Terrible Auto Exhaust...

[Trujillo]

I am amazed how many cars that don't seem so very old or in bad shape put out SO much exhaust smoke. The songtaws, of course, are bad, as are the tuktuks, but it seems like every other car or truck is spewing out massive pollution.

I have never seen such a thing ... is there something special or different in the petrol here? Someone told me that people don't "tune" their vehicles, but I can't see these relatively new cars getting so "out of tune" to be putting so much smoke in the air. This is very bad.

What is going on?

[MESmith]

I don't know if it's true, but I once heard the diesel here is "dirty", hence the smoke. My first truck used to blow black smoke when climbing steep hills, even when brand new. And it wasn't the only one, I discovered when talking with other owners.

[ARISTIDE]

I've been wondering myself how many farang runners I often see around the moat cope with the toxic fume.

[MESmith]

I've been wondering myself how many farang runners I often see around the moat cope with the toxic fume.

Or the cyclists heading up towards Doi Suthep after the traffic starts....

[Semper]

I am amazed how many cars that don't seem so very old or in bad shape put out SO much exhaust smoke.

Don't they use diesel cars where you come from?

[Trujillo]

This can't be normal.

It also seems to show that when the car or truck goes to get it's tax thing or whatever when you have to have an "inspection" and test for smoke, they still are on the road. Or they pay something to avoid fixing the problem, or the problem can't be fixed (bad fuel?).

Chiang Mai will be gridlocked soon enough anyway, and then it will be like toxic burning all year, every day.

I have never seen diesel produce massive black smoke (and white and grey and so on...) like here. And I don't think it is all diesel either.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Trujillo

[trainman34014]

This can't be normal.

It also seems to show that when the car or truck goes to get it's tax thing or whatever when you have to have an "inspection" and test for smoke, they still are on the road. Or they pay something to avoid fixing the problem, or the problem can't be fixed (bad fuel?).

Chiang Mai will be gridlocked soon enough anyway, and then it will be like toxic burning all year, every day.

I have never seen diesel produce massive black smoke (and white and grey and so on...) like here. And I don't think it is all diesel either.

Don't make me laugh about the so called annual 'inspection'. When I first arrived here my Girlfriend (now wife) used to have a 15 year old car. Many faults on it and it would have been failed massively in a British annual test and been sent to the scrap yard years before. Front tyres were bald, front brakes hardly worked and one rear brake cylinder leaking, to name but a couple of faults from a list of at least twenty. Anyway; two days after I arrived she said we had to go and get the car tested and get a new tax disc. Off we go to the 'testing station' where the bloke lifts the bonnet, checks the frame number against her paperwork and puts it on the rolling road to test the brakes. I thought, well now the shit will hit the fan, but no, off he goes into the office and three minutes later comes out with a bill, takes her money and tells her come back next week and pick up your disc.

Before I left for home I bought her two new tyres and had the brakes sorted, when it was discovered that the master cylinder was also leaking and almost out of fluid. Later we changed to a new car but for two more years the 'testing station' did the same job and nobody pointed out a single fault on the car.

With regard to filthy exhausts on Diesels, particularly on Red Buses, most problems are caused by lack of maintenance. Dirty air filters and injectors that want replacing are the main causes but I would say that the grade of Diesel in use leaves a lot to be desired as I see fairly new trucks emitting too much smoke by far.

[uptheos]

I've been wondering myself how many farang runners I often see around the moat cope with the toxic fume.

Or the cyclists heading up towards Doi Suthep after the traffic starts....

The samlor guy who takes me up, really has a hard time.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

the avg car/truck owner in Thailand will spend money on fancy wheels and loud exhausts but skimp or eliminate oil changes and tune ups.

An out of tune diesel will smoke a lot more

[cloudhopper]

This can't be normal.

Oh yes it can. The land, air and water are all polluted in Thailand due to zero enforcement of whatever regulations might be in effect and fraudulent monitoring by corrupt government agencies. Chiang Mai is especially vulnerable due to an inversion layer and surrounding hills concentrating air pollutants from vehicles, agricultural, trash and forest burning and a power plant in Lampang burning anthracite.

The effect of this on your individual health, like smoking, may range from zero to extreme.

[Semper]

I've been wondering myself how many farang runners I often see around the moat cope with the toxic fume.

Or the cyclists heading up towards Doi Suthep after the traffic starts....

The samlor guy who takes me up, really has a hard time.

Ever thought of dieting?

[Joop50]

Quite some people use their pickups as trucks, they overload them

.

[Rancid]

In fact despite saying I wouldn't renew my license I did today for various reasons I shan't bore the viewers with. I was sent to watch a video. It showed all the things that are completely illegal on the roads including black smoke from vehicles, it also showed that almost everything illegal by the transport department is completely and utterly ignored by the BIB. The laws are all there, seems just that the police coudn't be bothered as too busy with shakedowns on irrelevant matters to fatten their wallets. Brings me back to an old rant of mine that most of the problems with Thailand are rooted in the BIB who are allowed to do what they do as quid pro quid to the leave the rich and powerful alone ro do their more massive stealing.

Edit: many of the things they said were illegal the video in fact showed many drivers doing plus other infractions, guess the poor buggers that filmed it couldn't catch a string of proper drivers anywhere.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Rancid

[HaleySabai]

no doubt diesel is a dirty commodity and it's quality may be suspect here. I suspect that the low traffic speeds have something to play into it as well, not good for any engine all the time.

I vote for those freak'n red trucks all be converted to LPG,ASAP....start there to end the pollution issue.

[lizardtongue]

If the vehicle laws that are in place were to be enforced it would solve the traffic congestion problem quite simply there would be an immediate reduction of 99.9% of vehicles permitted to use the roads.

You really have to keep in mind that Thailand is (despite it's claims to be a developing country) very much third world, as such the majority of nationals that own vehicles cannot afford insurance let alone maintenance costs.

There was a thread on TV a few years ago claiming that a foreigner had invented something that could be attached to tuk-tuk engines (mechanics is not my strong point) which would give more MPG and drastically reduce emissions, I cannot recall the cost but by Western standards it was peanuts (I think around 4k THB) they claimed that it would pay for itself in 2-3 years, I guess one or two may have been sold?

The pollution here is not going to change in the foreseeable future, just ain't gonna happen!

[transam]

Nothing wrong with the fuel, something wrong with owners designated service interval diagnosis.

[hihhih]

Just wondering what kind of diesel... local tuktuks use... they all seem to refill on LPG stations.

Maybe something sold there under the counter...

[hellodolly]

This can't be normal.

It also seems to show that when the car or truck goes to get it's tax thing or whatever when you have to have an "inspection" and test for smoke, they still are on the road. Or they pay something to avoid fixing the problem, or the problem can't be fixed (bad fuel?).

Chiang Mai will be gridlocked soon enough anyway, and then it will be like toxic burning all year, every day.

I have never seen diesel produce massive black smoke (and white and grey and so on...) like here. And I don't think it is all diesel either.

Could be a conspiracy by all the Chiang Mai vehicle owners to keep people from moving here.

They are aided by the major fuel companies who for a price give them an inferior fuel so that they can not get the best performance out of their cars and scare people away from Chiang Mai.

Makes sense to me.

[DaamNaam]

the avg car/truck owner in Thailand will spend money on fancy wheels and loud exhausts but skimp or eliminate oil changes and tune ups.

An out of tune diesel will smoke a lot more

My diesel is tuned up regularly and still blows puffs of smoke when accelerating. As said earlier it must me the diesel quality here. Like most things here it is of an inferior quality. <deleted> basically.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

the avg car/truck owner in Thailand will spend money on fancy wheels and loud exhausts but skimp or eliminate oil changes and tune ups.

An out of tune diesel will smoke a lot more

My diesel is tuned up regularly and still blows puffs of smoke when accelerating. As said earlier it must me the diesel quality here. Like most things here it is of an inferior quality. <deleted> basically.

I am definitely not a diesel expert but some googling would produce a lot of articles about diesels barely smoking when properly tuned.

I imagine the fuel quality is a factor but I just wonder if they are tuning for power versus emissions or just question how well they are tuning in general.

Bottom line is almost comical plumes of funky air.

I also notice a lot of the LPG Tuk Tuks blow a lot of smoke which I am guessing is piston seepage or 2 stroke lubrication.

Maybe someone has some insight why a LPG Tuk Tuk smokes like a Rastafarian.

[Dante99]

Black smoke is the most common smoke emitted from diesel engines. It indicates poor and incomplete combustion of the diesel fuel. There are many causes, including…

• 
  Incorrect timing
  
• 
  Dirty or worn injectors
  
• 
  Over-fuelling
  
• 
  Faulty turbocharger (ie not enough air to match the fuel)
  
• 
  Incorrect valve clearance
  
• 
  Incorrect air/fuel ratio
  
• 
  Low cylinder compression (eg sticking piston rings or worn components)
  
• 
  Dirty air cleaner
  
• 
  Restricted induction system (eg system too small or kinked inlet piping)
  
• 
  Other engine tune factors
  
• 
  Poor quality fuel
  
• 
  Excessive carbon build up in combustion and exhaust spaces
  
• 
  Cool operating temperatures