc. I mocked up a turn down while I was doing my delete, and decided it was better judgement NOT to use it; (1) it would look like the underneath of my truck was on fire when I got on it, (2) my truck's white and (3) it would quite likely attract the NEGATIVE attention of local law enforcement officials! A straightpipe is NOT the same as a turn down or cut off, and would exit the truck's exhaust is a typical/stock location; forward/behind rear wheel, straight back, etc.

 

well, after 1500 miles tuned, i've decided to pull mine and go back to stock.
two weeks ago had a loaded trailer tow to dallas & back and started experiencing weird sounds on acceleration.. with matching loss of power..

this acceleration is passing a truck on the highway at 60 to 70, slight uphill in my subdivision the last mile home, the turn into and up the 200ft sub entry.

I'd call it the torque converter slipping.. but I wasn't monitoring that signal with the dashdaq..

needed an oil change, put the DPF back on and took it to the dealer as always for the oil change. discussed the sound/loss of power.. they could not reproduce, and so far I cannot either. done a 100 mile loaded trailer tow, up some steep hills, after a long highway pull. monitoring now I don't see any elevated temps or TC slip.

I miss the lack of turbo spinup delay.. but that is all. I didn't need the extra power, and didn't get the mileage improvement I was looking for (10 vs 9). I've got a 2500 mile trailer tow week after next, furniture to Chicago. I sleep better not worrying about the power causing some trouble.

I sent off an oil sample, so we'll see what they have to say

Sam

 

Hmmm....sorry for the but Sam's post piqued my interest...
I found it VERY difficult to monitor torque slip accurately. Mick @ Spartan told me to log it for him to take a look at, but since my buddy's '08 F350 needed a transmission fluid service we figured we'd have a professional independent transmission shop take a look at it...

Good thing we did; it's PERFECT! This '08 now has over 40K miles Spartan tuned, most of it on 275HP and quite a bit of light trailering, no more than 5/6K pounds (which he dials it down to the 210HP Tow Tune for). The shop owner hooked up his laptop to the OBD and went on a test drive with the requisite warning that it's a fast truck...

He was shaking when he got back and said it was the most brutally fast truck he's ever driven, and he does race cars and plenty of "other" (tuned) diesels. He said that Spartan's shifting is PERFECT and the torque slip readings were likewise on the money. He pulled the pan and checked it out; not one speck of clutch pack material in the pan (he said it looked like the pan was wiped clean with a paper towel) and the fluid was the pinkish-red it was supposed to be without a hint of being burnt. After the fluid and filter change we got a clean bill of health and told to come back in another 30K miles!

Curious what tune you were running at the time and if there was any tranny temp increase? That almost always accompanies TC slippage... No codes either, huh? That stinks not being to recreate the problem; it doesn't give you anywhere to go!

Have you considered a step-down to DPF delete only tuning? You can certainly do that with your Spartan; it's the same exact tune as stock with just the DPF deleted...that way you can avoid the dreaded fuel contamination issue.

I have a big trip coming up myself. 3K+ miles with my 24ft enclosed car carrier and 4 bikes, not sure of what the total weight is, but I'm definitely going to scale it. I'll be doing a pre-trip oil analysis, then change the oil, oil and fuel filters, rotate the tires and load up! Post trip I'll do another oil analysis along with a full report on mileage, etc. Out of an abundance of caution I'll being running Eric's/IDP Tow tune. I could run the Street or even the Xtreme Street, but you can't be in a hurry to drive 1500 miles (one-way) so I'm gonna take it nice and easy. I've done this trip plenty times before and have seen high 90s and even 100+ ambient air temps with MAX humidity on top of it so I'm not pushing my luck...

Whoops, sorry again OP for the , hope you get yerself squared away!

 

Not even in the People's Republic of Kalifornia. 7/70 there and 5/50 in the free world.

 

Huh, had my DFP replaced under warranty, no cost what so ever. I had just shy of 58k. The Service Manger said that the DPF was under warranty to 100k or 7 years whichever came first. Any way, I know it is warrantied till 60k in the U.S.

 

check your owners manual for the 08 model year. At least for our year the DPF is covered for 100K.

 

Sam, I think it is a wise choice when towing any signifcant weight.

Has always been my policy for me personally to tow in stock forum with anything over 10K. Has served me well.

 

was running the 250 tune.)
wasn't measuring tc slip or tranny temps.. but had for a long while but not seen anything odd.. not really ready to pull the pan and check yet, but the new fluid (5,000 miles) looks good on the stick and no smell.
I want mileage.. 2-3 mpg.. without that no need for the tuner.
Sam

 

I forget, what was your trailer weight again? I'd agree with fluid that new and no sign of foul play on the tranny dipstick there's no need to drop the pan...no codes either? Any puking around the cap/bottle area (white residue?). Hmmm...

 

While we are on this spartan and towing conversation, I put the spartan and DPF/Cat delete on my truck, I was VERY scared to, because of warranty issues. But I keep mine on the 210HP tune all the time, i see just over a 2mpg increase in MPG, and i tow sometimes 25k lbs or my usual 7k car hauler. I have had no issues. I do notice when towing with the sparatan, at highway speeds there seems to be a little bit of a whilsle sound the entire time, other then this, i love the kit, i am always just worried it is not good for the truck? but so far it has served me well.