diesel stacks or no stacks

So I'm looking into diesels (selling my ford lightning 18k obo, brand new build motor) and id like to find a nice diesel and I love how stacks look, I know some people hate them.

what have peoples experiences been with smoke stacks and boat interiors?

Is it really an issue or no biggy.

I don't have stacks, but I highly doubt there would be an issue. Maybe it depends on the amount of towing you do with your boat.

Had stacks on my 99 cummins, it was fun for about a week. They get real old especially if you do a lot of freeway driving. I did not go that way on the 06. The one perk is you can always take them off, you just cant get rid of the hole in the bed.

They look retarded, if you want that look buy a freakin semi. The soot will be all over your boat cover or interior. My truck is bad enough without stacks.

If you go stacks make sure you also install the always very classy Confederate flag window aplique.

And the "blue-balls" hanging from the hitch.

lol

Erik, here is some advice from someone who was once 19, now 29, and wanted to to the same things to my truck at 19

Here is some simple math

Diesel stack pipes on a pickup + male driver = rumor of sub average under carriage. Make sense?

Sorry to be so blunt...but it's the truth and the women are on to this complicated math equation....even the dumb blondes

found a prefect pic of wat u guys are talking about!
its got the stacks, balls hanging from the hitch, conderate flag wheelchair, etc

LOL!!!

Wow what a funny question. No way can you be from Ca. It must really depend on where you live. Out here straight REDNECK. But maybe its cool there.

I wanted smoke stacks too at one time and now (8 years later) I am sooooo glad I never got them

I appreciate peoples opinions of the stacks but I was more focused on the soot and whether it covers your boat and interior. I know that stacks are "hick" but I think they can be more tastefully done than some have. But I do appreciate people expressing how they feel.

and maybe I do need to compensate...454ci in the boat, 415rwhp ford lightning, wanting a diesel truck with stacks.

Im pretty sure I see a pattern, but my gf never complains so ill live!

I guess its all where you roll. @ a Dukes of Hazzard Reunion or a Rodeo yea your gonna fit right in. And im sure othere will like it. Im just thinking here in Ca, in the voice of Borat, "Not So Much"

C'mon Grant tell him how you really feel...

By "G" (grant_west) on Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 9:10 am:

^^Is that a Exhaust pipe ^^
Sorry but that is straight Hilly Billy jack ass.
Everytime I see a truck with with the 18 wheeler smoke stacks comming threw the bed I just gotta crack up. It looks like its aim'd perfict for the exhaust to go straight into the boat LOL nothing like taking of your clothes to sit in a boat coverd in diesel exhaust.
That thing =FAIL
YEaaaaaa Haaaaaaaaa

I currently live in the North West part of NJ in the mountains...I fit in and its not like you could make NJ any more unattractive!

---

quote:

Not so much

---

I'm going with that too unless your around Clear lake.

show him your shoes from that amp pic a few years back. that's a good comparison really. like you both said in one way or the other, it's where you roll. lol.

It's actually getting more and more common where I live. On some of them it doesn't look bad.

who didn't want one one of these when they were 8?!

I could see how its related to redneck, and I am not sure if i would do it myself. But I don't think it looks that bad on some trucks.

I say no stacks.

Uhh, doesn't anyone throw plywood, rock, or dirt into the back of a truck anymore.

nope. snowboard, wakeboards, firewood occationally.

that dodge looks great wakeboard19. that's exactly the style stacks id get!

This thread I must admit is kinda dumb. It seems obvious to me that most people think stacks are dumb (including me) But Eric I think has already made his mind up on it as he just defends and defends. Eric enjoy your stacks and your youth.

lol

Go for it! 5" miters for sure! I had them on my 90 and although there was a drone.. no more so then my current truck... only time you might have to worry about soot is when you are idling and its raining.. generally I would think if its raining, you arent pulling the boat around.

On the bright side it would keep all that black smoke away from your boat while towing.

actullay it puts it on the cover and top of boat

Matt(duckguy)- You're absolutely right. I have made up my mind from a personal opinion of whether id get stacks or not. My question for the group was how much of an issue diesel smoke on your boat is when you run stacks on a diesel. I know some people out there have them and I was hopeful they would chime in.

As semi expected the thread became about bashing something, as these threads commonly do. The question of how much, if any soot gets on your boats interior was only answered...3 times out of 30. Solid 10% lol

If everybody liked the same things we would all be driving identical cars.
I don't know how much would be blown on the boat. But i would think it would get on your tower and speakers.

friends dont let friends stack trucks....

stack out the boat too!! after they cool down you could use them as stripper poles!

"My question for the group was how much of an issue diesel smoke on your boat is when you run stacks on a diesel. I know some people out there have them and I was hopeful they would chime in."

This may be wrong forum for this question. Maybe try http://www.hotboat.com/

My buddy has a diesel and has towed my boat a few times. I never noticed any soot in the boat but I wasn't looking to close either. I never thought about it.

Grant,
I've seen some of your "neighbors" in the bar at the Tulloch Resort. You can't convince me there are no stacks rolling through the hills near Tulloch.(With flags and balls)!

http://www.trucknutzandbikerballz.com/Big_Nutz.html

Rod, your right, once you get into the central valley I bet you could find stacks. We got em all in Cali!

Haha! I stopped at an auto fair yesterday and saw a newer Dodge pickup with stacks. I couldn't help laughing. Loud and obnoxious but I'm sure it may have looked cool when I was 19. Hell, I'm not even sure about lift kits anymore. Am I getting old? Oh well...Enjoy your stacks. Get some naked lady mud flaps!

No the 'keep on trukin' flaps. With the guy steppin with his boot. SWEET

OK, I'm a must be a redneck (Kansas counts, doesn't it?), but to me stacks look OK on Dodge trucks and that's about it. Body lines or something I guess. Never had one, so I don't know about noise, etc.
However, common sense would tell that the amount of soot deposited on your boat (or anything else being towed for that matter) would b directly related to the amount of soot the truck puts out wither with or without stacks. If you have a programmer or chip that intentionally produces a thick black smoke cloud (as some do) then it's prolly gonna be an issue. If the truck burns clean, then not so much.
That said, most guys with stacks enjoy the big rig look of a black cloud of smoke rolling out of the stacks, so they make them run that way.
The best of both worlds would be to purchase a tuner that allows multiple tunes so that you could dial in the "smoke" tune if you want, and the "clean-I don't want to get my boat all dirty" tune for that mission.
Oh, and all these guys that seen envious of your youth....have lost theirs. I should know, I'm one of 'em.
Good Luck

Also, if you get the stacks and the nuts hanging on the hitch, you need to make sure to drive like you think it is a sports car, especially cutting people off and tailgating, even though your stopping distance is 3x the car you are tailgating. This also applies to lifted trucks.

Rod:I've seen some of your "neighbors" in the bar at the Tulloch Resort. You can't convince me there are no stacks rolling through the hills near Tulloch.(With flags and balls)! Yea you sure are right about that. Just beacuse they live close to me don't mean I like it. Ask the people who live nere the Gaza Strip about the people that live across the street LOL

Hey I can admit when Im wrong. "I was wrong" I was thinking about it this weekend while out on a bike ride. Stack's when I thought about it are way better. Every whistle tip should have them! While out on a Bike ride instead of exhaust getting blowen in your face when a whistle tip drives by the exhaust would get blowen out the top. Eric; better 4 me and if you like it ROCK IT. Now if we can only convince the other whistle tip owners.

^^^^NEVER^^^^

there are actually about 4 trucks here in discovery bay with stacks on their pickups. i think a couple of them belong to some guy with a comany called house of diesel. discovery bay is in the middle of farm town usa though so i guess thats where they come from

i dont like them but to each their own. do it to it. cant give you any advise about the exhaust on the boat though. i know plenty of poeple that toe their boats with diesel trucks, lifted and stock but no stacks and they have no problems with exhaust from there so i dont see how the stacks would change anything

^^ Jason^^ If you ever see the black 4 door Ford with plates that say: SHRDSTX. Thats me. Say hi ;)

I want that dodge something awful.

Without the stacks and sticker, though..but that truck is otherwise bada$$

Even with towing with a stock diesel exhaust, you will get some soot on the boat--I would prefer to keep mine on the side where is is easily cleaned. The soot will pour out whenever you kick in the turbo to pass or get on the on ramp etc. I would be wary of installing stacks in the bed--you may not experience trouble but you are sure asking for it--

Yes finally 48 posts later somone besides the small handful of other positive contributors PHIL comes to the rescue with something that's reasonable and shows his first hand experience with diesel smoke! THANK YOU PHIL

Well you will only get smoke if you install aftermarket chips that will overfuel the engine, todays diesels run very clean.

I wouldn't put stacks on if you plan on chipping the truck. The bigger the chip the bigger the smoke.

Not all chips are known to smoke bad, but it will be alot more than normal.

oh there will be a chip. I don't believe in leaving things stock! its a bad habbit

Then If I had a nice boat I would not tow it with a stacked, built truck.

I think I would take the money you would be spending on this dealio and start a nice IRA and perhaps buy a house one day. I dont know if you own one already or not but the day will come that the ladies will loose a bit of eagerness if you take them to the folks house. Even if it is in a really loud smoky Dodge Ram.

Hey bro i just got stacks on my powerstroke 6 inch mitr cuts and there sik! i pull my lsv wakesetter alot lake to lake i acually noticed soot on the side of my boat so i got stacks and have not had them problem. stack are the way to go and if u dont want them to be loud keep a muffler on it i have an mbrp mufflr on mine sounds mint!

i don't understand the need for a diesel if you're pulling a boat and hauling wakeboards, snowboards and the occasional firewood... realizing you haven't thought this through completely... think about the turning radius you're giving up and the increased maintenance and operating cost of the diesel... you'll be wasting a lot of pulling power and weight ready suspension... diesels ride like crap... i know i went through it and used my head and talked myself out of it (i'm almost 26 and glad i did)... i know they're cool an loud but the diesel engine (or truck) is not built to drive to work and school and to the store... its horrible on the life of those engines... you'll get much better service for the money out of a gas burner... but as previously stated its not going to matter... and good luck hauling something when you need to w/ those stacks... o yea and you need to get a big sticker on the back window that says "THE SMOKE DON'T MEAN IT'S BROKE"... i think that would set the stacks off nicely

Really Patrick,

My CTD Ram rides better and is quieter than most of the cars, and trucks for that matter, that I've owned. Quad cab long bed and it can still get into any parking space without backing up. Great fuel mileage and tons of power when I do decide to tow with it. It's also pretty impressive when a truck that weighs that much get up and goes when chipped. Glad to hear you used your head and talked yourself out of it. I also used my head and purchased one. Best vehicle purchase I've ever made.

Lots of dealers are offering lifetime oil changes as well. Mine gets changed every 3k for free. Zero out of pocket maintenance expenses because it was a deisel. Anything I picked up would have needed changing on a gasser as well.

Patrick,

I would also consider the warranty differences. Most diesel trucks come with a much more generous warranty. The reason for this, well it will last a hell of alot longer. Plenty of people in Texas have hundreds of thousands of miles on their diesel engines with no issues. Shoot my ole' roommate had 250K on a 7.3L Powerstroke that had NEVER seen the inside of a shop. Still fires up first try everytime to this day. Although I agree with you that most people don't need the power, I disagree that they can not be good daily drivers. My truck has 45K miles on it now and almost all of it is daily driving.

patrick the only reason u disagree is beacuse u dont have one im 20 years old with an 02 7.3 with 130,000 miles and not one problem only a new glowplug relay $50 so it would start below 0. and i have a 06 duramax with 38,000 k and not one problem i would never go back to a diesel and like i said the only thing i pull is my 08 wakesetter up north and back and around the city. my sister has a 05 f-150 and it blows ass no offence

let me refrase that i would never go back to a gaser people with gasers are just gurls and need to pull out there string between there legs

Don't pull your boat or get firewood with a diesel, you will want one...

Love my 3500 dodge diesel.
JT
P.S. Turning radius is a non issue...

let me refrase that i would never go back to a gaser people with gasers are just gurls and need to pull out there string between there legs


ahhh, that must be why there are a shortage of "periods" in your previous post. Pun intended.

hahahahaha yup u have a gaser

Patrick is just trying to justify to himself that buying a tundra is better than a diesel by bashing diesels. I would feel the same way if i paid that much for a gasser.

This poor guy only got 1 reply that addressed his question......jeez.

Eric: My personal shop vehicles have always been diesels. I very rarely, if ever, notice any soot on boats after towing with them. They are all conventional, under bumper exhausts. Current truck is bone stock, but I had the same experience with chipped 7.3's and 6.0 PSD's.

However, one of my transport drivers uses a 5.9 CTD to pull a 53" car carrier style trailer that we load 2 boat/trailer rigs on for the trip from central Oregon to Sac....on these boats, I do occasionally notice some sooting on the windshield and the interiors of the boat. His truck is chipped, with an upgraded turbo, and runs a single 5" stack in the center of the bed.

So, In MY Experience, yes, you may see some sooting on your boat as a result of running a stack.

Thanks Meathead!

Good reply.

Okay...So I'm not really sure if you're running a Ford or Dodge, but this is from experience with my buddy who loves tinkering with Dodge diesels. Last year he towed my boat with a Dodge 3500, chipped and no stacks, and I did notice some sooting. However, he has been through a couple different types of chips, and now he's settled on one (not sure of the name) but he can tune it in where the black smoke is to a minimum, and we don't really have a problem with any soot.

However, if he had stacks on it, I probably would have had bigger problems. Chip tuned in or not, most likely when the turbo kicks in or after idling you are going to get some soot on your boat, at the very least, I wouldn't feel too good about the ride to the lake and back. Now he's downgraded to a 1500, and basicly my rule is I'm cool with him towing with a chip, but stacks, no way.

Hope that kind of helped, haven't really had much experience with Fords...(The Ford I pull the trailer with is a 250 super duty gasser, and yes, riding in any diesel Dodge is 1000x nicer all around for those bashers out there). Not sure where the need for all the hate came from...

Oh, this makes me laugh. Andy. 20 year old idiot. Get a clue, dude. You are so stupid when it comes to towing, that I can't even begin with you...First of all, do you have at least half a million miles under your belt with 80,000lbs???

Then SHUDDDUP, dude. seriously. You look like an d...bag.

Thank you meathead for answering this guys question.

Brian Stoup, your smoking some good crack if you expect us to believe that a truck of any kind rides better than a Tahoe, or escallade or yukon or suburban will. Quieter, plenty of torque, and COIL SPRINGS! NUFF SAID - (other than pass the pipe!)


Edit: Only to say ---hahahaha did I p you off???

(Message edited by lifetimewarranty on February 03, 2009)

Golly warranty you really put me in my place.........I guess.

When you place my 3/4 ton CTD purpose built tow vehicle in the same category with your modern day overpriced family trucksters, sure it's not going to be as quiet or soft. Sorry for not specifically calling out example vehicles. It's probably not as quiet as a new Lexus either so sorry again.

When were comparing apples to apples there are diesels out there that are just as quiet and smooth riding as any comparable gasser.

And just for reference my Ram is quieter (other than a little turbo whistle) and better riding than:

2001 Toyota Tundra,2003 Mustang GT,2001 F-250, 2006 Subaru WRX, 2007 Subaru Legacy GT, and a 2007 Toyota 4Runner.

Brian, I'll take your word for it being quieter and better riding than those vehicles. I also guess I can't say your truck doesn't ride better than the cars that YOU have owned. Jumped the gun there. I do know that my tahoe rides a heck of a lot better than a diesel truck.

I wasn't trying to put you in your place - The kid was the one that was basically saying everyone with a gas rig is a b..ch.

I have towed with everything imaginable, and would certainly choose your Ram over any SUV if I was towing more than a boat. Other than perhaps the Excursion or 3/4 ton Sub...

bad hijack - I'm done ranting. Original poster, get your stacks. Do what YOU want. Seems people can't quit hating here...

I still need to sell my lightning before I can purchase a diesel.

Now please without me opening a can of worms...personally scared to ask this question...are the rumors about dodge transmissions being the weak point of their drivetrain true? Are their particular years and mileage points that I should steer away from?

And for ford...is the 6.0 as unpredictable with breaks as people claim?
Please, I hope to not regret asking these questions.

You really should go to some diesel forums and real (sorry no hating) traillering forums for these answers. I am sure there are some very qualified guys here that can help, but you DID just open up some haters doors.

I have heard that the dodge auto tranny's were a bit questionable. Also heard the Dodge manuals were super stout. The new Dodge Nasin(something like that) transmission is supposedly as good or better than the allison.

The ford 6.0 psd - some love it, some are in class action law suits regarding it. I reserve comment.

Ive got the popcorn... whos got the beer? wait im 17 I mean whos got the KOOl-AID!?

http://www.cumminsforum.com/

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/index.php?

http://www.powerstroke.org/

http://rv.net/forum/

These are the places you should be getting this info...imho

I appreciate it. Before starting an argument here, I'll head to a diesel forum

No worries warranty, I should have been a bit more specific in my earlier post. I heard the same thing about the Dodge auto's but I think those were improved over the last few years, especially the 6sp auto. The manuals are pretty stout. I've got an 07 4sp auto that's been great so far with a pretty good chip. I admit that I don't tow really heavy with it though.

Eric, I don't know much about other manufacturers but here's another pretty good forum that's Dodge diesel focused. dieseltruckresource.com

apparently i was wrong and will somehow have to live w/ my decision... and no i'm not jealous b/c anyone has a truck that's bigger or more powerful than mine or any of that juvenile crap but good luck w/ your decision and i hope you get good service out of your investment

lifetime i have over 400,000 easy so u should stop talking, and buy the way.... u have a sanger, stop talking

And eric lightning are sik if u only pull it in and out sometimes id keep it. Faster that my truck and probley if u drive it right better fuel

You should have spent less time racking up the claimed 400K and more time in school.

Your profile says you are 20 years old...so you've rolled up 100K a year since you got a license? I call BS.