Compulsory GPF filters in gasoline – new regulations from September 2018

Recent scandals (including the loud “Dieselgate” scandal) caused the European Commission to closely scrutinize legal regulations in this area.

From September this year, cars with gasoline engines will be equipped by the manufacturers with particulate filters – GPF. The reason is the change in regulations specifying the way of measuring emissions.

LABORATORY AND LIFE

What exactly will change in the emissions measurement? The tests will no longer be performed in laboratory conditions that did not reflect the actual values in favor of the producers. Now the exhaust emission will be verified in real traffic, also in gasoline engines.

It turns out that changes in the way of measurements will entail changes in car equipment. Real-life cars will never be as ecological and economical as they should, and high-emission solid particles are hard to avoid using current technological solutions.
Currently, cars are produced in which compressed fuel is directly fed into the cylinders. It is no wonder that higher emissions are also becoming more and more efficient.

Manufacturers must therefore equip gasoline cars with further devices that will reduce emissions to a minimum, to meet increasingly high standards.

In connection with the entry into force of the regulations approved by the Technical Motor Vehicle Council, all models of cars with direct fuel injection approved since September 2017 must have a GPF filter – the equivalent of Diesel DPFs. From this year, the recipe applies to all gasoline engines.

WHO WILL PAY FOR THIS?

The costs associated with the design and installation of new filters will be charged to the buyer. New cars will be more expensive by several or even several thousand zlotys.

Although the European Commission does not specifically mention the GPF filter in the new guidelines, however, according to the ACEA Association, there is no other solution that would meet the new requirements of cleanliness.

FILTERS SUFFICIENT

All Diesel owners know about the problems with DPF filters, who regularly have to “burn” them to reach a sufficiently high temperature and to clean themselves of the soot particles. Without regular filter cleaning, it is only suitable for replacement, which is extremely expensive. The cost of a new filter varies from a few to several thousand.

It is therefore highly probable that GPF drivers will struggle with similar problems, and consequently the common practice of cutting out filters will be applied equally and in this case. If, therefore, the laws that strictly prohibit the cutting of this onerous part are not changed in Poland, the new regulations will not have any positive effect on the environment.

The government plans to introduce mandatory emissions testing during routine police checks. Although at the moment the police officers can verify the quality of exhaust gases, but at the moment they do not use this option.