whats up guys, well, it finally happened...i got my first ticket. i was cruisin near my homies pad and a cop pulled me over. i had my windows down, and he told me to roll them up and saw that they were tinted..so i got cited for that. also he said that my exhaust is illegal also...that any alteration for more noise is illegal. so i came back with "i thought that its legal as long as the cadilitic converter isnt messed with. and he said no that if any change for more noise, its illegal. so i said 'well i did it for better fuel economy" and he said it didnt matter...so anyways, anybody actually kno whats up with this law? anyway to fight it?

ps...i only got cited for my front windows...and im lookin soon to find someone to sign it off for me!!

 

I think you can legally change the exhaust as long as it is under 95 decibel's in California. Although I've never been ticketed before for exhaust (surprised I didn't when driving my Chevelle around with open headers). Hope that helps.

 

yeah see...he wasnt lying cuz he showed me some ____ in a book he had, but he was a real _______ to me...seemed shady cuz i never heard of this..and whose opinion counts on whether i did it to make it louder or better fuel economy and air flow!

 

Here is the text of the cali veh code...

27151. (a) No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor vehicle in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the motor of the vehicle so that the vehicle is not in compliance with the provisions of Section 27150 or exceeds the noise limits established for the type of vehicle in Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 27200). No person shall operate a motor vehicle with an exhaust system so modified.

(b) For the purposes of exhaust systems installed on motor vehicles with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of less than 6,000 pounds, other than motorcycles, a sound level of 95 dbA or less, when tested in accordance with Society of Automotive Engineers Standard J1169 May 1998, complies with this section. Motor vehicle exhaust systems or parts thereof include, but are not limited to, nonoriginal exhaust equipment.

Amended Sec. 10, Ch. 92, Stats. 2001. Effective January 1, 2002.

This deals how to get the charge dismissed...

27150.7. A court may dismiss any action in which a person is prosecuted for operating a vehicle in violation of Section 27150 or 27151 if a certificate of compliance has been issued by a station pursuant to Section 27150.2, or if the defendant had reasonable grounds to believe that the exhaust system was in good working order and had reasonable grounds to believe that the vehicle was not operated in violation of Section 27150 or 27151.

Amended Sec. 8, Ch. 92, Stats. 2001. Effective January 1, 2002.
Amended Sec. 4, Ch. 569, Stats. 2002. Effective January 1, 2003.


More info can be found here.
http://<a href="http://www.dmv.ca.go.../vc/vc.htm</a>

 

You can only be cited for a loud exhaust if the officer used a meter at the prescribed distance at the prescibed rpm. But, you can be cited for an altered exhaust, which would only be a fix-it-ticket.

Unfortunately, things like exhaust noise, emissions, and all of the other crap is controlled usually by the EPA, I think. So, that's why we have cats, for cleaner air, yada, yada, yada.

I bet they couldn't explain why my 1976 Celica GT liftback ran cleaner w/ no smog, dual Mikunis, custom header and exhaust when it was checked.

BTW, I'm usually one of those a$$holes.

 

This crap is why I haven't bought exhaust yet.

Mike R.
rolex87

 

I just got mine...

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...=144643#144643

 

Mike, At the next we're at, I'll give you a ride in my box so you can hear how quiet my Tanabe is.

 

Here's a link to an article with info on getting CA exhaust violations signed off:

http://www.motortrend.com/features/n...s040210_noise/

I swear I posted this a few months ago but the thread has vanished ...

 

alright thanks for all of your guys' moral support...haha..anyways yeah so wahts the deal with tinted front windows? i know its illegal for the front, but why if the windows are down? they were down when he pulled me over...hmm so many lame ___ rules!

 

Do you have a tint strip on your winshield, sometimes thast is a sure fire way to have them check for it on the rest of the car...

 

Here is a thread on another forum that talks about this, and more importantly about how to resolve the ticket without going to court or replacing the exhaust system.

Their word only, of course, YMMV, etc.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show.../t-317313.html

BTW, the SAE test involves placing a DB meter 20 inches (0.5m) from the exhaust tip, 45 degrees off of the tailpipe axis, and running the engine at 75% of its maximum power RPM, which for a Scion would be about 4500RPM. (some state variations of this test call for 50% of the maximum RPM) For California, the reading must be below 95dB.

George

 

this kind of thing makes me so mad. I bet your exhaust wasn't very loud at all. The cop was just getting bored and saw some"punk kid"(as they say) driving by. How come all the choppers and harlys never get ticketed. they are WAY louder than any car i have ever heard.

I bet you can fight the front tint ticket thing..but its just a fix-it ticket which will cost you about $25 or so. I have my front windows tinted, but only lightly. my back one's are darker. i think light tint should be acceptable, specially since it blocks UV rays.

 

That would be sweet man! Too bad you had to park miles away at Fremont I should be seeing you soon at some meet then!

Mike R.
rolex87

 

Which exhaust system do you have? This is one of the reasons why I made the PrecisionMuffler.com Axle back for automatics, because of the sound laws we have here in cali. Both of the axle backs that I have are made they way they are for sound quality and performance. And you are under the 95 decibel rule as well. I have had police follow me for a mile and they couldn't do anything because they knew my system was below the limit.

What system did you have again?

 

Motorcycles fall into a different category. Also, motorcycles, especially sport bikes do get stopped. I know, cuz I have been. Harley owners usually don't for some reason as it is looked upon as a safety feature.

 

[quote="tC4me"]this kind of thing makes me so mad. I bet your exhaust wasn't very loud at all. The cop was just getting bored and saw some"punk kid"(as they say) driving by. [quote]

Or he was out at 3 in the morning in the wrong place in the wrong time. You gotta realize that being out at 3 am will bring the cops, so just stay home or have someone else drive. :D

 

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6158

 

Just out of curiosity, which section is the loud exhaust violation and which is the altered exhaust violation?

Not that I have either an altered exhaust at the moment. I happen to think it's a bit on the loud side, but it's 100% stock ...

Thanks.

 

http://www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?ID=32268

get it tested so you can prove it, loads of people are getting this fixed by doing this (assuming you don't peak at or over 95DB)

Good Luck :D