According to records filed in the case, Achtemeier conspired with mechanics in garages and operators of truck fleets to disable the anti-pollution software installed on diesel trucks.
Coconspirators who wanted to disable their trucks’ pollution control hardware system—a process commonly known as “deleting”—sought Achtemeier’s help to trick the truck’s software into believing the emissions control systems were still functional, a process known as “tuning.”
Monitoring software on a deleted truck will detect that the pollution control hardware is not functioning and will prevent the truck from running. Achtemeier disabled the monitoring software on his client’s trucks by connecting to laptops he had provided to various coconspirators. Some of the coconspirators would pass the laptop on to others seeking to have the anti-pollution software disabled on their trucks. Once the laptop was hooked up to the truck’s onboard computer, Achtemeier could access it from his computer and tune the software designed to slow the truck if the pollution control device was missing or malfunctioning. Achtemeier could “tune” trucks remotely, which enabled him to maximize his environmental impact and personal profit.
Why? Just Why?
I mean sure, there is some money aspect to it, fine.
But why spend all that time and energy just to be able to pollute more. I mean, that is the benefit of more pollution? Even if you don’t believe climate change, polluii less shouldn’t be that hard to understand as something positive?
I’m just… Not getting this. I’m assuming the guy has a mental illness that would explain this, maybe?
The ultimate “own the Libs” conspiracy.
Trump pardons then nominates him for head of transportation
Nah, EPA.
coconspirators
It’s okay to keep the hyphen in there. It’s more readable, and also it’s once again a word.
Coco 'nspirators
Sounds like an awful lot of work for… some reason.
These systems often cause issues and it may be quite expensive to repair but if you bypass it, it doesn’t affect the performance of the vehicle.
Removing the pollution control equipment and disabling the software results in trucks polluting at 30 to 1,200 times the level of a truck with pollution control systems.
Fuck these people.
Reduced running costs, ease of maintenance, engine efficiency.
Money. It’s always money.
From the article:
Achtemeier charged as much at $4,500 per truck for work that often took him two hours or less. Achtemeier advertised his services on social media nationwide, doing business as Voided Warranty Tuning (VWT) or Optimized Ag. Between 2019 and 2022 his company took in more than $4.3 million in gross profits.
When you run out of DEF or the DPF is clogged, you can’t run your truck for more than a brief while. You get half output in a limp-mode to go refill your DEF or have the DPF serviced. DEF is the reactant for the exhaust that makes diesel burn cleaner, but means modern trucks have 2 tanks now. Users hate it, but it cuts emissions massively. Also adds a few grand to the vehicle exhaust system in hardware and sensors and control units. Anyways:
Time = money.
For a commercial or even semi private vehicle if you bypass even one indicent of downtime by doing this is paid for itself.
That said, the DPF is a filter, and can physically clog and cause an exhaust fire if there is no monitoring software. I hope at least this guy had it wait till it was almost critical and then stop, not entirely disable the stop signal. Otherwise there is a serious risk to the vehicle and passengers.
Yeah, someone is going to have to explain to me how $4500 worth of emissions control deletion is worth the money.
It sounds like it’s just spite-modding with no benefits.
You will get a very large HP boost and can get better MPG as well. Also don’t have to add def fluid anymore or maintain the def system.
According to this dumbass “journalist” and his editor, this is “TuNInG”
There’s a much easier and accurate way to write this article.
Nah, there’s no way long haul truck owners are going to spend money just to be assholes. There’s got to be profit in it somehow.
The EGR and DPF systems used in diesel trucks cause (or caused, it’s been a while since I last looked it up) a big reduction in fuel mileage. I think it was a 2 or 3 MPG reduction.Doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up when you are running 200,000+ miles a year per truck. With the system running I believe the average fuel mileage for the trucks in our company is around 6 to 8 MPG depending on the route.
Additionally the systems are expensive as all get out to repair and maintain. When the DPF and DEF systems on my truck went out, the truck was down for 3 months waiting on parts, and from what I heard from our mechanic, the final repair bill was around $15,000USD.
That said, the fines for bypassing the emission systems are big enough that it’s really not worth it, but some owner operators don’t realize it as many don’t run their trucks like the businesses they are. They just know this is expensive as hell and they can reduce the cost by bypassing them.
It’s almost like we should’ve stuck with electric trains for long haul freight and left OTR hauling for last-mile. Almost like that would’ve seriously helped the CAA rather than a bunch of half-fixed like this.
The EGR and DPF systems used in diesel trucks cause (or caused, it’s been a while since I last looked it up) a big reduction in fuel mileage. I think it was a 2 or 3 MPG reduction.Doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up when you are running 200,000+ miles a year per truck. With the system running I believe the average fuel mileage for the trucks in our company is around 6 to 8 MPG depending on the route.
I think it’s worth noting that this is an environmental benefit, not only an economic one. In other words, it’s not that people defeating the emissions control devices are making their trucks purely worse for the environment for their own selfish benefit; it’s that they’re making a trade off between increased ‘regular’ (for lack of a better term) pollutant emissions like NOx/SOx/particulates, and decreased greenhouse gas emissions (CO2).
I’m not saying they’re altruistic – obviously they do it to save money (at least until they get caught and fined) – but I am saying that we can’t just assume it’s bad without first doing the math and making a value judgement about what sorts of emissions we care about.
Geeking out about an edge case where not having the fancy emissions controls is better: using biodiesel
There are also more complicated considerations, such as how getting rid of these emissions controls and retuning the engine may also allow it to run on higher percentages of biodiesel. The trade-offs associated with that are not only the fact that the fuel becomes carbon-neutral (net CO2 emissions go to zero, at least for the percentage of the fuel that is bio- instead of dino-), but also that biodiesel naturally has zero sulfur in it (which means zero SOx) and burns cleaner (fewer particulates) and hotter (more NOx) than dino-diesel. On top of that, more NOx could be a bad thing or a good thing, depending on whether you’re driving in a NOx-limited or VOC-limited regime.
In other words, using 100% biodiesel in an urban environment (VOC-limited) is IMO enough to actually justify preferring not to have the fancy emissions controls for legit environmentalist reasons: the better efficiency in general (as the parent comment mentioned), zero net greenhouse gas emissions, zero SOx, irrelevant NOx, and all at the cost of only moderate particulates (more than would be emitted from a vehicle with a DPF, but less than would be emitted if the same car were burning dino-diesel).
Of course, none of those benefits occur unless you actually seek out B100 (or at least, significantly higher percentages than the B5 that normal diesel can be blended up to), and that’s a motivation much more associated with the hippie types that drive VW TDIs and old Mercs, not truckers.
I genuinely would like to know if the increase in CO2 emissions is worth the decrease in NOx emissions, but acid rain is a now problem and climate change isn’t.
Climate change is absolutely a now problem, it’s affecting far more people right now than acid rain ever has or ever will, it’s costing trillions and you’re already paying for it in taxes, insurance, and other ways. The fact that people don’t understand it or appreciate how significant it is doesn’t mean it’s not a “now” problem, it just means it’s not a problem that’s ever going to get fixed because people like you don’t and won’t ever consider it a “now” problem. Enjoy the challenge of struggling your way through the increasingly impossible economy, it’s not going to get better.
You’re preaching to the choir. I referring to the mindsets of the law makers who wrote those laws.
Don’t quote me on it, but I believe that the emissions tech is efficient enough that even with the increased fuel consumption there is an overall reduction in emissions across the board. That was my understanding when the tech was first being fazed in back in the mid to late ‘00’s. Whether that was true or just propaganda, don’t know. I just knew that full compliance was required to run in California and a few other states.
If it lowers MPG, it increases CO2 per work done. There’s no getting around that.
I always thought that the way auto manufactures went about meeting emissions by adding more parts(that will break and need replacing, $$$) and lowering fuel economy(I wonder who benefits from that?) to be at best, lazy and at worse, suspicious. I recently learned about a Swedish engine manufacture called Scania that’s managed to meet emissions without DEF. I’m definitely gonna keep an eye on that company.
For now, I’m just gonna keep making biodiesel for my farm and burning scrap wood for heat. The emissions tech they’re piling on to diesels actually precludes running biodiesel in them, so it’s not exactly like I’d ever be getting any new. Not like I’d want to buy a one ton piece of spyware anyway.
Im with you. I’d love to know why.
Edit: Nvm, it’s a pretty short article that doesn’t say much, but it does include pictures of it.
I’m doing some reading here, too. Seems like the additional maintenance expense caused by the exhaust recirculation can be expensive over the life of the vehicle. This isn’t just maintaining/reparing the EGR system, but also maintaining/replacing other engine components that have a shorter lifespan due to the emissions controls. This makes sense to me.
It sounds like a pretty poor solution, but then we haven’t meaningfully innovated on the internal combustion engine for how many years?
My understanding from past reading is that there’s a history of diesel trucks pulling off emissions control hardware to increase their MPG somewhat, so they save money on fuel. First ran into it when reading about the practice in Europe, but also happens here in North America.
I don’t know whether it’s possible to tweak the computer-controlled system to achieve a similar effect, but it’d make sense.
It’s more than just reprogramming, the delete process also includes removing the hardware itself.
Ah, that’d do it then. Thanks.
It usually comes with substantially more power, and you don’t have to maintain the def system anymore either.
For semi-trucks at least, my cousin (who drives a truck) told me it costs him a lot of money to have the DEF systems on his truck and operate them, and it costs him money he would otherwise be making on his deliveries.
I thought he was an idiot, and hes risking his and everybody else’s health around him with his attempts to defeat those systems. (Don’t think he was ever successful at it)
He might be an asshole but he’s right that DEF costs money and that emissions systems on diesels are a pain in the ass.
Gas costs money and repairs/maintenance are a pain. It is cost of operation…
Easily. Read my other comment, but this would pay for itself in a single afternoon if you didn’t maintain your vehicle and would otherwise get shutdown due to an exhaust failure.
Or if you drive a truck in stop and go traffic, and the filters clogged up early, causing you to delay and let the exhaist system do a cleaning cycle (take 1hr, requires engine running and high throttle.) Etc etc.
It refunds itself the second you have to replace any of the emission components and if done early you refund it by getting better MPG and not having to spend money on diesel exhaust fluid.
Diesel engines can be tuned to be 10% more efficient ie better engine performance and better fuel economy if u modify the engine tuning to ignore the environmental tuning requirements that have been forced upon the manufacturers.
as much as this guy sounds like an asshole should ownership not mean u can modify your own property as u see fit?
as much as this guy sounds like an asshole should ownership not mean u can modify your own property as u see fit?
That’s kind of what emission standards are, is rules of that. You can modify your legally purchased firearm as you see fit, but if your modifications make it shoot in random directions, you can’t use it in a shooting range.
as much as this guy sounds like an asshole should ownership not mean u can modify your own property as u see fit?
Not when your actions affect others, no.
You can modify it how you see fit, but it’s not street legal unless you fit emissions standards
Sure, as long as you pipe the exhaust directly into your lungs, and not anyone else’s nor the environment.
Hey im not saying its a good thing to do just that this is the cost of personal liberty and property ownership.
Your personal liberty to emit pollution does not supersede my personal liberty to be able to breathe.
What about the air on my personal property that you are destroying?
The antipollution on a diesel engine (at least a big one) essentially reroutes the exhaust back through the engine and reburns it again. Before the antipollution devices were in place it wasn’t uncommon for big diesels to get 500,000 miles before they needed to be replaced. Now with the antipollution devices they’re getting somewhere in the neighborhood of 100k before they start having problems of significance.
Those engines and their maintenance are expensive as hell. It saves a whole lot more than the $4,500 having that done. It saves them hundreds of thousands of dollars over the long haul.
I actually decided to search this because I thought the whole point of DEF was so trucks wouldn’t need to use an EGR like every car does.
Apparently emissions is complicated and expensive lol, so lots of trucks have both.
Newer models however have started creating systems that remove the EGR and instead rely solely on the SCR with a bigger DEF tank and a cleanup catalyst.
I think DEF is still the right direction. Exhaust recycling has a ton of downsides that took car OEMs a while to hack their way around (or give up and plan for 150k mile expectancy).
4,500 for a mod though is still pretty expensive for something you can do yourself. Most of that cost was probably due to it being illegal, not because it’s hard to accomplish.
or they could run on propane, which doesn’t make a whole lot of particulates in the first place and is cheaper anyway
I’m talking big trucks not forklifts.
out there plenty of people run their cars on LPG, most of taxis in Warsaw are hybrids running on propane because it’s cheapest fuel in most efficient vehicle in urban conditions
it’s pretty common in US too, just not in private vehicles https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogas#/media/File:2020_Global_Autogas_Consumption.svg
I worked in the lumber business in the US for a while, and we didn’t have access to LP fuel anywhere I knew of, and LP trucks for purchase were unheard of, and I can’t imagine where I could even get one serviced. It’s an LP desert where I am
Just my personal experience.
I heard some of that is popular along southern border (AZ?)
IIRC from /r/Europe discussion, propane is also not uncommon as a fuel in Turkey.
kagis
Yeah:
https://auto-gas.net/mediaroom/turkey-leads-autogas-consumption-in-europe/
Turkey leads Autogas consumption in Europe, while ranks second in the world. 80% of all LPG consumed throughout the country is used as Autogas. In addition, Turkey is the only country that has more LPG vehicles more than gasoline-powered vehicles.
In Turkey, the number of LPG vehicles in operation is close to 5 million.
I’m assuming the engine would need some modification to run propane? If not to the cylinders themselves, to the fuel supply? I assume propane would be largely similar to LNG vehicles? I really only see that on city buses and assumed there was a range reason for that.
Propane is way less energy dense per volume than diesel, so it isn’t feasible for long-haul trucking. CNG/LNG is more energy dense than propane, but still nowhere near that of diesel fuel, which is why you see it in busses and garbage trucks. I know a few massive fleets (UPS comes to mind) that use CNG for some of their local routes, but that is probably more for the “green” optics than anything else.
propane is like 3/4 density of petrol and gram per gram carries more energy (propane 0.58g/ml, petrol 0.7ish g/ml) it’s slightly greener because it contains more hydrogen so more energy per carbon emissions
LNG is cryogenic, has even lower density (0.41 to 0.5 g/ml depending on temperature) and CNG is less dense still depending on pressure
petrol engines need little modification, what is def necessary is another tank for LPG. different fuel supply system is required, but if original is kept in place either petrol or LPG can be used as needed. propane is a liquid under pressure and much denser than gaseous compressed methane, and not cryogenic like LNG. diesel engines can also be converted, but it gets harder and requires either small amount of normal diesel used or installation of spark plugs (it’s still diesel cycle)
Are you defending this?
God I hate comments like this, that are so un charitable. He’s giving us more information and context which is important and adds to discussion and here you are trying to start shit.
This happens way too often on here, people providing nuance or a different perspective and some douche sliding in “so you think everyone should DIE!!!” putting words into OP’s mouth and attributing malice…
A point was trying to be made. One - the information provided is absolutely biased and possibly untrue. Performing maintenance on your vehicle is a fact of life. Using emissions as a scapegoat and justification to pollute bothers me more than my comment bothers you.
Fuck polluters and fuck their apologists.
Explanation is not excuse.
So it’s a Captain Planet villain, but dumb.
Right, a Republican, exactly.
The way they’ve all reacted to climate change denialism by actively trying to make pollution as bad as possible is wild. Even if the entire world’s scientific community was somehow wrong about global warming, shit like this and “rolling coal” would still be terrible for air quality, but these fucknuts apparently don’t care as long as they get to “own the libs”. This is peak “eating a shit sandwich to force other people to smell your breath” energy.
It’s not an anti environment thing, it’s a money saving thing (as in, they don’t do it to intentionally harm the environment, it’s collateral damage). You spend 4.5k to make your engine reliable for hundreds of thousands of miles instead of having to spend 10k (if you’re lucky) every 100k miles to keep it running.
People are dumb. I once saw a kid on a field trip shit his pants out of spite because we had to leave a petting zoo. It wasn’t an accident. He looked the teacher in the eye and letterrip
That’s a child who hasn’t learned how to emotionally regulate. It’s much worse when it’s an adult who is emotionally unintelligent. These people aren’t necessarily stupid, they’ve just never been taught how to manage themselves or given the tools to self soothe.
I’m saying millions of adults haven’t moved beyond pant shitting.
I understand. I’m highlighting that it’s not that these people are “dumb” - they’re capable of learning why climate change is an important subject matter - but rather that their inability to emotionally regulate results in them doubling down like a child, even if deep down they know they’re wrong.
They react to their emotions rather than taking a moment to ask themselves why that is their response in the first place; this needs to be taught.
I think we’re generally aligned.
They are capable of understanding what climate change is but refuse any action on it. Even towards their own detriment.
(Shit pants, roll coal)
Remotely? Sounds like the manufacturers are up to no good as well.
The summary says he was having accomplices connect a laptop to the vehicle and then remotely accessing that laptop. Sounds like regular old ssh or rdp.
I’d bet he’s a TeamViewer kind of guy.
Manufacturers try really hard to stop their proprietary software from getting out into the world, because when it does this is exactly what happens.
Case in point: I have a $35 phone app that lets me change software configurations on my BMW, and it is great. Can’t change anything related to engine, aftertreatment, or safety though…which is a good thing.
Flipside of this coin: this results in repair monopolies because users cannot repair their own vehicles and equipment and manufactures use this exact excuse to claim they HAVE to run a monopoly cause the EPA. Literally John Deere has said this.
In truth, illegal vehicle mods have been and will always be a thing. Manufacturers should still provide all the tools to users to repair, and emissions checks on trucks will have to be smarter to catch cheaters. Make the penalty for a deliberate violation (willful not accidental) so egregious that no one would consider it, even if it saved 50k+ per truck.
100% - I started writing a second paragraph about John Deere’s fuckery, but deleted it. You are spot on.
If you read the article he was remotely connecting to laptops that were plugged into the vehicles.
Most cars come equipped with a sim card these days and there’s lots of news about how car companies are sending data about your driving habits to insurance providers. So um… Yeah.
