California FTMFL!!!! Don't even change you headlights with non-oem headlights you'll go to jail here for doing that.j/k California only looks at the street scene cars that are an obvious result of major crimes and illegal activity. But muscle cars and classics as well as trucks can change their mufflers anytime. Gotta love the double standards.
California FTMFL!!!! Don't even change you headlights with non-oem headlights you'll go to jail here for doing that.
LOL..yeah I found that law and it specifically says a higher wattage bulb is guilty of a misdemeanor.
For Cali exhaust...you guys are pretty much fucked...I found this:
Exhaust systems which meet smog requirements but are still too loud. Exhaust equipment that states it is, "Legal in all 50 states," refers to smog, not noise.
Note: New law (27150.2 VC) does not require law enforcement to use sound level meters to test for excessive noise. Citation is based on officer's judgment. Cited violators may have testing done at smog referee stations or may be directed by the court to have testing done. Vehicles in violation must be brought into compliance. A fine may also be imposed.
We should start a thread with all the references for each state in case somebody wants to fight it in court...
Tell the cop that pulls you over," Hey D.O.T. considers my turbo to be a part of the exhaust, therefore I do not need a conventional canister."
Then the cop looks at you and says that well the law provides me the ability to access the situation and you do not pass my visiual inspection nor do you pass the sound level either. Then he/she writes you a ticket for modified exhaust, intake, downpipe, bov, lowered vehicle, and whatever else he/she finds and decides to send you to the state ref.
It's cali man. The cops sometimes here have a hot head, and definitely do not like to be proved wrong.
cali = stock or aftermarket... your getting a ticket... and if he comes up to your window and you tell him its stock... your getting an entire vehicle inspection... and if you have an intake... (EVEN WITH A CARB STICKER RIGHT ON IT!) your going to a ref... and if you tell him you already got an appt... your going to jail and your car getting towed...
cali ftmfl.. i guess loud cars are ranked number 1 on the importance scale.. all i wanna know is if its before or after bank robberies and homocide....
Not sounding like an ass in any way, because typing words are so impersonable. Can you find the reference to where it says modifying an exhaust in any way is not permitted. If you look at the first post I made, a turbocharger is considered a muffler. In my opinion, as long as you have a turbo, you can do whatever you want, UNLESS your state makes a more stringent rule. Nevada does not define what a muffler is at all. If there is no definition in the state, wouldn't it fall back on federal guidlines?
No problem buddy, I don't take things personally. Keep in mind, all laws/statutes/regulations on a matter such as this is more so aimed/made for emissions purposes. They had to add sound regulations (which depend on your city/state, not Federal) as an after effect because people were abusing it. Almost every single law and violation has gray areas to it and is always open to interpretation. The interpretation is in according to the cop and judge's discretion, not ours. The very point of the D.O.T saying that they "consider" a turbo acting as a muffler proves just that; that’s their interpretation. A muffler doesn't have to physically be a "muffler", the merit isn't judged exactly like that. They deem the word "muffler" as anything that can/will muffle the note of the exhaust, and a turbo does just that. A resonator will also work. Sound laws are there simply because people bitch about it. I don't know of any time the public was put into harms way from the loudness of an exhaust on a public road. There's plenty of justification to the emissions standpoint, whether your state has them or not. My state doesn't have any, but that in no way makes it okay to remove your cat, because that's Federal. The odds are astounding that a Fed will actually nabb you for the violation, so people in emission-free states play the odds. Basically, they’re only wanting two things from you: your vehicle must keep the air clean (Clean Air Act) and not to surpass the assigned max decibel exhaust note. You’re free to roam anywhere between those guidelines.
Here ya are, Clean Air Act. Federal Law.
The Statute:
In the Clean Air Act and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Congress gave USEPA the authority to regulate mobile sources. In addition to requiring automakers to design automobiles that met increasingly stringent emissions limits, these laws also established provisions to prevent anyone from defeating those modifications. In a letter dated November 14, 1997, Steve Albrink of the Vehicle Programs & Compliance Division of the Office of Mobile Sources of USEPA wrote a letter providing a more accessible interpretation of USEPA's policy than that contained in the official USEPA interpretation, Memorandum 1A (Office of Enforcement and General Counsel, dated June 25, 1974, Mobile Source Enforcement Memorandum No. 1A, SUBJECT: Interim Tampering Enforcement Policy) and subsequent changes to that policy, including fining individuals as well as repair shops. Mr. Albrink's letter states:
The federal tampering prohibition is contained in section 203(a)(3) of the Clean Air Act (Act), 42 U.S.C. 7522(a)(3). Section 203(a)(3)(A) of the Act prohibits any person from removing or rendering inoperative any device or element of design installed on or in any motor vehicle in compliance with regulations under Title II of the Act (i.e., regulations requiring certification that vehicles meet federal emissions standards). The maximum civil penalty for a violation of this section by a manufacturer or dealer is $25,000; for any other person, $2,500. Accordingly, any change from the original certified configuration of a vehicle or engine, or the manufacture or sale of a non-original equipment aftermarket part or system could be considered a violation of section 203(a)(3) of the Act. This would include modifications to the fuel delivery system.
The Policy:
So, according to USEPA, pretty much any modification to your vehicle that in any way alters anything from the intake air to the tailpipe exit constitutes tampering. In fact, USEPA has developed an extensive list of specific questions and answers detailing just how extreme this view is.
Here is a sampling of this interpretation:
• Can I remove a catalytic converter from a vehicle that is used only for "off-road" driving?
No. The tampering prohibition discussed in Answer #1 applies to this situation as well. The federal tampering prohibition pertains to "motor vehicles," which are defined by section 216(2) of the Act as "any self-propelled vehicle[s] designed for transporting persons or property on a street or highway." A light-duty vehicle manufacturer certifies an engine-chassis configuration as meeting the applicable emissions standards for motor vehicles manufactured in a given model year, and it is not legal for anyone to "de-certify" a motor vehicle for "off-road" use. [I wonder if NASCAR knows about this?]
• Is it tampering to install a dual exhaust system on a vehicle originally equipped with a single exhaust?
Yes. The general rule is that a motor vehicle emission control system (which includes the exhaust configuration) may not be changed from an EPA certified configuration without subjecting the repair shop to liability for violating the federal tampering prohibition. The exhaust system configuration, including the location of the converters, and exhaust pipe diameter and length, are items specified by the manufacturer because engines and some of the associated emissions systems are generally affected by the exhaust system backpressure, which subsequently affects vehicle emissions. The installation of a dual exhaust system with two converters would, therefore, be considered tampering. ? It would not be considered tampering to install a dual exhaust system with two converters if the vehicle manufacturer certified an identical engine-chassis configuration for the vehicle model year or newer that includes such an exhaust configuration.
• If I pass a standard state inspection test (i.e., a "sniff" or Inspection/Maintenance Test) is my vehicle legal?
No. The testing that the manufacturers perform to demonstrate compliance with Federal standards is more comprehensive and accurate than the idle tests used by the Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) programs. For example, the procedures for light-duty cars and trucks require the vehicles to undergo prescribed sequences of fueling, parking, and operating in order to simulate an average trip in an urban area. Heavy-duty engine testing requires a similar transient mode testing procedure. During these procedures, the emissions are sampled continuously over the entire test cycle for subsequent analyses of specific components by prescribed analytical techniques. These procedures are more representative of in-use operation than any state or locally run idle emissions test.
Idle emissions tests used by state I/M programs are designed merely as screening tests for identifying gross emitting vehicles which have not had proper maintenance (spark plug replacements, air filter changes, timing adjustments, carburetion adjustments, etc.), and not to detect whether specific emission control components are present and operational. The tests usually only involve the insertion of a probe into the tail-pipe of the vehicle while the vehicle is idling and instantaneously measuring the exhaust emissions. These tests are not as stringent or accurate as the Federal test procedures and the results are not comparable. It would be inaccurate to assume that just because a vehicle "passes" an idle test that it could also pass Federal standards.
Tell the cop that pulls you over," Hey D.O.T. considers my turbo to be a part of the exhaust, therefore I do not need a conventional canister."
Then the cop looks at you and says that well the law provides me the ability to access the situation and you do not pass my visiual inspection nor do you pass the sound level either. Then he/she writes you a ticket for modified exhaust, intake, downpipe, bov, lowered vehicle, and whatever else he/she finds and decides to send you to the state ref.
It's cali man. The cops sometimes here have a hot head, and definitely do not like to be proved wrong.
But it may help when you contest the ticket. I've read a couple of posts on this forum where cops have pulled people over for a modified exhaust and used the service manual diagram to show there are no mufflers on this car just resonators and a turbo.
Yes the cops in Cali are assholes. Also as in most places traffic citations are a major source of city/county funds. Modified cars are a cash cow for city coffers. Cali is draconian in its emission laws and tries to enforce them with an iron fist. If you get tossed to a ref your fucked. I have had many a freind with a stock SRT get tossed to the ref just because the cop is an asshole and doesn't like the looks/attitude of whom he is dealing with. They really do not give a rats ass if it is stock or not, they want the revenue and to make you suffer.
We are just a bunch of street racing thugz in little douche-bag cars with wings on em' , yo!
Why deal with REAL criminal activity when we can just pick the low-hanging fruit of modified cars.
How do I know this for a FACT? My best friend of 20 yrs is a cop on Cali admits this is the mentality of 99% of cops dealing with modified cars in Cali.
Last edited by MrCleanSRt4 : 03-26-2008 at 08:15 PM.
shit here in MIAMI, FL.. me and my friends street race in skool zones, cops here dont give a shit....actually yesterday i was in my frinds srt and he has B&B turbo back exhaust and he was reving with a cop across the street and cops dont care here for some reason....almost all cars here have exhausts and cops dont do anything.
shit here in MIAMI, FL.. me and my friends street race in skool zones, cops here dont give a shit....actually yesterday i was in my frinds srt and he has B&B turbo back exhaust and he was reving with a cop across the street and cops dont care here for some reason....almost all cars here have exhausts and cops dont do anything.
There is a reason for this - the cops there have better things to do, I hear those seniors get downright crazy at bingo.
Back when I had my 3" exhaust on, straight pipe, I was warned once by a cop... after he had pulled me over for "speeding" and given me the ticket. So, I made sure it popped right near him as I left.
But, that was the only time I was ever warned. I offered to give him a ride down to the Dodge dealer to prove it was "stock"; I knew he'd say no and leave me alone, haha. I've since changed back to the stock exhaust as I couldn't stand the freeway drone.
Not sounding like an ass in any way, because typing words are so impersonable. Can you find the reference to where it says modifying an exhaust in any way is not permitted. If you look at the first post I made, a turbocharger is considered a muffler. In my opinion, as long as you have a turbo, you can do whatever you want, UNLESS your state makes a more stringent rule. Nevada does not define what a muffler is at all. If there is no definition in the state, wouldn't it fall back on federal guidlines?
the 2003-2005 srt-4's were the only cars offered with out mufflers from the factory and are 50 state emmisions legal. and the federal law over rides state laws. but is you get a mopar exhaust, i would think that it would be hard for the courts to say you have a modified exhaust. just go to your local dealer and get a picture printed out of the stock exhaust system for our cars and take that to court with you and educate the ignorant people of your local justice system.
gotta love Ohio...bout the few tickets i have gotten in my car by the state police, they have asked if my exhaust was stock and i would say "no sir" and they wouldn't even care. even though i have a 3 inch side exit with no cat..basically if you are respectful to them they do the same to you. because each time the could have given me a ticket for no cat and excessive noise. most the cops ive ran into are pretty cool.
Not in all cases...I've gotten pulled over while stopped @ a light. When I got the ticket in CT I was pulling away from a spot check after they told me to go
Well if a cop has a hard on for ya, you're f*cked, the only time I have been stopped (in this car) was when it was brand new and stock, got off w/a warning for 65 in a 50 zone.
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Miami huh?
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