Can Stacks Be Bad For My Pickup Truck?
In case you are looking for that sort of modification which will turn your diesel pickup into more of an aggressive beast, getting an exhaust stack is probably the main thing you may want to do.
Not only that, it can also change the way the truck sounds for good, and this only adds to the mean looks.
With all that said, is this sort of thing any good? By that i mean, will they damage my truck?
No they can’t
Stacks are essentially just a different way of routing the path for the exhaust gasses to exit, so how could that be any bad for the truck?
Literally, an existing exhaust has to be cut only at a specific point, and an angled pipe or so be clamped to make everything go up for you to actually attach the stacks, that’s all.
This alone will not create any negative side effects to the engine or the whole vehicle’s system you should worry about.
Even though a new stack or two won’t cause any actual harm to the thing, there are still quite a list of things you must know first before going for such a rather major modification.
Actually, what i am about to mention can be, more or less, the whole bad aspects stacks are all about.
What you may want to think about first before going for it
1. Needs cutting
I guess this will explain why i called the mod particularly serious.
An opening, or more of them depending on how many stacks you want there, will have to be cut inside the bed for it to be able to go through.
This fact alone may make you double think if this idea is any good at all, because once the hole is made – it is going to stay that way forever.
I’m just kidding… You can always get the spot welded back up, that is if you hadn’t already thrown out the leftover piece.
2. The sound is only good for so long
Probably one of the primary reasons, except for the obvious savage look, why owners start to ponder the idea of installing a stack on their ride is to make it sound that much better.
Now don’t get me wrong, the right stack installed the right way could definitely sound amazing, or in other words, aggressive, though will you seriously enjoy it for the longer time?
The extra noise will only make it harder for you to do really anything inside the cab, such as having a basic conversation, listening to music, hearing what’s going on outside, etc., and i’m not even mentioning on how bad it can get once the windows are rolled down.
Furthermore, because the exhaust is now so close to the cab, additional vibrations may start to appear, and that gets bothersome real quick.
3. Get ready to get dirty
Given that the exhaust fumes in the stack configuration go up instead of to the side or back, all the soot particles that are inside there are bound to get blasted on anything that’s in close proximity.
This includes the cab, bed, or in short, a lot of the truck. Honestly, this isn’t much of a nuisance, that is to say until water gets in there.
The sooty stains are not that hard to clean either, but having to do so every now and then is only annoying (it may need to be done more frequently, depending on the color of the vehicle).
4. Shortens the bed
I think this makes sense why – depending on the size and the quantity, the stacks can take up a significant portion of the pickup truck’s bed, which certainly is going to make hauling anything bigger harder.
Also, you will need to be a lot more careful too – exhaust stacks get hot, therefore you shouldn’t keep really anything right close to one.
To sum up
A stack is definitely cool and all that to have, though all the some what negative aspects i mentioned could deter you from going for it.
I think, like with just any major mod, you should first try driving a pickup that has the same thing and see whether you like it or not, honestly.
There are owners who get the stack there and love it forever, though at the same time there are those who remove it after a month or two as they can’t stand it.
There’s always an option to go for a side exhaust, which also sounds and looks nice.