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I have disabled my EGR. My justification is my car with was the first production car to have a Diesel Particulate Filter. This was before cars had a regeneration mode and in fact was why it was discovered one was needed. Anything that produces soot plugs up the filter which makes the engine work harder and that makes more NOx on its own.
These filters had a problem with plugging up so bad that four possible bad things could happen. The best case is your mileage sucks and you have no power. the next best case was the car would quit running. The next best case is the pressure would cause the filter to break up and throw chunks of itself into the turbo (it was located between the exhaust manifold and the turbo). The worst case is the back pressure was enough to crack the head.
Eventually the EPA mandated a recall to refit the cars with a newer Catalytic Diesel Particulate Filter that didn't filter as much. Unfortunately the cars still don't have a regeneration mode so the filters still get plugged to the point that it doesn't flow well. The only way to clean it out is to drive at sustained high speed (90mph+) for a couple of minutes or to drive it up a long steep hill a few times.
Since it was designed for California Emissions the engineers assumed a different driving profile and warmer climate conditions. IF you spend two hours a day on the highway and don't drive in cold climates it will stay relatively clear. If not you must "regenerate" it as mentioned above. Since I live in a colder climate and only get on the highway twice a week for less than fifteen minutes, I can't keep it clean even if I disable the EGR.
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