Got hassled about my exhaust...

[Arshad]

I can't believe it! I've had my Tubi on for a few years now and nobody has ever complained about noise level. Today as I was making a slow left turn into a parking lot (in first gear) from a stop, a police car pulls up behind me as I park my car and the cop proceeds to tell me my car is too loud. I told him "It's a sportscar, it's designed to be loud" and he looked kind of confused.

He then asked if I had any mods and I didn't want to lie so I admitted I had an aftermarket exhaust at which point he tells me he could give me a ticket, but he wouldn't, BUT I'd have to do something about it. Sheesh. Of all the exhausts, this is probably one of the quieter exhausts available for the NSX.

What's the law around this anyways? Is there some maximum decibel level for the street? Heck, buses and trucks are louder than my car when I'm just cruising so I don't see what the big deal is. If I was at WOT it would be a different story, but at low revs the Tubi is actually pretty quiet... and I was pulling into the parking lot from a stop!

 

[TRXTR]

Sorry to hear. I've been told the law is 95 Decibels at 50-100 ft away. It's highly doubtful an officer will have a meter in their car. However, its up to the officer's discretion; if they can hear your exhaust from 100ft, they can ticket you.

You should call the local police division to be sure.

 

[ffffanman]

Sounds like the two 60 year olds trying to be 30 year olds in the camero convertible that pulled up beside me, They said my car was too loud. I appoligized and said I would look into it. Light turn green and I let her roar.
Punks, what can you do.
Trev

 

[BioBanker]

Id like to know the law too.

I didnt think that they could give you a ticket for swapping out the exhaust alone.

 

[Oyagi]

Sounds like the two 60 year olds trying to be 30 year olds in the camero convertible that pulled up beside me, They said my car was too loud. I appoligized and said I would look into it. Light turn green and I let her roar.
Punks, what can you do.
Trev

Thats awesome Trev! I gotta try that one next time

 

[Red]

Id like to know the law too.

I didnt think that they could give you a ticket for swapping out the exhaust alone.

There are noise level bi-laws, etc. and you aren't supposed to modify your stock exhaust. Listen to one Harley and it makes all the NSXs in the world seem like caddies!

The trick is to tell the officer, "this is the exhaust that came with the car when I bought it." They can never prove otherwise and "when you bought it" is subjective, new? used? They'll leave you alone - It won't be worth the fight.

the cops are just trying to be tough on street racers, or suspected street racers, so they want to scare or talk to you and put the encounter in their computer (they call it "tagging") My cop friend tells me that the more cars they tag in a shift the fewer "bad" things that happen - he explains the correlation by saying it has a "calming factor" and it makes other drivers calm down when they see a car pulled over - think of how people slow down on the highway when they see a cop has pulled someone over.

I've never understood it - if he's giving a ticket, he can't be using his radar to catch you People are dumb!

 

[Arshad]

The trick is to tell the officer, "this is the exhaust that came with the car when I bought it." They can never prove otherwise and "when you bought it" is subjective, new? used? They'll leave you alone - It won't be worth the fight.

the cops are just trying to be tough on street racers, or suspected street racers, so they want to scare or talk to you and put the encounter in their computer (they call it "tagging")

Darn. So you're saying that he likely put my plate down on his computer and tagged it as an encounter? I didn't see him typing anything so I don't think he did this but that would suck if he did. Next time I'll use the line you suggested above about it being the exhaust that it came with.

 

[Arshad]

Ok you gotta be kidding me. I just checked the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, under 75(1), it basically states that the Muffler has to be in good working order and cannot make excessive noise, without actually specifying in decibels/distance the actual acceptable cutoff. I can't believe it's so vague and entirely up to the interpretation of the police officer. I need to talk to a couple of police officer friends who might be able to give further insight into this...

 

[Oyagi]

Arshad,

I have a few OPP patients and I have asked about this before and its as you've read it. Its purposely vague to give the officer some playroom.

Bottom line...drive conservatively and pray. :wink:

 

[Arshad]

They seem to be really cracking down. This afternoon when I was coming back to work, a police car pulled in behind me. This is in a left hand turn lane that ONLY leads into a private parking garage. I assumed the cop wanted to pull me over so rather than go into the garage I pulled off to the side. The police car turns in and then just stops on the side. I waited for the cop to get out and when they didn't do anything I went over to ask if she was pulling me over. Her response was "Do you see my lights on?". Uh no. So I got back into my car and drove into the garage.

It's almost like she wanted to pull me over for something, but couldn't think of anything. There's absolutely no other reason for her to pull into that left hand lane (which is clearly marked as private). Maybe I'm just being paranoid...

 

[kaz1116]

in the past... ive always used the line, this is the way i bought the car...
seems like they have nothing better to do these days... sorry about your luck Arshad.

 

[NSXCessive]

My brother was in court today fighting an 'Improper Muffler Ticket' I was in the car when he got pulled over, the officer wound up giving him this ticket at 12:30AM when there wasn't much on the roads to compared the 'Noise' to. He referred to it as sounding like his lawnmower at home

It’s basically at the officer’s discretion, of which I'm not happy with, they need to revise this law with dB readings, instead of the fine tuned instrument being used now... the officer's ear...

Here is what the law says: http://www.search.e-laws.gov.on.ca/en/isysquery/b6e32b49-2010-4bfc-b319-d9bb5628bf58/3/frame/?search=browseStatutes&context=

Or txt here: ...
"Muffler

75. (1) Every motor vehicle or motor assisted bicycle shall be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and excessive smoke, and no person shall use a muffler cut-out, straight exhaust, gutted muffler, hollywood muffler, by-pass or similar device upon a motor vehicle or motor assisted bicycle. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 75 (1).

Idem

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a motor assisted bicycle with an attached motor that is driven by electricity. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 75 (2).
"

 

[kaz1116]

My brother was in court today fighting an 'Improper Muffler Ticket' I was in the car when he got pulled over, the officer wound up giving him this ticket at 12:30AM when there wasn't much on the roads to compared the 'Noise' to. He referred to it as sounding like his lawnmower at home

It’s basically at the officer’s discretion, of which I'm not happy with, they need to revise this law with dB readings, instead of the fine tuned instrument being used now... the officer's ear...

Here is what the law says: http://www.search.e-laws.gov.on.ca/en/isysquery/b6e32b49-2010-4bfc-b319-d9bb5628bf58/3/frame/?search=browseStatutes&context=

Or txt here: ...
"Muffler

75. (1) Every motor vehicle or motor assisted bicycle shall be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and excessive smoke, and no person shall use a muffler cut-out, straight exhaust, gutted muffler, hollywood muffler, by-pass or similar device upon a motor vehicle or motor assisted bicycle. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 75 (1).

Idem

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a motor assisted bicycle with an attached motor that is driven by electricity. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 75 (2).
"

what would be referred to as a "hollywood muffler"?

 

[Red]

There's absolutely no other reason for her to pull into that left hand lane (which is clearly marked as private). Maybe I'm just being paranoid...

You're not paranoid if they really ARE out to get you!

what would be referred to as a "hollywood muffler"?

I thought that a "Hollywood Muffler" was when you put a pillow over her head when you're ....:tongue:

 

[BigYellowMan]

He referred to it as sounding like his lawnmower at home

Freaking lawnmowers wake me up on weekend mornings all the time. Mr. Office should come issue tickets in my neighbourhood. :tongue:

I would love to see someone challenge that noise law in court. How could a law stand without defining the boundaries?!

 

[swbatte]

This pisses me off.

Every freakin H.D. and crotch rocket should be pulled over then. It's almost harrassment.

 

[BioBanker]

HELL YEAH!

Im calling the cops on Shawna!

 

[Oyagi]

I wonder if anyone can make a quieter performance exhaust for the NSX (oxymoronic as it sounds)?

My daily driver is an IS300 with a Tanabe G-concept exhaust. Pretty neat design in that the baffles open more as exhaust pressure increases. At idle and driving around town its oem quiet, on WOT it sounds as loud as my NSX's ARK.

 

[BATMANs]

I heard it's 85dB in Cali, but don't know if that is during idle or WOT (which probably would fail 99% of aftermarket mufflers).

Also, in CAli it's your burdon of proof to have it certified to meet those numbers.

Good luck in finding a place that won't rat you out for emission mods......

 

[swbatte]

If there was a dB requirement, it would be at a certain distance from the source. Then that would vary with ambient noise and other factors.

Whatever they come up with it's going to be subjective. If I ever went to court over it, I'd go to a car audio shop with a SPL meter (sound pressure level) and measure my car's sound at certain rpms (idle, 3500, 5000) and then show the judge some comparbles.... like a TV, city bus, and others.

Surprisingly, to most, our cars would be comparitively quiet.

 

[BioBanker]

Stu just called me and he just got pulled over for his muffler too! They thought that he had removed his cats, and they looked underneath his car and everything.

It wasnt that it was loud, and we know that he wasnt going fast, they pulled him over because of the undeniable stench of sulfer emminating from his car.

They let him go because after closer inspection, it was coming from within the cabin, not from the exhaust pipes!

I was shocked to hear that he sweats it up driving around the street too. I thought forsure that it was just a turn 2 thing. Then I thought that it was a turn 2 and 4 thing. Then I was certain that it was not more than a turn 2, 4 and 8 thing, that is until I saw what happened in turn 1 as well. Surely it cant be more than a turn 2, 4, 8 and 1 thing! Turn 3 too! Ive never seen anything shit themselves in turn 7, which is a pretty tough thing to do, but it is there too!

Turns out its a turn 2,4,8,1,5abc, yonge street, DVP, 401, bayview, lawrence, and gardiner thing too! It is so outrageus that he is pumping desicant through his cool suit.

It is okay to be afraid of things, but Stu is afraid of EVERYTHING! No wonder he wears a hockey helmet walking around his backyard.

 

[Oyagi]

LOL, you had me up until the 3rd paragraph.

Well played Dave.

See ya in a few weeks

 

[NSXCessive]

I wonder if anyone can make a quieter performance exhaust for the NSX (oxymoronic as it sounds)?

My daily driver is an IS300 with a Tanabe G-concept exhaust. Pretty neat design in that the baffles open more as exhaust pressure increases. At idle and driving around town its oem quiet, on WOT it sounds as loud as my NSX's ARK.

I bought the Ark DT-X then had some weird one-off problems with it they sent me another for my 91, its pretty quiet with added performance... I almost thought it was too quiet at times... but that changed when I did my Comptec Headers a bit louder... I know the DT-X is louder, the vids

See http://www.arkspeedracing.com/91_96_Acura_NSX_ARK_DT_X_Exhaust_system_Quad_Tip_p/sm0100-391q.htm

 

[lithiumus]

Damn, that's not good... Arshad, do you need to go back to OEM, just let me know and I'll bring that bad boy back!

OK, every Ferrari is going to call upon muffler tickets and they are all OEM. The good thing is that most NSXs in Toronto have aftermarket mufflers so the claim of "this is how it came" holds more true than the Ricer Civic, etc.

Arshad, I think your response of "this is a sports car, it's designed to be loud" is almost perfect. Change to "designed to be louder than regular cars" and add something like "it's a bit louder than a Porsche but much quieter than a Ferrari..." might put things back into perspective.

Cops who know thier cars won't bother us as they see the clear distinction between sports cars and "compact, sport compact, sporty sedans or coupes"...

 

[Arshad]

Arshad, I think your response of "this is a sports car, it's designed to be loud" is almost perfect. Change to "designed to be louder than regular cars" and add something like "it's a bit louder than a Porsche but much quieter than a Ferrari..." might put things back into perspective.

Yeah that's a good point, I'll definitely use that angle along with the "it came that way when I bought it". As you pointed out, these cars are rare to begin with and most have aftermarket exhausts so it's not as obvious as it may be with other cars.

I don't plan on going back to OEM exhaust. Screw that -- unless I am absolutely forced to do it at risk of losing my license or something ridiculous. If it's a stupid fine, I'll pay it and continue on my merry way. I've never had anyone stop me before, so I'm just chalking it up to bad luck, although I suspect that the police are stepping up their efforts in busting the chops of anyone who looks like they may be driving a modified vehicle.