At the beginning of November, the changes adopted by the government attracted wide public attention, which provides that in the winter period (from December 1 to March 1), starting from the fall of 2024, it will be allowed to drive only with winter tires marked with the sign “mountain and snowflake” . This means that the tire has passed relevant tests and is recognized as suitable for driving on snow and ice. Previously, such a requirement did not apply. However, the issue of tires was not the only car-related topic discussed at the government meeting – a decision was also made on new tests for diesel cars, with stricter controls on emissions. In a conversation with Kursors.lv, Jānis Liepiņš, head of the technical department of the Road Safety Directorate (CSDD), told more about it.
“Latvia will be one of the leading countries of the European Union that wants to introduce a new testing methodology and, accordingly, equipment that could be used to determine whether vehicles equipped with Euro 5 and Euro 6 compliant engines have undergone any manipulations with the exhaust system, namely , solid particle filters, EGR valves and other systems,” says Liepiņš, noting that this procedure will not apply to older machines meeting Euro 4 requirements, at least for the time being. The Euro 5 emission standard was approved in the fall of 2009 and the first cars to meet these standards followed soon after. Euro 6 was officially adopted in 2014 and with various modifications these standards are still valid and will be valid for at least several more years. Accordingly, this new testing procedure will apply to all diesel vehicles manufactured from around 2010 or 2011 up to today.
The new testing procedure and methodology are already being tested by specialists in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. If we look at the CSDD data as of July 1 of this year, 65.9% of passenger cars registered in Latvia are equipped with a diesel engine, that is, 2 out of 3 cars here are diesels. Let’s not pretend and tell it like it is – when the end of the life of the solid particles or so-called soot filter comes, it is simply cut out and the car control is reprogrammed, because replacing the filter is very expensive. Previously, this unauthorized manipulation of the machine could not be detected simply and quickly, but now it will be possible. “In order to detect any manipulations, mechanical intervention was most often required – the soot filter had to be removed and looked at. It simply could not be detected, the technology is such that it could not be visually noticed. Europe was somewhat in a state of desperation because there was no way to detect the absence of filters quickly and easily,” explains the CSDD representative. “Now, the production of equipment that measures opacity differently than before has been started. In fact, the number of particles that come out of the exhaust is measured, but these particles are 10x smaller than a hair. Why is the focus on Euro 5 and Euro 6? First, when Euro 4 cars were produced, these emissions requirements were quite different. Secondly, time is moving forward and such Euro 4 cars remain less and less. Euro 5 cars are at least 10 years old. This is also a long-term step, because these engines will be on the streets for a long time, because these standards are still in force now.”
For the time being, it is expected that the new system for diesel fuel inspections will enter into force from January 1, 2025. If the machine does not pass the test, it will not be possible to receive a technical inspection. “At the moment, there are internal discussions about where there will be a boundary between the rating “2” and “3”. We want to look at the experience of Germany and the Netherlands, where this project is being launched this year. I would not want to allow a situation that is often criticized, that Latvia is a pioneer with different requirements, overcompensates and so on. It is clear that there will be a “two”, but for the “three”, we will see what our experimental measurements will be, as well as the experience of other countries.”
For the time being, the testing methodology will change for diesels that meet the Euro 5 and Euro 6 standards, but over time it could also be introduced for gasoline machines. “The same solid particles exist in gasoline engines as well as in diesel engines. In Europe, there are tests and experiments about this and there is still no clear answer. There are problems here at almost every stage, because if the machine is to measure particles 10x finer than a hair, the machine needs to be very precise. This means that you must have accurate equipment, how to calibrate the equipment so that the measurements are correct. The manufacturer struggled for one and a half, two years to figure out the technology, how the equipment can be recalibrated and how to make the equipment work correctly,” the head of the CSDD technical department describes the complications in the development of testing equipment, who reveals that the equipment costs from about 5-6 thousand to 8- 10 thousand per piece. It depends on the technology used by the specific manufacturer. In the technical inspection, however, the existing equipment will also be preserved in order to check older machines with older engines.
The procedure itself will not be significantly different. “The car will come to the technical inspection in the same way, it will have to be properly warmed up and at working temperature in the same way. The equipment with which we will perform the measurements will change, and the second thing is that there will be no measurements at high revolutions. There will be a methodology that does not require high revolutions to measure the number of particles. The norms will be the same for everyone, it does not depend on the car manufacturer or other factors, because the cars had to meet these Euro 5 and Euro 6 emission standards,” says Liepiņš.
For now, the testing of the new procedure continues here in Latvia as well, with local specialists also collecting data, gathering information and comparing it with the experience of colleagues in Europe in order to understand how it works, how accurately it works and how to implement it in practice.
2023-11-30 09:30:00
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