In an article I read some time ago about particles, it said that particles are not all one size pm10's. They come in all sizes from PM1's upwards. It seems that the Eu has picked on PM10's as they are the most common size produced by diesels and what triggered that I imagine was someone seeing an old diesel engine under load pumping out clouds of black smoke. The good point of Pm10's is that they are large enough to be caught.

All engines produce particles, and in this article it said petrol cars produce more PM 5's these are half the size of Pm10's are more easily inhaled and most probably cause more health worries and there are no filters, so these are being pumped out into the air. Also lets not forget the Benzene in petrol engines. One of the most carsonagenic chemicals out there.

In America all petrol pumps are fitted with vent pipes to put the gasses back into the tank, but here in good old UK, the health and safety clan rely on the drivers breathing in the fumes, filtering them through your lungs and passing them out through the cheeks of your a---e. Any women reading this please do not take offense as I know it is only a few not the majority that suffer unlike men, from this slight touch of wind.

As diesels are getting cleaner, the technology is getting more complicated and pointing people to petrol cars that do not have any filters fitted (PM's).

If manufacturers are so comitted to low emissions how is it that I cannot buy a Ford Focus without air con ( uses 8% more fuel) and told by most enonomy drivers to turn off and it adds £500 to car. I have managed since 03 with a non air con fiesta if I get hot I open the window. The DPF's have an effect on fuel consumption so does Catalytic converters. The addition of the stop start system must put more stress on the battery and will most probably give it a shorter life span. Thus causing more polution in manufacturing a replacement. At present I still have the original Ford battery on my 03 fiesta, 8 years old and still going strong. We still have the original battery on our 01 picasso, (10 years). all I do is trickle charge them before the winter and in spring.

any comments

thank you for reading.

You most certainly can buy Focus without A/C -but not in the UK;it's to do with take-up of options-not the environment.

Its is legal to remove a DPF nobody can stop you physically removing the unit but you must inform your insurance company and inform the DVLA and apply for a new log book after you have had all immission measurements made and recorded by a registered garage.This is where the illegality comes in because no insurance company will cover a car that has been tampered with and the DVLA will not issue a new log book.

Is this mail going to be removed like many others.

In January 2012 there was a regulation change for cars that require an emissions test where 'if a cat was fitted as standard, it must be there for the MOT'. Diesel cars are not required to pass this emissions test,

Look again. MOTUK section 7.1

Reason for rejection:

Catalytic converter missing where once is standard.

A DPF is a catalytic converter. No one said you wouldn't get away with it, but that doesn't change the fact that it is illegal.

Section 7.1 covers both spark and compression ignition (CI) engines.

I completely agree that there is no test for catalytic activity in the CI emissions test.

but I would argue that point in that the majority of emissions reduction devices on compression ignition engines are filters

Before DPF became (effectively) mandatory, oxidation catalysts were fitted to diesels and they are effective at mopping up CO and HC.

Nowadays, the oxidation catalyst is sited upstream of the DPF and incorporated into a single unit.

I agree that the DPF is a filter. But the regeneration process of the filter requires catalysis. So I would argue that the unit as a whole is a catalytic converter.

To be fair, the wording of the regulations is slightly ambiguous.

We can both agree that the chances of a gutted DPF being discovered at MOT are slim.

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This is only regarding testing at a UK MOT testing station removal of a catalytic convertor when installed by a manufacturer to meet EU standards is illegal.The fact it will pass an UK mot test is irrelevant.

It was left to the engine manufacturer to decide how to meet Euro 3, 4, 5 etc emissions standards.

Shows how much VOSA know.

Euro 3 and 4 only needed a DPF if they could not meet the emission regs without one. Our old Focus 1.6110 PS was Euro 3 and no DPF, the Euro 4 vesion had a DPF.

All Euro 5 passenger vehicles have a DPF by law.

Therefore by VOSA's own criteria if the vehicle is Euro 5 and has no DPF it must fail.

But since Euro 5 only became law on 01 01 2011 no Euro 5 cars will have been MOT's yet.

Is there not another issue here, regarding DVLA and road tax?

The V5 states the emissions on the vehicle and road tax is charged accordingly. If the DPF is removed then I imagine that emissions will increase, so technically the road tax should be increased as well. Is there also any legal issue with selling a vehicle which shows the incorrect emission details on its registration document?

I suspect that this would be difficult to identify and enforce but it must be at least bordering on illegal in this respect as well.