Trying to fight back with more smoke is the diesel equivalent of putting a bigger, more obnoxious fart cannon on your ricer because some other guy had one louder than yours. At the end of the day, all you've done is add one more ****** to the road.
Mine smokes when I lug it (no wastegate, so easy to do), or when I'm heavy into the throttle but only near the governor. It also will puff a little when revved at a standstill. Not enough to smoke someone out, mind you, but enough to get the point across. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I don't intentionally throw some smoke every once in a while. Yes, I absolutely do. But it's usually only for one of two reasons. First reason is to let others on the road know what I think of their driving skill, or lack thereof. Tailgaters get a puff with a quick shift up to 5th and a buried throttle. Usually gets the point across. And if you're doing something stupid like driving 20 under and/or blocking the passing lane, it's just the byproduct of me romping it to get around you. The second reason is to rub it in to my buddy at work who desperately wants a diesel but is having one helluva time finding what he wants because he's so picky. We take mine to lunch every day, and he loves/hates it when he looks in the rear view and sees a little puff.
But this whole thing of getting into ******* matches with other diesels is dumb. These are the same guys that post those obnoxious videos on YouTube of guys driving around town and dousing innocent bystanders with plumes of black smoke, all the while laughing like a bunch of retarded monkeys. I cringe when I see 'em, much like I do when I see vids of squids on bikes doing stupid things because I know it's these guys, the minority, that make the public think so poorly of my hobby.
Mike
Edit - I should clarify that mine DID smoke, but seeing how I just got done dialing in the timing yesterday, perhaps that era is over. Won't know until I get her back on the road.
