Is there any reason why diesel trucks has to be noisy? Even brand new ones can be heard from a half a mile away.
I am convinced that if the manufacturers want to correct this they could. Case and point the new diesel cars, they are just as quiet as any regular gasoline powered car.
You obviously haven’t driven a GMC diesel pick up with an Isuzu/GM diesel. They have excellent drivability, and no more noisy then their large gas v8. Your diesel truck experience might just be older. Listen to a Kubota M90 five cylinder diesel. It sounds like a car motor with the throaty but quite sound of a big gas motor. Truck motors are in general more noisy then car motors, because of their size and requirements. But it’s true regardless of whether it is gas or diesel.
The compression ratios are much higher, and the “flame propogation” (for lack of a better word) properties of diesel are different than gas. That necessarily means an engine with more internal clatters than a gasser. My mom just bought a BMW diesel, and you can hear the engine noise right away, even though the exhaust note is muted.
Also, if by “trucks” you mean semis, those trucks have “Jake brakes”: a system that uses the engine as a big air pump to slow the truck down. These are noisy when used…no way around it.
New Dodges with the Cummins are fairly quiet,till the owner rips the exhaust system off and installs a 6" open exhaust and puts a “bully dog” controller on them(the smoke and noise are horrible-not everbody likes that puerile clatter),but the guys are right ,that ripping sound is the detenation of the fuel in the combustion chamber-Kevin
I think a lot of owners of the big diesel pickups love the noise. That’s probably one of the reasons they bought one. Just a guess but it’s an educated guess.
The people drawn to these vehicles WANT them to be noisy…Kind of like Harley owners…The more noise they make the better…Expect to see their left arm tattooed from wrist to neck hanging out the window and a pit-bull running around in the bed…And of course they will have “put a chip in it for more power” so it smokes like a steam engine when they floor it, which is often…
That’s a completely different world from the one I live in. We use diesel pick ups to plow and tow with because they just bubble along with gobs of torque, good economy for the job they do and with little or no complaint. The guys driving back and forth to work with a plow hanging off the front end or a 8k IO on the back really aren’t interested in noise, one way or another. They are just interested in get’n it done. What they make for noise in oryx trucks or on our tractors are inconsequential. We are just interested in the best motor for the job. No one who owns one ( five of them) in their pick up trucks, has a visible tattoo that I know of or care to see.
I followed a Dodge diesel P/U through a McD’s drive-thru and he had to shut it off to have any chance of communicating his order. I agree the buyers like the sound. They certainly knew about it when they bought the truck.
a lot of the people around here with the big diesels are farmers, construction contractors and race track guys, they use the trucks for hauling ttrailers, heavy loads, farm equip., and other things. some like the noise I m sure, but the trucks are not just to drive to work, they are used for hard work and pretty much necessary to their life. the souped up ones with the stacks annoy me too, but often they are there for a reason, such as putting the exhaust above horse trailers or other loads that they might damage.
just because you only notice them when they are not working doesn t mean they are only commuter vehicles.
I don t like the loud trucks either but I m not gonna condemn them because they live differently than me.
I can see why the inner workings of the diesel engine makes them louder, but would be impossible to add insulation inside the engine compartment and under the hood?
If these diesel pickups that put out a lot of noise and a lot of smoke don’t go very fast, then I think such a truck would be the vehicle for Triedaq. He makes a big stink and a lot of noise and doesn’t move very fast. Such a truck would fit his personality to a T.
Mrs. Triedaq
p.s. Triedaq, don’t leave your computer unattended while you go to the refrigerator for a beer. You never know who might use it.
hahahahahahahhahahah!
he described you to a tee as well 
I can see why the inner workings of the diesel engine makes them louder, but would be impossible to add insulation inside the engine compartment and under the hood?
You could, but why? It would add expense and weight to chase an aesthetic goal that one may or may not even desire. Frankly, I could live without the straight pipes and the “rolling coal,” but I rather LIKE the mechanical clatter that is signature of the diesel engine.
So many carmakers today seem embarrassed of the mechanical nature of their offerings–they cover the engine in plastic, mute the engine and exhaust, and probably would prefer you believe it all works because Harry Potter waves a wand and incants, locomotor automobilis!
Some of us actually prefer more transparency between us and the machinery. When I was a kid riding the Merry-Go-Round, I spent the entire ride cheking out the greased journals that maded the horses go up and down; checked out how the nickelodeon made music mechanically, etc. I guess on some level, I haven’t changed: I want to see (and hear) the gears, cogs, etc do their stuff!
LOL, thanks for the chuckle Mrs. T.
If I were a truck, I too would be a diesel…
@meanjoe75fan, I am not against machinery at all. I am an engineer after all so gears, cogwheels, grease etc are close to me.
I do not like the excessive noise that is unnecessary. I do not see why would be expensive to put an insulating blanket inside the hood? If it is a worktruck then forgo the built in entertainment system and spend a money on insulation. Mechanical clatter is fine, but not at 3 am in the morning. Everybody is free to do whatever they wish, as long as it does not affect somebody else’s life.
Dont want to be around anything that requires hearing protection,pickups have really grown up now,but when push comes to shove a lot of pickups are posers ,bring 10 tons down a 9% grade like some people drive and see how fast you can stop,a heavy job requires a heavy chassis and a heavy duty diesel engine’(nothing like being shoved on a runaway)
But lets face it people are justifibly proud of their diesels trucks compared to what they had in the early 90s,been around plenty of both and I tell right now the only reason I would have one would be for the pulling power,the economy is good but not great(better then a gasser though) coupled with the high repair cost,service cost and higher initial cost and premium price for fuel,I would just have one if I needed it(or the company was footing the bill)has diesel fluid got any cheaper lately.I would like to see a hybrid 4wd pickup with a part time electric drive one end or the other(face it hybrid everything is the wave of the future)Caterpillar offers a hybrid system on thier 336 excavator,supposed to decrease fuel consumption on the order of 25% so the beat goes on,the Diesel will always offer good performance with its torque almost that of an electric motor,and maybe Biodiesel will become more viable in the future and when the kids growup the diesel trucks will quieter(maybe)-Kevin
We had this 972 CID Cummins in the auto shop at school. It was probably a marine engine because it would bust a trucker’s budget on fuel consumption. That was loud and there was no muffler. Lots of fun when that started.
I love a good diesel. I like the noise and the smell in general, but I have definitely been around the lifted diesel who’s driver tries to race from every stoplight, pouring out black smoke. That’s one thing I don’t get. Racing with diesel trucks. Sure you can make them fast but why? It’s a truck! To each their own
@insightful
I don’t disagree that there are buyers out there who buy diesel trucks for a variety of reasons. But, buying a truck because you like the sound is restricted to the vast minority of owners. The premium price paid for one means you had better have ulterior motives for the vast majority of owners. One guy I know bought one because he actually planned on buying a fifth wheel camper…he never has. But as the owner of a restaurant, he has to make frequent trips that total over 200 miles both ways, loaded with food stuffs in his three quarter ton. It has saved him a ton of money over time in fuel costs.
The fuel savings in a diesel truck, different from a car, does not come just from being unloaded, which is negligible; it is instead, the huge savings while working. I cannot imagine my tractors with gas engines not costing an arm of a leg grading, digging ditches or doing anything. But it is music to my ears when I consider the money saved. Bottom line is that if he don’t use it as intended, like every vehicle, you are on the loosing end. Being from a poor state where people generally can’t afford the luxuries, there are still plenty of diesels around, but not because they sound good. If you live in a non manual working class suburb, yes, there are a few. But they are the minority who think if they die with the most toys, they some how win the game.
@Triedaq
I wouldn’t take that abuse sitting down. (In front of the computer) I would go out and buy a bad asteroid diesel and start hiring myself out, get a little dirt under my nails and a tat on my forearm. Make everyone happy. Diesel oil has a unique smell.