"Coal Runners"

danshawen

danshawen

Valued Senior Member
Does this really make any sense?

http://www.alan.com/2014/07/06/cons...to-stick-it-to-obama-liberals/comment-page-1/

Lately we have a bunch of these running in our neighborhood. The smoke that billows out of them is enough to evade speed cameras by obscuring the license plates (and anything else).

Is there a shortage of emission enforcement, equipment violations, or are the impound lots full? Anyone with the money to do these mods obviously can afford such expenses and fines.

One guy who was asked about the modifications said that it was an off road mod to make snorkeling an engine in heavy mud possible, but he also didn't seem to have tires that were big enough to do that.

What do you think?
 
From what I understand, because they are diesel trucks, it is pretty simple to alter how it runs... so they can make it "roll coal" all year long, then when it comes time for inspection, put it back to its factory settings, and boom, it passes emissions.

It's bullshit in my honest opinion...

As for the idiot that said it was an "off road" mod, bullshit... 1) their engine actually produces LESS power because it's running less efficiently (less complete burn, colder burn, et al) 2) The snorkel is what lets you "snorkel" an engine in heavy mud... the exhaust won't suck water in unless you have a SERIOUS problem with your engine combustion strokes, and so long as your intake is above water, you're fine.
 
Kittamaru said:
From what I understand, because they are diesel trucks, it is pretty simple to alter how it runs... so they can make it "roll coal" all year long, then when it comes time for inspection, put it back to its factory settings, and boom, it passes emissions.

It's bullshit in my honest opinion...

As for the idiot that said it was an "off road" mod, bullshit... 1) their engine actually produces LESS power because it's running less efficiently (less complete burn, colder burn, et al) 2) The snorkel is what lets you "snorkel" an engine in heavy mud... the exhaust won't suck water in unless you have a SERIOUS problem with your engine combustion strokes, and so long as your intake is above water, you're fine.
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That just makes more sense than the article saying it was a political statement of some kind. With diesel engines, particularly small ones, it's difficult to tune it so that it doesn't produce a lot of carbon black smoke, and this is one of the differences between the more transparent exhaust from the engine of a large diesel rig, and the smoky looking ones from these small engines. Why anyone would want a less efficient engine with gasoline and diesel prices at an all time high just didn't really make any sense to me either.

I had read earlier, the difference between the particle density of the thick black smoke and the transparent exhaust is actually razor thin. An afterburner would be a more impressive mod, whether it was politically motivated or not.

So, not a conspiracy; just a weak excuse for someone to make one out of it.
 
Tony Otter made an old mercedes truck with a low compression v8 run on real coal smoke in post war Rhineland Germany. He cooked the coal in a converted boiler in the bed of the truck with an exhaust pipe running to the engine's carburetor , When the smoke was a rich dark blue, he would damper down the cooker, start the engine on gasoline, warm it up, then divert the smoke to the pipe running into the carburetor and turn off the gas . He claimed about 70% efficiency for the engine's power, and a thick cloud of smoke following him down the road. He said that it only works with low compression engines.

Then he died of cancer before he could supervise me in converting an old engine as had he. (gee darn)
 
To paraphrase John Stuart Mill, you don't have to be stupid to be conservative but most stupid people are conservative.

Or, as I sometimes say, conservatism isn't necessarily a bad thing; it depends on what you want to conserve. If you want to conserve values like helping your neighbours, that's a good thing. If you want to conserve the right to pollute, that's a bad thing.
 
danshawen said:
I had read earlier, the difference between the particle density of the thick black smoke and the transparent exhaust is actually razor thin.
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Normally, yes, yes it is - noticeable, but minor. What these assholes are doing, though, is making a HUGE difference, because they are literally dumping far more fuel than the engine can burn into it, and the unburnt and partially burnt remnants end up spilling out the exhaust. It's... really quite stupid, to be honest.
 
Kittamaru said:
Normally, yes, yes it is - noticeable, but minor. What these assholes are doing, though, is making a HUGE difference, because they are literally dumping far more fuel than the engine can burn into it, and the unburnt and partially burnt remnants end up spilling out the exhaust. It's... really quite stupid, to be honest.
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Wild guess du jour:

They are doing it to get noticed and then talked about. Even if we think them a tad insane, it was nice of us to notice them.
 
One of our local coal runners recently added a political message of sorts neatly stenciled on the tailgate of the modified exhaust truck:

"Sittin' purty, ridin' dirty"

I think this 'purty' much says it all, and succinctly enough for anyone to understand. I guess 'he'? doesn't mind if his girlfriend (or boyfriend) also drives his (her) truck occasionally, and around the same crowd he (she) hangs out with, right? Just another stupid fad for folks with more testosterone (estrogen), free time and money than grey matter.

For the rest of us, make sure your A/C is working, keep all your windows closed, turn on the recirculate fan, at least until these things fail their next emissions tests and get impounded.
 
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Not that I like or approve of it, but it would be most effective if there were an on and off switch to the smoke making. You would only be "ridin' dirty" when you wanted to "impress" your nature-loving neighbors, or for shock purposes.
 
There are a few of those around here. There is no reason for it. They are simply being dicks. I don't see what's cool about driving like a maniac to get in front of a prius, and then blowing black smoke out of those ridiculous pipes. You can't even fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the bed anymore either.
 
zgmc said:
They are simply being dicks. I don't see what's cool about driving like a maniac to get in front of a prius, and then blowing black smoke out of those ridiculous pipes.
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Same reason any dickish behavior is "cool" I imagine.
 
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