Good to hear it is running well. I've been put off trying the same thing after seeing the comment from our ever-helpful contributor Disco_Mikey in this thread quite recently:

http://www.rrsport.co.uk/forum/topic45921.html

So what is the risk we'd like to know please. And is it considered OK to map them out but just not actually blank them? 2008 MY Java Black TDV8 HSE

I cant really comment on others experiences but mine - since having it done on Wednesday it's been a different car, it's so smooth, starts on half a revolution of the starter and is just smoother than it's ever been (though to be fair I'm not sure what state the EGR's were in when I purchased it, but it's certainly smoother than it's ever been). Now having driven it for several days and mostly around town - I'm averaging 26.8MPG!

I asked if it were possible to map out the EGR's without blanking them and was promptly told that would be like turning off a dodgy tap and expecting it never to drip whilst being exposed to the harshest conditions possible! Which made enough sense to me!

I am a software engineer by trade and so I understand what happens with variables, sensors and the resulting calculations made to make something else happen - in essence by mapping out the EGR's you are writing your own set of static variables into the software (rather than having a sensor provide those figures). This means that the resulting conditions the engine reacts to is a set of conditions that you give it (rather than the bad figures it gets from the dodgy sensors in the EGR's). So in this case the engine believes it never had EGR valves as a condition it had to take into account. I don't personally see what could be bad about that, as recirculating exhaust gasses has no benificial benifit to the engine - we aren't telling the engine to stop circulating oil after all!

The software has to be right to achieve this as you can't just say (No more EGR), they resulting sensor positions etc are written into lines and lines of code for all sorts of different engine components and so you have to make sure you get them all - so as if the car were designed as if it never had them in the first place!

Having said all that I can't really say I have more than 2 days experience of driving mine without having EGR's - so far so good but time will tell!

cue_ball80 wrote:

Cost £300 to blank off and alter software - cheapest EGR replacement (changing both together using genuine parts) was £815inc VAT. I see that as a £515 saving and never having any EGR related problems ever again, plus better fuel consumption so can't be a bad thing!

£300 wasn't too bad considering it takes around 3.5hrs to do the physical blanking given the EGR's location etc.

Started and ran perfectly again this AM with instant power, no lag, lumpiness or poor running at all! Whoever thought it was a good idea to re-circulate burnt fuel and air back around through the engine needs shooting - in fact I think they should be forced to consume (recirculate) their own spent waste!! Haha...

cue_ball80 wrote:

Now having driven it for several days and mostly around town - I'm averaging 26.8MPG!

It's a combination of both - obviously I haven't exactly filled up much in under a week but the fuel needle isn't dropping as fast as it used to and the range till empty drops more realistically rather than going down about 3 miles for every mile driven like it used to. My issue with the EGR's was throwing off the engine and so it was running very poorly and very rich (if you were outside the car the diesel fumes could make your eyes water). Therefore I have probably gone from terrible consumption due to poor running back to only a few MPG more than most standard well running engines will get- so obviously for me the difference was huge.