Rolling coal is the practice of tampering with a vehicle’s emissions control system, causing it to spew black clouds of sooty exhaust.

  • @icy_mal@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    1901 year ago

    Rolling coal is an extremely inefficient method of converting little dick energy into kinetic energy.

  • @Fredselfish@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    1421 year ago

    I hope this enforce to the point that all the assholes in my state that have rig thier trucks to do this can go to fucking jail or have their trucks and licenses revoked.

  • @shalafi@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1001 year ago

    Fuck it, hit 'em hard. Been buying off eBay for 20-years, I like 'em. But this seems like a fine place to put our collective foot down and say, “No. You can’t do that.”

    • @btaf45@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      77
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      I was shafted by an Ebay seller who was nasty and awful. He acted like he was too stupid to understand why his item was not at all what I ordered. He had a 99.4% approval rating. I thought how the hell was that possible? I found out when I went to leave my negative rating and Ebay would not allow me to post the negative rating.

      • @Kethal@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        371 year ago

        A seller shipped me a phone that was much worse than what I bought, and it wasn’t even the same brand. I returned it. However, the seller wouldn’t ship the right phone but still had the listing saying several were available. I couldn’t leave a negative review, which makes no sense, and I reported it to ebay, but as of yet nothing has happened to the seller that I can tell.

        It’s really disappointing. I want an Amazon alternative, but it’s tough if I’m going to have to go through this crap.

          • I use Swappa.com for all my used electronics. Been buying and selling randomly from them for years. They are starting to get big enough to have sellers that refurb stuff which kinda sucks. When they were smaller and only had normal people selling their extra/old equipment was much better.

          • El Barto
            link
            fedilink
            61 year ago

            There’s gotta be a better alternative than AliExpress for US consumers.

      • @PeleSpirit@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        121 year ago

        I used to use them all the time, they’ve been super shitty for about 10 years now. They don’t even show up in my searches anymore because I won’t buy from them. Come to think of it, neither does Amazon, he he.

  • @Holyhandgrenade@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    871 year ago

    Good. Why not ban those oversized SUVs while you’re at it? They’re a serious danger to children and they’re not even good at hauling stuff!

  • Flying Squid
    link
    fedilink
    621 year ago

    I drive a Prius. Assholes “roll coal” when they drive next to me all the time. I don’t even get it. They’re not even giving me shit for having an electric car, they’re giving me shit because I pay less for gas than they do.

      • Flying Squid
        link
        fedilink
        301 year ago

        Sure, but they do it specifically to Priuses. Electric cars too, but also Priuses and other hybrids. I’ve heard so from other hybrid owners and seen them do it too. It is definitely about their fragile ego, but I think it’s also just because they’re idiots.

    • I’m fortunate enough to be able to walk to and from work every day. These “roll coal” bastards just hate me for it. I think it must really chap their assess to see little ol’ me bopping down the street listening to my tunes and not needing an emotional support truck the way they do.

    • @Knoxvomica@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      21 year ago

      If it’s any consolation, the fact that they are modifying their trucks which are already enormously over priced and gas suckers to suck even MORE gas when they do this to you should hopefully provide some sort of satisfaction to you. I typically point and laugh at them.

  • @lagomorphlecture@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    581 year ago

    Wait I thought people were just tampering to get higher performance or something, idk. But they’re literally doing it to make the vehicle spew worse than it already does? Wtf and why? What is wrong with people?

    • Blaster M
      link
      fedilink
      671 year ago

      Running the diesel engine extra rich so it vomits extra sooty exhaust instead of properly burned, cleaner exhaust, because they feel the need to compensate for their small member by annoying everyone else.

      • @I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        201 year ago

        Since getting an electric car they’ve started cutting me off, brake checking me and then doing the soot farting thing. It’s like they need to make up for my car’s lack of tailpipe emissions in a way that really lets me know they’re doing it.

        • eric
          link
          fedilink
          131 year ago

          It’s not LIKE that. It 100% IS that. That is the entire intended point of rolling coal.

        • @Terevos@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          91 year ago

          That is one reason I debadged my Tesla.

          (The other reasons are Elon Musk and also I think it looks better being totally smooth)

    • Drusas
      link
      fedilink
      531 year ago

      why?

      They see it as a “fuck you” to liberals/environmentalists.

      • @PeleSpirit@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        231 year ago

        I’ve seen around 5 guys (maybe the same one?) doing this in Seattle. They are extremely stupid looking and they also cover their license plate with “mud.” It makes me laugh because they’re spending lots and lots of money and time to look that fucking stupid.

        • @vivadanang@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          141 year ago

          Same here, giant jacked up white 4x4, the only thing missing was the trump flag. Othello neighborhood, obviously not a local.

          • @PeleSpirit@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            91 year ago

            The one(s) I saw were all matte black, so we now know there are at least 2 of them. POS going to Othello? Again, so fucking stupid. I grew up in the Chicago area, I would love to see them try that crap in those neighborhoods, they wouldn’t have time to see what was coming. Seattle suburbanites really are spoiled and don’t how bad the consequences can be when they’re being shitty.

            • @vivadanang@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              English
              61 year ago

              Haha I grew up (sometimes, moved a lot but fam was from) near where Comiskey park was, 33rd & Emerald.

              Yeah, saw the white shitroller, lifted, big wheels, lots of bumperstickers @ othello & mlk last week revving at the intersection then rolling coal over people @ the light rail station. If I had an AT4 at that moment, I’d probably be in jail now.

      • eighthourlunch
        link
        fedilink
        21 year ago

        Honestly, that’s how I read it, so message received. It’s not the sort of thing you say or do if you’re trying to win friends and influence people, though.

    • @grue@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      401 year ago

      Wait I thought people were just tampering to get higher performance or something, idk

      Some folks are, but their goal is to not spew a bunch of black smoke because black smoke means incomplete combustion, which in turn means less power than they could’ve had if they’d managed to shove more air in.

      “Rolling coal” is an entirely different thing based purely on idiocy and spite.

    • squiblet
      link
      fedilink
      251 year ago

      It looks tuff, bro!

      The worst thing is the people who intentionally spew Priuses (back when they were the only semi-electric cars around) and bicycles with soot, as some sort of “fuck you for trying to not pollute, hur hur” thing.

      • @grue@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        26
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        A little smoke is a symptom of making more power. A lot of smoke just means you failed to add enough air to go with it and are pointlessly polluting and wasting fuel.

        (Side note: my diesel VW, which is modified for more power but also is typically fueled with 100% biodiesel, produces less smoke than it did stock.)

      • @seathru@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        141 year ago

        To a point. After that you’re just making more smoke, and washing out the cylinders, drastically reducing the engine’s life. I take some consolation in the fact that most of the bros rolling coal will absolutely not be able to afford a replacement engine once they trash theirs.

    • ditty
      link
      fedilink
      51 year ago

      Those types of tuners also exist, and depending on the tune they can actually in some cases slightly improve fuel economy (depending on driving style). I tuned my Audi A3 to “Stage 1+” and actually have seen slightly better fuel economy doing highway driving to which I attribute the new ECU/TCU tunes allowing me to stay in gear longer during acceleration I guess?

        • @Meanshadows35@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          11 year ago

          Fuel efficiency yes. These newer diesel motors go into dpf mode around 300 miles to burn off any diesel soot. Which in turn uses more diesel and tanks the fuel economy. I get why some guys do it especially when the egr system goes up. But rolling coal is fucking stupid. Terrible on the motor too.

  • Captain Aggravated
    link
    fedilink
    551 year ago

    Not sure it’s specifically eBay that should get the fine here, it should be the sellers ON eBay.

      • @SirEDCaLot@lemmy.fmhy.net
        link
        fedilink
        71 year ago

        Yes exactly. No online platform can catch 100% of prohibited activity. They are punishing the wrong people. What they should do is get a list of all the ones eBay missed, file charges against the seller and start knocking on buyer’s doors. Or maybe send some agents in an undercover Prius to pull them over and issue a fine when they get coal rolled. That would send a pretty clear message that eBay is not a safe place to purchase these items.

        • @orrk@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          51 year ago

          so, you are right and wrong, due to the structure of the American legal system those DIRECT at fault are fines/sued first, then they are supposed to turn around and file a suit for damages against the next party down the line, so eBay should sue the seller.

          same thing in motor vehicle incidents, if a car A and B are waiting in traffic and car C rearends car B to the point it hits car A, the man in car A is supposed to sue the guy in car B who then sues the guy in car C for damages

        • Arsecroft
          link
          fedilink
          2
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          So ebay, who profited from the sale of these devices, shouldn’t be held accountable?

          Did ebay stop any listings for these devices? It seems like if they were trying to stop this market, they would have stopped some number above zero, right?

          Try selling a human limb on ebay and see how quickly your listing is removed, not that I’m bitter or anything.

          edit: it kinda seems like they were trying to be compliant.

      • Captain Aggravated
        link
        fedilink
        271 year ago

        Here I thought the modern internet is able to exist because platforms specifically are not responsible for what its users do.

        • @zaph@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          111 year ago

          It’s illegal for imgur to host illegal images I can see why eBay would be responsible for people selling illegal items.

        • Echo Dot
          link
          fedilink
          2
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          Sort of. They essentially have to be given the opportunity to take corrective action but if they don’t then they get fine. Or indeed other things depending on the severity of what’s happening.

          See Reddit and all the subs they were eventually forced to shut down.

        • To a point, I suspect that applies to speech things, not necessarily physical items.

          But that’s a good question, I don’t know where the line lies.

          • Dym Sohin
            link
            fedilink
            21 year ago

            the line lies where you start harming other people (and their habitat), that’s literally the definition.

            your freedom ends where my freedom begins

            • Echo Dot
              link
              fedilink
              21 year ago

              Yeah but what if I’m an idiot redneck then other people aren’t allowed freedoms. Only me.

            • Hmm. While I agree generally, your response seems a little vague. Definition of…? Freedom?

              I’m saying I wonder where, formally, a company goes from being an information platform, to something else. That’s the very point at which ebay started becoming liable for what people did on their systems.

              They’re not just hosting pictures, they’re selling real-world items to circumvent laws in a visibly annoying way. People in CA get away with uncovered high intensity off-road aux lights because nobody’s really abused them.

              Coal-rollers like being obvious, stinky dickheads, hence the crackdown on both sales and installations.

  • @JeSuisUnHombre@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    471 year ago

    Please crack down on rolling coal in general. If you were to put it in the context of the shopping cart theory, it would be shoving your cart directly into someone else’s car.

    • @vivadanang@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      281 year ago

      It’s the sheer waste that gets me - not just the fuck you tiny dick bullshit of spewing your effluence onto people intentionally, no, they need to waste fucking shittons of petrol or diesel to do it MEANWHILE THE WORLD IS FUCKING BURNING. The fucking amazon dried up, what more evidence do they need?

      Of course, if evidence swayed them, if they had half a fucking brain they’d never try this shit in the first place. But you know what’s worse than the stupids running the planet into meltdown?

      The rest of us let them. Even wildly stupid bullshit like this.

    • ArtieShaw
      link
      fedilink
      361 year ago

      Fun fact. My workplace added recycle bins to the breakroom a few years ago. The day after, HR had to call a facility-wide emergency meeting to explain that their use was voluntary only and that no workers would be required to use them.

      Grown ass adults lost their shit because they saw a recycle bin.

        • ArtieShaw
          link
          fedilink
          81 year ago

          Yes, I am serious. Folks around here can be aggressively reactionary and will blow up over nothing (or what should be nothing).

          I moved to this area about 12 years ago. I wasn’t expecting some huge culture shock, but there it was. I had educated, millennial colleagues who were openly homophobic at work. I could go on with a list of grievances, but it just feels like piling on and I don’t have the option to get out.

  • Franzia
    link
    fedilink
    291 year ago

    I’ve been coal rolled and driven off the road as a recreational cyclist on rural, lonely roads. The last time I felt safe cycling on the road was 5 years ago?

      • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏
        link
        101 year ago

        Honestly things have gotten so much worse IMO, most drivers are not paying attention and I’ve been almost smooshed a few times. Slowing down and trying to stay out of cars’ way can only do so much…

        The ones that force past only to pull over or turn 5 seconds later are the worst examples of impatience I’ve seen on the road in years ☹️

        • @Grass@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          61 year ago

          When you catch up to the smogmobile that went into the wrong lane to pass you ten minutes later at a stoplight…

    • @LordOfTheChia@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      23
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      Could have been worse. A 16 year old here in Texas ran over 6 cyclists while trying to roll coal on them. 2 had to be airlifted:

      https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/waller-bicyclists-hit-truck-teen-driver-ironman-16490862.php

      four of the six cyclists who were hit were hospitalized. Two of those had to be airlifted because of the severity of their injuries.The update:

      https://www.bicycling.com/news/a37808647/texas-driver-assaults-six-cyclists/

      A 16-year-old truck driver ran over six cyclists out on a training ride on September 25, in Waller County, Texas.

      The driver was attempting to “roll coal” on the cyclists when he hit them, according to witnesses.

      The driver was finally arrested on November 8 and indicted with six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which is a second-degree felony.

      Edit: the last update from the Law Firm representing the cyclists:

      https://www.bikelaw.com/2021/11/felony-charges-for-waller-driver/

      • @MrFlamey@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        21 year ago

        Holy shit. This kid will probably not see jail and will be driving again in a year or two because his weapon of choice was a car.

    • @HiddenLychee@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      141 year ago

      Yup. Montana drivers will hunt down cyclists and run them over, if not roll coll on them until they choke and fall over. Love this place!

    • @Psythik@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      31 year ago

      Shit like this is the reason why I ditched the bike and got a car. The infrastructure is woefully inadequate for biking; more often than not you have to share the road with these idiots instead of having your own dedicated lane. Furthermore, I had way too many near death experiences. I never want to ride a bike in the US ever again.

  • @uis@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    261 year ago

    If they market them as intentionally modified, then probably criminal case can be opened against them.

    • [x] Intention
    • [x] Health hazard for others
  • GigglyBobble
    link
    fedilink
    251 year ago

    The practice is sometimes used as a form of anti-environmental protest.

    Sometimes? What are the more common reasons?

    • Neato
      link
      fedilink
      151 year ago

      To look like you’re an impressive person with a big, strong truck that is so powerful it can’t help but not spew lung-destroying emissions. They’re just cosplaying truckers.

      • hiddengoat
        link
        fedilink
        121 year ago

        You don’t even see that shit out of semis anymore. It’s just burning fuel for no reason.

        • ferret
          link
          fedilink
          English
          81 year ago

          Hate to be that guy, but half the problem with this stuff is how much of it is unburnt

    • PupBiru
      link
      fedilink
      31 year ago

      i’d probably read the sometimes as applying to environmental protest rather than the practice… as in there are other forms of environmental protests, and this is one that is sometimes used

    • @luckyhunter@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      21 year ago

      the emission systems reduce the power and fuel efficiency. removing or bypassing emission systems means they burn less fuel and get more power.