If all the videos on YouTube are to be believed, it seems most rolling coal systems are normally only used in rare Prius-scaring situations, therefore switching off any bypass valves should see a truck successfully complete an emissions test. Please confirm you agree to the use of tracking cookies as outlined in the Cookies Policy. Sign in or register. Michael Fernie 5 years ago. A vehicle equipped with such a defeat device can produce 40 to times the emissions of a standard vehicle.
If only 2 or 3 percent of similar diesel vehicles use such devices, the fleet-wide emissions can double. In Weber County, Utah, where 10 percent of diesel vehicles were found in to have tampered with their pollution control systems, emissions in the airshed from that class of vehicles can triple—a serious situation in the already badly polluted Wasatch Front. Although the companies claim that their products are legal, the EPA thought otherwise. Unfazed, the companies continued to market and sell their devices, and sure enough, by the time it came to settle with the violating companies, there had been a change of administration in Washington.
Reed Zars, an attorney in Laramie, Wyoming, who worked with Sierra Club attorney Joseph Halso to challenge the Derive Systems decree, noted that in addition to the minuscule penalties, the company was permitted to continue selling its defeat devices for another two years. The Diesel Technology Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of diesel engines, fuel and technology.
Forum members are leaders in clean diesel technology and represent the three key elements of the modern clean-diesel system: advanced engines, vehicles and equipment, cleaner diesel fuel and emissions-control systems.
For more information visit www. Privacy Policy and Cookies This site uses cookies to optimize your experience. Learn More. There are a few different ways to modify a truck to get it ready for coal rolling, but anyone who does is almost surely flaunting Environmental Protection Agency EPA regulations by removing the diesel particulate filter that reduces contaminants in the exhaust. In addition to polluting the environment which is practically the entire point the EPA reiterates that the chemicals can cause severe asthma and can also make existing heart and respiratory conditions much worse, even to the point of death [source: Bigelow ].
Black carbon emissions, the type spewed out from coal rolling, is one of the most toxic types of airborne contaminants and one of the most influential causes of climate change. The toxins spewed from diesel smoke lead to 21, premature deaths every year [source: Kulze ]. So far, it seems there are few actual consequences to coal rolling. Enforcement of these rules is done at a higher level, in that it's illegal to make, sell, or install parts that allow a vehicle to override federally mandated emissions controls, or what the EPA calls "defeat devices.
The EPA, for its part, admits that the purpose of a defeat device isn't to override the emissions controls; it's just that overriding emissions controls is a necessary side effect of achieving the desired gains in engine performance. In other words, the EPA doesn't run around in squad cars chasing down offenders, but they will "prosecute cases where significant or imminent harm is occurring" [source: Ballaban ].
Also, to be fair, people with gasoline cars install these kinds of upgrades all the time. It's just that the side effects, which might be measurable with emissions testing tools, aren't as conspicuously visible. And they aren't being used as a political statement. In motorsport form, the eye-catching diesel smoke is a byproduct of the truck's functionality. When it's just for fun, as we'll see later, the driver can make the smoke spurt on command.
And the coal rollers who do it for sport now face the burden of trying to distance themselves from the ones who do it as a political statement. Truck pulling is the motorsport of choice for many diesel pickup enthusiasts, and it's the source of the newfound interest in coal rolling.
Truck pull participants modify their diesels for extra performance, using engine tuning strategies and methods that we'll describe later in detail. The drivers of these performance-oriented pickups gather at official events or on someone's farm , line up, hook up some extra weight on a sled that's dragged behind the truck and then race for speed or distance.
The plumes of black smoke are merely a side effect of all the modifications required to succeed in truck pulling -- but they're definitely dramatic. For a motorsport that seems like it would be easily scorned, interest in truck pulling appears to be still strong. Most truck pulls are organized events, and clubs like the Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pulling Association boast hundreds of members, decades of experience, and a calendar of dozens of events from spring until fall. The Outlaw group, which is based in the Midwest, has been around since , and its members compete in truck pulls across the country.
The Outlaws' website says that for the past three years, group membership has increased by at least 10 new recruits per year. The group says that safety and good sportsmanship are its top priorities, and there are plenty of other truck pull clubs that appear to take themselves and their sport just as seriously.
It's not hard to see why truck pull groups are trying to distance themselves from the negative public perception of the recent coal rolling trend. Truck pulls might not suit everyone's tastes, but there's a lot to be said for being responsible and respectful of the surroundings.
To an extent, anyway. Rolling coal, as a non-motorsports hobby, is a deliberate attempt to pollute the environment and waste fuel. It's something that probably wouldn't be happening if not for the sheer glee of baiting people over the Internet, although some participants have told reporters they've been into it since their early teen years [source: Kulze ].
It's impossible to say for sure, but Facebook pages , YouTube channels , and Tumblrs of smoky black pictures and videos help the coal rollers boast about their accomplishments, and evidence of their misdeeds helps stir the political pot.
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