You’re all going to hate me here…but I think VED should be scrapped and pay per mile brought in. Too many needless journeys, school runs , nipping to the shops round the corner etc
the maoster:
Have you ever flown anywhere on holiday Bluey? Just asking.
Yes many times, and I am aware of the large amount of climate changing gases they are responsible for. Not sure how this relates to the high levels of harmful pollutants that we are breathing in whilst on busy roads and in town centres, I assume this thread is about the latter.
And if I was aware of an airline modifying their engines away from their initial design for short term gain whilst inadvertently risking our health with higher than necessary pollution, then I would choose not to use that airline.
merc0447:
So see the cars recalled I take it you can’t just make their emission magially disappear so is it to remove the software? And when they come back does the VED change on them?
The government has already promised not to alter the VED so whatever figure is quoted on the V5 will not be altered. It is expected though that after the software has been updated the engines will be less efficient get less mpg and as such the CO2 levels will rise.
Engine manufactures have a complex juggling act when configuring a diesel engine. The three main types of pollutants CO2, NOx and Particle Matter do not necessarily follow each other. lower the levels of one and the other two tend to increase. My understanding of what VW have done is to create two engine maps on the same chip. When the vehicle is on a static test machine the engine works in a manner that creates very little NOx, however if it was used on the open road with such a configuration then it would not be very economical and produce high levels of CO2. So the chip is designed to recognise when the vehicle is being driven normally and the chip reverts to the engine map that is the most efficient. To my mind VW have done what a back street re-mapper has done, create a very efficient engine that uses low amounts of fuel (which is great for the environment as per global warming) but they have done so with little regard to our health.
Bluey Circles:
Not sure how this relates to the high levels of harmful pollutants that we are breathing in whilst on busy roads and in town centres.
You don’t think that the pollutants from your holiday jet stay up there in the sky surely? The muck we breathe in on our city street come from all form of fossil fuel burning engines not just VW’s
I honestly do commend you and any other person who is passionate about pollution and I do believe it’s a highly laudable cause. What I do find hard to deal with is the hypocrisy of someone shouting for cleaner air who will then happily board a jetliner and go off to the Costas for a jolly when there are far more green alternatives such as trains, coaches etc available. It’s a bit like a man in crocodile skin shoes urging us to donate to wildlife funds!
I do accept that it’s ridiculous to expect someone to spend days on a train or ocean liner in order to get to their holiday destination, which is one of the reasons I wouldn’t lecture others on saving the planet, the other being quite frankly I don’t care that much. If that makes me a bad person then so be it.
I admit that I am an ignoramous in regard to atmospheric pollutants etc.
But if VW alter their cars to emit less NoX which will then emit more CO2 and also lessen MPG, won’t the extra fuel used (less MPG) simply reintroduce the NoX that has been saved?
So, in effect, it seems to me, we will have the same NoX plus extra CO2.
Firstly CO2 won’t hurt anyone and contrary to the drug fuelled bs of Sagan it didn’t cook Venus either.As for diesel it’s a lost cause of less PM = more NOX and less NOX means more PM and more fuel consumption and an ever increasing spiral of ever more expensive ever less reliable emissions crap.It really is time to ditch diesel and go for LPG/CNG fuelled engines for commercial vehicles instead and remove the choice of diesel in cars.
Problem solved but then the anti car/truck mob will just find something else to moan about.Like CO2. 
Having said that it’s obvious that trying to force a population of 75 million + into a small Island,let alone small areas of that small Island,will just create ever more increasing environmental issues.Strangely the most vehement ‘environmentalists’ also generally seem to be the most pro immigration in that regard.
del949:
I admit that I am an ignoramous in regard to atmospheric pollutants etc.
But if VW alter their cars to emit less NoX which will then emit more CO2 and also lessen MPG, won’t the extra fuel used (less MPG) simply reintroduce the NoX that has been saved?
So, in effect, it seems to me, we will have the same NoX plus extra CO2.
No NOX is a product of trying to clean up PM with EGR and all the other bs which increases combustion/cylinder temperatures.The issue of fuel consumption is a red herring which is just there to appease the global warmist believers.What engines need is plenty of clean air,not EGR an high exhaust back pressures,and atomised fuel vapour/gas to burn with it.On that note diesel was always a lost cause from day 1.
I’m 73. Who gives a ■■■■?
Bluey Circles:
How many are driving vehicles that have been remapped, DPF removed, EGR deleted, adblue eliminated ? yes all these can save fuel money and reduce CO2. But they all can seriously raise the NOx and Particle Matter. If your boss / company has interfered in anyway with the engine management or pollution controls then refuse to drive it on the harm you will be doing to everyone else.Could you really live with yourselves if cyclists were keeling over at the side of the road choking on all of the particle matter that would otherwise have been captured by your DPF had it not have been removed, the few thousand pound a year you will save on fuel will not ease your conscious.
Yes I drive a remapped Euro 5. I no longer make regular trips to the dealer to have errors corrected, nor do I waste time faffing around with adblue. It sailed through its last mot and I have a nice RPC to keep in the cab.
I wont refuse to drive it as it pays my mortgage and I have a nice hassle free job so apologies to the lentil munching yoghurt hugging lesbians from Greenpeace. I also sleep very soundly in my bed thankyou.
emmerson2:
I’m 73. Who gives a [zb]?
I’m in my 30s mate and I don’t give 2xfucks.
Buckstones:
Perhaps some older members will recall the days before the Clean Air Act - I lived in Sheffield in the 1960s and experienced fog so thick buses were being guided by the conductor at 3 mph because the drivers couldn’t see the edge of the road and otherwise would stray onto the pavement.
Real yellow/orange fog, breathing was like inhaling a Capstan Full Strength. Pollution now is negligible in comparison, thousands died in a London smog in December 1952 alone, most of that air pollution was from industrial and domestic coal burning.
I still live in Sheffield and remember that well, though that was in the seventies. The whole area I live in is badly polluted by the council waste incinerator, let alone Sheffield parkway which passes the end of the garden. Dunno how we’ve survived all these years.
Wardaddy:
emmerson2:
I’m 73. Who gives a [zb]?I’m in my 30s mate and I don’t give 2xfucks.
I would, if I were you.
In the UK, a document published earlier this month by the government as part of a plan to reduce NOx concentrations estimated that the gases kill up to 23,500 UK citizens prematurely each year.
Wardaddy:
Bluey Circles:
How many are driving vehicles that have been remapped, DPF removed, EGR deleted, adblue eliminated ? yes all these can save fuel money and reduce CO2. But they all can seriously raise the NOx and Particle Matter. If your boss / company has interfered in anyway with the engine management or pollution controls then refuse to drive it on the harm you will be doing to everyone else.Could you really live with yourselves if cyclists were keeling over at the side of the road choking on all of the particle matter that would otherwise have been captured by your DPF had it not have been removed, the few thousand pound a year you will save on fuel will not ease your conscious.
Yes I drive a remapped Euro 5. I no longer make regular trips to the dealer to have errors corrected, nor do I waste time faffing around with adblue. It sailed through its last mot and I have a nice RPC to keep in the cab.
I wont refuse to drive it as it pays my mortgage and I have a nice hassle free job so apologies to the lentil munching yoghurt hugging lesbians from Greenpeace. I also sleep very soundly in my bed thankyou.
Out of curiosity how did it affect mpg ? and did you dump the DPF too.
But back to the tree huggery stuff; You will be more than likely creating a lot less CO2 so from my look-after-the-environment sort of angle that’s a good thing, but if your concerns are towards the health of others, (which I’m not too fussed about) and if your driving is in congested and densely populated areas then the people lovers won’t be thanking you so much.
Carryfast:
Having said that it’s obvious that trying to force a population of 75 million + into a small Island,let alone small areas of that small Island,will just create ever more increasing environmental issues.Strangely the most vehement ‘environmentalists’ also generally seem to be the most pro immigration in that regard.
You have hit the nail on the head there, at the end of the day that is the cause of the problem … too many people
As far as I know just the adblue and bhp were remapped. Apparently it’s marginally better on mpg but the big benefit is no more trips to dealers to have stupid faults corrected.
Janos:
Wardaddy:
emmerson2:
I’m 73. Who gives a [zb]?I’m in my 30s mate and I don’t give 2xfucks.
I would, if I were you.
In the UK, a document published earlier this month by the government as part of a plan to reduce NOx concentrations estimated that the gases kill up to 23,500 UK citizens prematurely each year.
The Government constantly whine about the aging population: can’t afford pensions, can’t provide care for the aged, in the future there will be too many 90 year olds etc. These problems are made worse by encouraging us all to stop smoking, eat healthily,exercise more and so on.
They can’t logically try and extend life expectancy and then complain it will be impossible to manage the results. (but when is logic and common sense used by governments?)
some easy solutions to slightly improve air quality :
:: increase cooperation in road transport . there is no reason for all supermarkets to have own fleets for example (morrisons bridgwater load to bristol return empty, whilst sainsbury bristol load to bridgwater return empty ) . there should be national supermarket fleet operating on a high efficiency principal .
:: end london night time ban and have a night time compulsory .
:: change M6 toll into M6 free .
:: encourage development of consolidation warehouses for towns and cities , to handle all part loads . outside my house this morning were 5 separate courier companies all delivering 1 parcel each . this is market forces gone mad , and we would all benefit from national monopoly delivery service . perhaps we could call it ‘post office’ ?
Carryfast:
Having said that it’s obvious that trying to force a population of 75 million + into a small Island,let alone small areas of that small Island,will just create ever more increasing environmental issues.Strangely the most vehement ‘environmentalists’ also generally seem to be the most pro immigration in that regard.
this is true now , but not always .
it used to be Green Party policy that the greatest threat to the environment was humans , and their ever increasing population and associated degradation of natural resources and creation of waste . education and rubbers were seen as sensible answers .
unfortunately the past decade has seen the party fall into the hands of lesbianic liberals and the parties policies are now as you described .
I think bus lanes should become “essential transport lanes” for trucks 7.5t and above and of course, buses. I can’t think where in Surrey they do this but it works well. I don’'t understand why taxis are allowed in bus lanes, except black cabs though.
Wardaddy:
I think bus lanes should become “essential transport lanes” for trucks 7.5t and above and of course, buses. I can’t think where in Surrey they do this but it works well.
google.com/maps/@51.2422846, … 312!8i6656
Probably only to wind up cyclists and truck hating Londoners. 
