WTF Exhaust Too Loud?

[Zoro]

I just moved to NYS and my truck has PA tags. Anywho I've been pulled over twice by troopers for things like trailer lights out and blinker out, non of which landed me a ticket, I even asked if my exhaust was ok and they said it was fine. Today I'm driving down the road in a country area where straight pipes are a common occurance and this trooper u-turns and pulls me over right away and tells me in NYS that the only legal exhaust is a stock one. Anybody else ever heard of this?

I'm running a glaspack and it's louder than stock but not a screamer...WTF!?!?!

[JohnX]

Must've been having a bad day. There probably is some kind of law on the books like that, but kind of unlikely you'd ever get written up for it unless you were a jack ass, or the cop was just in a bad mood.

If he didn't write you, I wouldn't worry. If he did...what a prick.

[Zoro]

Must've been having a bad day. There probably is some kind of law on the books like that, but kind of unlikely you'd ever get written up for it unless you were a jack ass, or the cop was just in a bad mood.

If he didn't write you, I wouldn't worry. If he did...what a prick.

Must have been a bad day, the guy was a prick from the start

[CanMan]

Check out the state dB laws. If the officer cannot prove what dB your truck made when he herd it, I dont see how it would hold up in court, if you were to get a ticket. WA state's limit is 95 dB, IIRC.

[Zoro]

How can you check decibel level? I saw on the one NYS site about motorcycle laws, you can't have straight pipes, removed baffles or anything else loke that but I am unsure how if that applies to cars.

[CanMan]

I think some sterio shops sell dB meters, like they use for sterio comps.

[JohnX]

Not always about the decibels. Sometimes the law actually prohibits modification of exhaust for any reason. Usually this law is directed at removal of catalytic converters...but it doesn't say that exactly...it only says "no mods".

[RichP]

Not always about the decibels. Sometimes the law actually prohibits modification of exhaust for any reason. Usually this law is directed at removal of catalytic converters...but it doesn't say that exactly...it only says "no mods".

Most laws are badly written, conceived for one problem and subverted and used for another. As far as a DB meter, Radio Shack sells an analog one for $30, digital for $50, I use my analog one to set my surround sound speakers with an avia dvd.

[Zoro]

Just had an idea, if I fabbed up some removable baffles on a rod that can be inserted/removed into the glaspack would it work on quieting it?

[Wallymander]

Dude, you had out of state plates...
Funny, i bought my latest XJ in Philly. I got a lot of looks here in Texas until i got my tags.

[Zoro]

Dude, you had out of state plates...
Funny, i bought my latest XJ in Philly. I got a lot of looks here in Texas until i got my tags.
I was less than one mile from the PA border heading south too...

[Beej]

I don't see how you need to worry about it one way or the other. The laws you have to adhere to are the ones in which your vehicle is registered. If its legal in PA, you can't be legally cited for a violation in another jurisdiction. Grounds for dismissal right there...

[Zoro]

Unfortunately I frequent the part of NY I got the ticket in and there are always troopers so I'd like to avoid further tickets if possible and keep the cherry bomb.

[WB9YZU]

NYS DOT rules...
$375.31. Mufflers and exhaust systems. Prevention of noise. Every motor
vehicle, operated or driven upon the highways of the state, shall at all
times be equipped with an adequate muffler and exhaust system in
constant operation and properly maintained to prevent any excessive or
unusual noise and no such muffler or exhaust system shall be equipped
with a cut-out, bypass, or similar device. No person shall modify the
muffler or exhaust system of a motor vehicle in a manner which will
amplify or increase the noise emitted by the motor or exhaust system of
such vehicle above that emitted by the muffler or exhaust system
originally installed on the vehicle and such original muffler and
exhaust system shall comply with all the requirements of this section....

31-a. No person shall, in the state, sell, install or use a motorcycle
exhaust device without internal baffles, known as "straight pipes".

31-b. No person shall, in the state, sell, install or use a motorcycle
exhaust device that is intentionally designed to allow for the internal
baffling to be fully or partially removed or interchangeable. This
subdivision shall not apply to a motorcycle manufactured or assembled
prior to nineteen hundred seventy-nine or a motorcycle registered as a
limited use vehicle or an all terrain vehicle pursuant to article
forty-eight-A or forty-eight-B of this chapter.

Beej: I believe you are wrong.
If you modify your vehicle in a State which allows a modification and drive it in one that does not allow that modification I believe you can be cited.
For example, In Wisconsin we do not mandate a beak-away device on trailers, however, IL does. If you tow through IL and are pulled over, the IL Trooper can cite you for an equipment violation. The case that would actually happen is rare.

No, I suspect there was something else about the truck in question that attracted the Troopers attention, but on inspection he couldn't make that item stick so he picked on the next likely suspect... the muffler.

FYI though, you can't use glasspacks (they are not "Spark Arresting") in National Forests. So if you Off-Road, you may want to change it back anyway.

Ron

[Zoro]

Thanks for that insight Ron, as we walked up he wacked the tail-light or something on the ass of the truck. I still have my cat in place along w/the glasspack. I think I'm just going to throw a stock muffler on there for now.

[UNCC_99XJ]

What else did the trooper say?

Man I'm really starting to hate state troopers recently....had one pull me about 3 weeks ago and wrote me a ticket for tailgating....never mind the guy in the lane i was changing into was speeding to begin with, then slammed on the brakes while i was looking behind me for more traffic and i almost plowed into the back of him. He takes off and I get the friggin ticket....but anyways.

Something about this still doesn't sound right. How could he prove that your exhaust was too loud?

[Zoro]

What else did the trooper say?

Man I'm really starting to hate state troopers recently....had one pull me about 3 weeks ago and wrote me a ticket for tailgating....never mind the guy in the lane i was changing into was speeding to begin with, then slammed on the brakes while i was looking behind me for more traffic and i almost plowed into the back of him. He takes off and I get the friggin ticket....but anyways.

Something about this still doesn't sound right. How could he prove that your exhaust was too loud?

He kept askin if that was the way it came from the factory and said that if you touch the exhaust system in NYS it's illegal, if it didn't come from the factory like that then it is illegal.... I don't think I had anything else obviously wrong with the truck besides a couple of dents and spots of primer but no cancerous rust, or signs of abuse/neglect. He also wrote the ticket so opaquely that it'd be hard to get out, the ticket was for an inadequate exhaust/no muffler.

[UNCC_99XJ]

He kept askin if that was the way it came from the factory and said that if you touch the exhaust system in NYS it's illegal, if it didn't come from the factory like that then it is illegal.... I don't think I had anything else obviously wrong with the truck besides a couple of dents and spots of primer but no cancerous rust, or signs of abuse/neglect. He also wrote the ticket so opaquely that it'd be hard to get out, the ticket was for an inadequate exhaust/no muffler.

I'd fight the hell out of it. Know any good lawyers? Probably gonna need one to go after a trooper. To me, it's total BS. I agree with Beej, if you live in PA where there are no such laws about modding the exhaust system on your vehicle, you're not at fault. There very well may be such law in NYS, but since you reside in PA, you have to obide by PA laws.

[karstic]

Today I'm driving down the road in a country area where straight pipes are a common occurance and this trooper u-turns and pulls me over right away and tells me in NYS that the only legal exhaust is a stock one. Anybody else ever heard of this?

I'm running a glaspack and it's louder than stock but not a screamer...WTF!?!?!

WTF? Some guy probably lives along that road that is tired of hearing the F'in Harleys with straight pipes, and hotrods and XJ's with glass packs. He probably calls the state troppers ever time one passes his house. The same thing happenend to me and my brother in high school. We drove a Baja Bug with a stinger exhaust. We pretty much drove the same route every morning. In one of the residential areas we finally got popped.

[yardape]

I'd fight the hell out of it. Know any good lawyers? Probably gonna need one to go after a trooper. To me, it's total BS.

Right or wrong is not the bigger picture. Taking the path of least resistance is. Unless one as a whole lot of disposable income and time, why would anyone pay thousands of dollars for a lawyer and a whole lot of time over the noise from a muffler or the lack thereof? Zoro has the right idea. Throw a muffler on the Jeep and be done with it. Other than curiosity, its not even worth spending the money on a db meter.

[UNCC_99XJ]

Right or wrong is not the bigger picture. Taking the path of least resistance is. Unless one as a whole lot of disposable income and time, why would anyone pay thousands of dollars for a lawyer and a whole lot of time over the noise from a muffler or the lack thereof? Zoro has the right idea. Throw a muffler on the Jeep and be done with it. Other than curiosity, its not even worth spending the money on a db meter.

While I see and understand your point, I dont see why he should be forced to change his vehicle to obide by the laws of a state he only visits, and does not reside in.

BTW, how much is the ticket that he wrote you if you dont mind my asking.

I'd look into the decibal testing methods that were previously mentioned. $30-50 you can't really go too wrong. And you might even be well within the limits.

[yardape]

While I see and understand your point, I dont see why he should be forced to change his vehicle to obide by the laws of a state he only visits, and does not reside in.



That's just me. In life you have to pick your fights. Some of life's injustices are just are not worth the trouble and aggravation to persue. Its not like he was wrongly accused of murder or grand larceny. Its just an f'n muffler. Again, if it was me I'd spend an hour under my jeep with a reciprocating saw and a couple of wrenches and be done with it.

[karstic]

I don't see how you need to worry about it one way or the other. The laws you have to adhere to are the ones in which your vehicle is registered. If its legal in PA, you can't be legally cited for a violation in another jurisdiction. Grounds for dismissal right there...

So if I come to Canada, I don't have to obey their gun laws?

[Zoro]

I threw a muffler on there and took it to the barracks and I got the ticket written off by another trooper. Even though it's BS and I would love to fight it I don't have the time or disposable income and if I did I think I'd have a couple more Jeeps.

I just can't believe I got that ticket, it's not like I flaunt it or anything, the way the trooper flipped the u-turn and came after me I think he woulda given me a ticket for going 30.01 in a 30...

BTW in NYS tickets don't have a dollar amount on them, just an apperance date and from what I've heard it's about a $400 ticket.

[XJ Eric]

A fix-it ticket will run you nothing if you get it fixed. thats all you got. And when the trooper whacked the back of your tailgate. He was checking to make sure it was closed. They do that as force of habit. Watch em, They always touch the back of your car. They are just making sure nobody is going to pop out the back and come up behind them. They will usually do it even if they can see in the bed of a pickup. Again, force of habit.
My last speeding ticket was $135 plus $60 in court fees. That one hurt me.
Where did you get popped? I might know the trooper

[Beej]

So if I come to Canada, I don't have to obey their gun laws? I know this was said in jest, but I don't think its an even comparison.

Sure, when I enter another jurisdiction, I have to obey their local laws. However due to the universality of vehicles on the road and the fact that we have an interconnecting roadwork going everywhere including across jurisdictions, I believe that even if you may be held to be compliant, you can still make a case for dismissal based on the fact that in your home jurisdiction, which is where the vehicle is registered, if it is in fact legally registered, it is compliant with the motor vehicle acts.

An example of this is the fact that in the Province of Alberta, you are only required to have a rear tag/license plate. The front one is optional, available for an extra fee. If you drive your Alberta-registered vehicle into a jurisdiction for the purposes of a stay for less than their annexation period (usually 3-6 months) and they require front and rear tags, they shouldn't cite you for that as it meets the legally required standard for the jurisdiction in which the vehicle was registered.

This is not the same as walking into a bar in Montana when you are 18 and requesting a drink because its legal to drink at 18 in Alberta. In this case, you are just on your own and you must follow the laws in the jurisdiction you are in.

This is not to say you can't be ticketed for the above vehicular issues, just that I think you would have a strong case for fighting it... Otherwise, you guys better all get on the ball and have daytime running lights installed if you ever want to travel to Canada...

:D

[UNCC_99XJ]

And when the trooper whacked the back of your tailgate. He was checking to make sure it was closed. They do that as force of habit. Watch em, They always touch the back of your car. They are just making sure nobody is going to pop out the back and come up behind them. They will usually do it even if they can see in the bed of a pickup. Again, force of habit.
My last speeding ticket was $135 plus $60 in court fees. That one hurt me.
Where did you get popped? I might know the trooper
So thats why he tapped my tailgate too....interesting.

My ticket that im currently fighting is $145 including court costs....which still hurts considering it's my first and my record WAS spotless.....however mine's not for speeding