The exhaust that is on my GS right now is an RB header to 3" stainless, straight back to a Magnaflow. I've got a street port and it's pretty loud. I really don't mind to much, but have heard of some of you getting ticketed for loud exhausts. That, I don't want! So how do I know if I'm too loud, legally? I'll be putting my RB dual setup on hear as soon as I get a chance, but for now I'm running this one.

 

cops will say "anything not stock"

 

Here is the law.

http://tinyurl.com/yevpj3o

In essence, you can't have an exhaust that is louder than stock unless your car is over 25 years old. I believe yours is an '84 so you are OK.

I'm definitely not in my '06 350Z.

 

Yep, all you have to worry about is local noise ordinances now. See Adrian's car for how much you can get away with and still be fine.

 

they tend to mess with FC's and FD's alot more than the FB the most I ever got was "nice muffler" my FB's loud as hell. it has 2.5" slip fit strait pipe. so theres a few leaks here and there, and my muffler doesn't do a whole lot. but its quieter than open header.

 

When you have to read his lips at idle.

 

Police don't mess with FBs because even the stock ones are loud now. LOL!

 

Cool. Just wanted to be sure before heading to Taco7 and ending up with a hand full of tickets. LOL

 

2010 is the year of the FB exhaust.. How much does that blow for anybody who doesnt have one lol

 

I got busted with a turbo civic and a open downpipe which is ALOT quieter then any NA rotor I have owned...

After I put exhaust on it you could barely here anything... I reved the car up once when I got pulled over and he said "I can still hear it" Mind you that was through a turbo, silencer and a muffler!

-Jim

 

That doesn't make any sense at all, My friends 02 camaro SlP package is extremely loud when compared to mine, and i have a 4 inch exhaust without cat. he does have a V8 tho. So does the law work by your exhaust can be this loud if you have this type of engine.

 

RCW 46.37.390
(3) No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor vehicle in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the engine of such vehicle above that emitted by the muffler originally installed on the vehicle, and it shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle not equipped as required by this subsection, or which has been amplified as prohibited by this subsection. A court may dismiss an infraction notice for a violation of this subsection if there is reasonable grounds to believe that the vehicle was not operated in violation of this subsection



I'm not sure how a 4 inch exhaust all the way through is quieter than a factory sport exhaust.. But it's based on the cars factory settings and how loud it was stock. If you have an FB or a car 85 or older, dont worry about it. Anything you think is fairly louder than your stock system is 'illegal'

 

Jordy set a new precident for law. The state had ruled that the law was not specific about what a modified exhasut was and it was up to officers discression if your exhaust was louder than stock. So if the cop thought it was too loud he could write you a ticket. Jordy argued his ticket that since the officer did not take a db measurement the county had no evidence that his exhaust was modified. The judge agreed and Jordy won his case. So technically every judge should make their judgements based on previous rulings. So if you're ever in court for an exhaust ticket again you can quote jordys case and the judge should dismess the case based on the state, city, or county not providing any evidence. Always motion for a pre trial dismissal based on jordys case because the prosecution has no evidence that your exhasut was modified. again i think this will only work as long as the popo didn't take a db reading, which they never do...

*disclaimer. i am not an attourney and this is not legal advise. this is hypothetically what i would do in a given situation.

 

Ok, so whats the stock DB level for a FD.

 

Wow! Very soon the 86 FC will be exempt from the modified exhaust noise ticket. I am gonna start looking for a nice 86 FC.

 

98 is the legal limit I believe, I argued mine because the officer didnt test it to see if it was in fact above that and I won. I encourage you to do the same but dont come back to me or Adrian sayng its either of our fault because even if it should work that doesnt mean it will work.

I have the case number if needed. Adrian do you still want that I just found it yesterday because I saw this thread.

 

My T2 is quiet when my turbo gasket is intact, at the moment it sounds like a lawnmower again. ******* gasket. kills alot of power too, but it still gets up and goes.

 

Gaskets make my life less enjoyable

 

there is no legal DB limit in washington. there is no law written with a db limit here. it doesn't matter how loud your car is. did anyone even read my post? lol

"anything louder than stock"
that was interperated that if the cop thinks it's too loud they can ticket you, but jordan argued that without a db measurement there is no proof that it was louder than stock.

 

This is great info, I plan on getting a catback for the 8 in the next few months, but ive been worried about getting popped for modified exhaust.

 

I don't know how you drive with a 4"straight piped exhaust. LOL It must be thunder in the car. My 3" straight to Magnaflow is loud enough to **** off all my neighbors and make everyone at a light look at me, not to mention making it hard to listen to tunes over my motors "tunes".

 

Oh my b, I thought I read somewhere the legal limit was 98. Either way good info to have..

You're welcome rx8 man

 

hahaha. I've seen sooooo many of these posts.

I have been pulled over 3 times in 2 years. My exhaust is pretty noticeable....

But, my argument in court is.... I have two mufflers. I have a silencer (no cats. I don't say that though... LoL ) and I say that I haven't modified my exhaust, I replaced it with a newer system. Because I haven't modified my exhaust, I am fine. Also, stating that the engine isn't normal and produces extra strong exhaust pulses helps. Most judges aren't auto experts. There are sites and other sources that state that the rotary engine has a unique exhaust pulse. And, you can state that maybe the officer assumed that the engine in the vehicle was a 4 cylinder or such. An officer can't know the exact DB of every car outta the factory. Though, laws stated that no car can be made w/ a stock DB level higher then 95 DB. So, if the judge brings that up, ask the judge what the officer wrote your DB as. Then, even if they have the DB level, ask what RPM the reading was taken at, what was the distance. Main problem is.... there are sooo many variables to taking an accurate reading of someones exhaust noise level. So, unless the officer is very very very on their game and out to get ya, they probably didn't provide enough evidence to get ya. But, lots of ways to fight it. It in part is to reduce the number of ricey sounding exhausts on imports and even some muscle cars. Though, lots of cops are prejudice against imports. With good reason though, many are really irresponsible drivers.

But.... yea. Loud exhaust ticket is pretty easy to fight. Especially because of a lot of undefined area in the RCW. Louder then stock is lol. What is the stock DB of the car? And what did my car read for DB level? The cop says it is louder then stock? Does he know the sound of a S4 13B rotary engine? We don't drive cars with typical engines.

The last time I got pulled over, the cop said.... "I pull over tons of Mazdas and non of them sound like yours." My response was... "Yea, there aren't many like mine out there. " Many assume that miata = rx7. Small and sporty. But one is a 4 cyl and the other is a rotary. So, you can really mess with the system.

 

THIS IS HOW I GET OUT OF EVERY ONE I GET


1) Every motor vehicle shall at all times be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and no person shall use a muffler cut-out, bypass, or similar device upon a motor vehicle on a highway.

(3) No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor vehicle in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the engine of such vehicle above that emitted by the muffler originally installed on the vehicle, and it shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle not equipped as required by this subsection, or which has been amplified as prohibited by this subsection. A court may dismiss an infraction notice for a violation of this subsection if there is reasonable grounds to believe that the vehicle was not operated in violation of this subsection.

This subsection (3) does not apply to vehicles twenty-five or more years old or to passenger vehicles being operated off the highways in an organized racing or competitive event conducted by a recognized sanctioning body.


I SIMPLY EXPLAIN MY CAR IS NOT BREAKING THE LAW IN ANY WAY I TELL THE JUDGE IT DOESN'T HAVE A CAT BUT IT HAS A THERMAL REACTOR (it doesn't really just has a heat shield lol) FOR VISUAL INSPECTION AND A HIGH FLOW MUFFLER (MAGNAFLOW) ALSO MY CAR PASSES EMISSIONS WITH NO PROBS THE JUDGE HAS IN A FEW CASES ACTUALLY ASKED IF I HAD THE CAR WITH ME THAT DAY AND WALKED OUTSIDE AND LOOKED AT IT LMAO

 

In trying to defend for this, I think the best argument is the one that has already been stated. It is up to the officer to prove that you have violated RCW. To do this, they would need to be able to provide three things:
1) Evidence that you have modified your exhaust.
2) Information as to the amount of noise of the stock exhaust of your car as it came from the factory.
3) The noise of your exhaust at the time of the alleged infraction.

1) is pretty easy for the court to determine, all they have to do is ask.
2) is information that they don't have, and I doubt that the court would go to the effort of getting.
3) is something that the officer most likely didn't check at the time.

So, while I'm not an attorney, it would seem that if the prosecutor can't demonstrate 2 and 3, #1 wouldn't matter.