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DOD (Displacement On Demand) system in NSW Highway Patrol Cars

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Hi all,

I have a VF SS series 1 sedan with the L77 engine that in a former life was a NSW highway patrol car (verified by front page in the logbook, as well as minor holes in trim and bodywork and stuff like that).

I'm aware of the upsides and downsides of this, however mine has been trouble free so far. I've heard that in these cars the DOD system that shuts off half of the cylinders at part throttle cruise is disabled or removed, along with other differences like the transmission cooler, the alternator and the brakes (these last three I have verified to be the case).

Firstly, is that likely to be true, and how would I tell? The way the car drives currently, I don't get any tell-tale signs of any shift in engine operation in the conditions where DOD is supposed to work.

Secondly, if it is true, is it done electronically in the ECU or do they use different lifters/a manual spec engine?

For the moment, I'm just curious, but at some point in the future I would like to do intake/exhaust/camshaft changes. DOD not being there would mean I'd need to spend a lot less money.
 

BlaserF3

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Hi Ross, I just had air/cam/exhaust work dome on my 2015 L77 engine. The L77's in Australia do not have the DoD system activated. If you do cam work in future you will need a DoD delete kit installed as well as accompanying lifters.

I'm sure the more experienced members here can explain/enlighten much better than I can.
 
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Hi Ross, I just had air/cam/exhaust work dome on my 2015 L77 engine. The L77's in Australia do not have the DoD system activated. If you do cam work in future you will need a DoD delete kit installed as well as accompanying lifters.

I'm sure the more experienced members here can explain/enlighten much better than I can.
I think you'll find the Auto ones have it enabled normally, (referred to as AFM by Holden)according to a brochure I have for MY15. Manual ones don't have it enabled and have a different cam that gives 270kW instead of 260kW.

The engine in mine is definitely an L77 according to the VIN plate.
 
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BlaserF3

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As the heads require removal to fit the DoD kit, there is an option---- have some head work done to offset the cost since they have to be pulled anyway. I looked at this but decided against it as I do't spend much time above 5k on the tach.
 

Forg

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Doesn't one of the modes for the little LCD screen between the tacho & speedo have a thingy that tells you when it cuts back to 4 cylinders?

I've not seen it myself, but a workmate test-drove an L77 VF at some stage & mentioned it.

I can't tell when our stock L77 SSVR cuts the cylinders; some people around here reckon it can be felt & heard, but I just have to trust that so long as I've taken it out of Sport mode & we're doing >80km/h it's DoD'ing ...
 
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Doesn't one of the modes for the little LCD screen between the tacho & speedo have a thingy that tells you when it cuts back to 4 cylinders?

I've not seen it myself, but a workmate test-drove an L77 VF at some stage & mentioned it.

Not that I've seen. Mine is different from standard slightly, but it has three groups of info.

First one is the usual stuff, speed, (in my case) captured speed, which retains the speed you were doing when you push the end of the stalk with speed showing on the display, average speed, trip meter, Instantaneous fuel, average fuel, Litres used, range remaining.

The second just shows battery volts, the third is a more detailed fuel consumption display with average and best average over 25, 100, or 500 km, and an alternative bar graph. None of these tells you when AFM is engaged AFAIK.

All of this is overridden by messages when you engage sport mode or similar, or if one of the many globes is not working, or if your fuel is low. It also puts up a message if you flatten the accelerator in sport mode to tell you that it has detected that you are behaving like a loon and is changing gears accordingly:D.

I've not seen any AFM messages, and my driving has been mostly open road (I commute between Maitland and Newcastle, and sometimes to Singleton), so if AFM works it should have engaged several times.

I guess I should RTFM to check on that one, but if there should be a message and there isn't a message, that would suggest that it has been disabled one way or another.

<offtopic> where did you find a SSV Redline in Regal peacock green?
 
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Forg

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^ Offtopic Answer: hoo boy, it was pure luck! :)
My better half (it’s her car) was enamoured of the colour, Had To Have It; but in procrastinating over what we wanted, Holden stopped making SSVR’s in Regal Peacock (ie. for MY15 - suspect someone decided it didn’t suit the wheels which by then were only made in black).
I went through the stock list of every dealer from SA, VIC, ACT, NSW and QLD ... the only new wagon still in stock (actually a demo as they’d registered it, but only 70 km on the clock) was in a dealer in Sydney! It was fate, definitely needed to happen. If the dealer had known just how much we wanted that particular car, I suspect we’d have paid a fair whack more. :)
[they’d put this terrible “Woody” style vinyl on it as some sort of backfired sales thingy, probably turned most potential buyers off]
 

redvxr8clubby

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id be pretty sure all VE V8 autos from 2009 onwards right up to last of the 6 litres with VF series 1 would all be AFM, definitely in my VE you can flick through the menu and see when AFM is active. I can't pick when it's active other than by the display info. even with light throttle opening all 8 come back to life.
 

Forg

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Was it introduced for VE2?
 
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