So with all this talk of how much better and reliable the trucks are being deleted, 1. What are the consequences if pulled over and they find out your truck is deleted, and 2. What are the chances of them being that nit-picky to even care?

 

I am not being critical of anyone or anyone's modifications they have made to their (brand new & under factory warranty) trucks but some of this seems to be counter-productive to achieve marginal results. These trucks have tons of power and get, in my opinion, really good fuel mileage for what they are. Maybe Ford should sell "glider" kits like the Class 8 guys do. For those not familiar with a glider kit it is basically a new truck from KW, Freightliner, or whomever minus the engine. The engine is supplied by a company that rebuilds pre-egr engines and installs them in the trucks. I admire all of the ingenuity and 99% of you guys know a hell of a lot more about mechanical workings and functions than this old man ever will but it escapes my understanding why anyone would want to do this to their 60-70k+ truck. Just my .02. Thanks.

 

+1, I agree!

 

Really the only gains I see would be to improve fuel economy, but you're talking maybe 1 mpg better on average. That might be worth it to some people, just not me. Filling the DEF tank is no big deal and it's not like there's a ton of power to be gained or anything. The DPF regen operates completely in the background now. You can tell it if you watch oil temp or the instantaneous MPG gauge, but it doesn't give you any indicator anymore. It's really just not that much of an issue.

 

Consequences are large fines. Up to $10,000 federal I believe. You mentioned DOT in the title, so I am assuming you are using the truck for commercial purposes? If so, it isn't worth the risk. If pulled over or stopped for an inspection, they would care. For private/personal use, chances are small (slim to none in my area) you would be stopped for inspection unless you were 1) acting like an idiot bellowing smoke or 2) towing something that "looked or appeared" to be extremely outside of the tow vehicle's ability to perform the task safely.

Currently, for the average truck owner, the delete option wouldn't be worth it as the truck doesn't run any better or become much more fuel efficient over stock. The current delete landscape for the 2017+ Super Duty trucks looks rather bleak. It really is only for enthusiasts who can't leave nice things alone or stock.

 

Personally I would look at it much longer term. I assume you wont be buried with this truck. This means at some point you will want to sell it. In Texas, under the Texas Clean Air Act its up to $25,000 per violation (and I assume there would be multiple). Call a dealership in your area and ask if they would buy or accept as trade a used Super Duty with no emissions. In TX, the answer will be no if they have any idea about the laws as they then could not sell it without violating the laws. Are there dealers out there that don't care about this? Probably so and I am sure someone will chime in with some examples. I even know of a dealer in south Texas that does DPF deletes for their customers that complain about mileage. I have a buddy with a Dodge Ram that is now having issues and has been unable to trade his truck in due to his DPF delete (even to that same dealer who removed it).

Bottom line, I personally don't see the benefit for me to remove a federally mandated component and face issues when it comes to trade-in time. Would I love to do this and get the mileage? Hell yeah I would in a heartbeat if it weren't for the issues above. 14 MPG is unacceptable in today's standards, but that is what I get for having the truck I love.

 

Its a waste of time and money to remove it. The gains from removing it are miniscule compared to the possible fall out. You could have trouble selling it, warranty issues, not able to trade it in, fines, hassle with registration...for a mpg or two? Seems like a simple choice to me.

 

I agree with others. It doesn't seem worth it on this truck. There just so ... much ... POWER.

On a Golf TDI? Hell yeah. Tons of power and fuel economy to be had with a delete and a tune.

Will you get busted? Depends on your state. My state is a non-emissions state for diesel. The emissions system is not inspected. You only get a safety check.

Unless you're hauling commercially, no one (at least in my state) will have a clue.

 

Not to mention you void the warranty (I think this is at least the third time today I've had to bring up warranty). That's a huge risk to take on as well. Chances are you could consider a gasser though. If you want a V10 I would think it less foolish to buy a nice F450 chassis and work a bed onto the straight frame compared to monkeying around with violating federal law and voiding your warranty with an emissions delete. Even ag tractors have emissions to meet now.