[CAM-FIFTY]

I posted this in the New England section but got no response so posting this to wider audience.

Is it street legal to have any of these after market exhausts that are louder than the stock?

Sounds illegal per my state law,
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/Gener...er90/Section16

(2) with an exhaust system which has been modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the exhaust.

I have no experience in this matter so asking here.
Thanks!

[avalonandl]

This really depends upon modifications. Exhausts that are really loud or annoying will catch the attention of the cops. If you run headers, no cats and straight pipes...think ricers with coffee can exhausts on turbo 4's.

If you run a Borla or Corsa, most likely fine.

[Childs Play]

Originally Posted by CAM-FIFTY

I posted this in the New England section but got no response so posting this to wider audience.

Is it street legal to have any of these after market exhausts that are louder than the stock?

Sounds illegal per my state law,
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/Gener...er90/Section16

(2) with an exhaust system which has been modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the exhaust.

I have no experience in this matter so asking here.
Thanks!

No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any way which motor vehicle is equipped (1) with a muffler from which the baffle plates, screens or other original internal parts have been removed and not replaced; or (2) with an exhaust system which has been modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the exhaust.

I'm not a lawyer or from your state... So chances are I have no clue what I'm talking about. But...

The way I'm reading it, it's saying that you can't cut into your exhaust and cut out baffle plates or have an exhaust changed out that is louder than the stock exhaust.

Just looking through random forum posts about it on other places on the internet, it doesn't seem like it's something that is strictly enforced.

Kinda like the front license plate laws here... Any cop can say something about it if he wants to and write you a ticket. But it's not usually a huge deal to a majority of them. Although I saw someone say they failed an inspection because of a custom exhaust there.

Do you have the active exhaust from the factory installed right now? If so, from what I'm understanding, you can't have an exhaust louder than that? Once again I'm not a lawyer. I say cut off the exhaust completely and blow past the police station a few times.

[Frank237]

From the way the Statute is WRITTEN....NO.

How your local LE INTERPRETS it...That's another matter.

[Stoner]

Originally Posted by CAM-FIFTY

I posted this in the New England section but got no response so posting this to wider audience.

Is it street legal to have any of these after market exhausts that are louder than the stock?

Sounds illegal per my state law,
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/Gener...er90/Section16

(2) with an exhaust system which has been modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the exhaust.

I have no experience in this matter so asking here.
Thanks!

In CA the law is written very similar. But in order to write a citation for loud exhaust it's up to the officer to prove its louder. Which means he had to have a decibel meter and has been trained in how to use it.

We had one officer who cited a bunch of motorcycles, and got burned because the motorcycle's were parked at the curb during the test with their exhaust facing a house or wall. That allowed the meter to pick up the reflected noise also.

So bottom line is if you get stopped for loud exhaust, it's up to the officer to prove its louder then stock.

[CAM-FIFTY]

Yeah that's how I interpret the law, it's clear enough to tell you what's legal and whats not but vague on enforcement part (maybe there is another section on how LEO is supposed to enforce this law).
I already had a bad experience with front license plate during inspection and IMO inspector can easily deny it just by looking at exhaust w/ Borla or Corsa print on it.

One other thing, I looked at the Borla S-Type item #11924 and the description says its 50 states street legal. That looks incorrect or am I missing something?

[Extreme Dimensions]

in california technically the law is you cant modify it at all but there is sound laws and there is smog laws and they are both totally different lol

i have headers and full exhaust on my npp car and no problems with cops in cali yet!

[CAM-FIFTY]

Sent a PM to Lisa@Borla if they can chime in.

[Stoner]

Two sections apply

27150.
(a) Every motor vehicle subject to registration shall at all times be equipped with an adequate muffler in constant operation and properly maintained to prevent any excessive or unusual noise, and no muffler or exhaust system shall be equipped with a cutout, bypass, or similar device.
(b) Except as provided in Division 16.5 (commencing with Section 38000) with respect to off-highway motor vehicles subject to identification, every passenger vehicle operated off the highways shall at all times be equipped with an adequate muffler in constant operation and properly maintained so as to meet the requirements of Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 27200), and no muffler or exhaust system shall be equipped with a cutout, bypass, or similar device.
(c) The provisions of subdivision (b) shall not be applicable to passenger vehicles being operated off the highways in an organized racing or competitive event conducted under the auspices of a recognized sanctioning body or by permit issued by the local governmental authority having jurisdiction.

27151 cvc
(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.

Smog violation sections are a whole different issue, with major fines attached.

[Ecchi667]

Well, it sounds to me like you can't modify the stock system to make it louder (no chopping off of cats or mufflers) but you could replace it with an aftermarket system, as long as that aftermarket system is within the 95 dbA threshold and does not have components installed simply for the purpose of amplifying the sound.

What's interesting here is that the Chevy performance exhaust technically does bypass the muffler, at least in the sense that it bypasses the muffling effects of it, anyway. So "no muffler or exhaust system shall be equipped with a cutout, bypass, or similar device" is already being ignored, at least in part, any time you're in anything other than stealth mode. However, I suspect they get around it because the rule of "every motor vehicle subject to registration shall at all times be equipped with an adequate muffler in constant operation and properly maintained to prevent any excessive or unusual noise" is being at least partially adhered to because the inner two pipes are being muffled and are never closed off from the exhaust path, and the bypass is not a complete bypass.

I'm not a lawyer but it seems the law could really be read as you see fit. It seems it's possible to interpret it as such that the Chevy performance exhaust is actually already in defiance of the law, if you wanted to view it as such. But, it also doesn't say anything about the stock or original exhaust system. It's reference to modifying is vague in the sense that it doesn't say exactly whether it is referring to the exhaust system as simply the system of extracting the exhaust, or the physical pipes which come fitted to the car from the factory.

In other words, move to the South.

[CAM-FIFTY]

Interesting that CA laws even specify the dbA level, I couldn't find that in my state laws. 95dbA is pretty loud, stock NPP is around 85dbA and most Borla exhausts are over 95dbA (data in other Borla thread). Wonder how they can claim its street legal!

Stock - 85.7 Decibels
Borla Touring - 94.2 Decibels
Borla S-Type - 97.0 Decibels
Borla ATAK - 102.3 Decibels

[CAM-FIFTY]

Originally Posted by Ecchi667

In other words, move to the South.

This is what your state law says (SCCL 56-5-5020):
SECTION 56-5-5020. Mufflers.
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 annoying smoke and no person shall use a muffler cutout, bypass or similar device upon a motor vehicle upon a highway. The engine and power mechanism of every motor vehicle shall be so equipped and adjusted as to prevent the escape of excessive fumes and smoke.

[Ecchi667]

Originally Posted by CAM-FIFTY

This is what your state law says (SCCL 56-5-5020):
SECTION 56-5-5020. Mufflers.
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 annoying smoke and no person shall use a muffler cutout, bypass or similar device upon a motor vehicle upon a highway. The engine and power mechanism of every motor vehicle shall be so equipped and adjusted as to prevent the escape of excessive fumes and smoke.

haha! For the most part, if it has a title you're good to go.

[Oil Man]

The bigger point in all of this is to consider the likelihood that cops in your area would bother at all with enforcement on this. I live in California, and on the rare occasions that I have heard of someone actually being written up for a statute like this, I usually found out later that there had been some sort of pissing match between the driver and the cop, or that they were doing targeted enforcement because a large quantity of cars were being a nuisance somewhere, cruising in an area where they weren't welcome, etc.

Most cops I have ever known would get a headache at the prospect of scanning the vehicle code for the relevant section and then digging into someone's car to determine if they were hearing loud factory exhaust (and my NPP 2SS is one of the loudest I have heard) or something that had been modified. It requires a level of mechanical experience and expertise that few cops could even testify and prove that they possess.

Short version: Unless you are running around your neighborhood with uncorked headers at 2AM being a prick and telling the cop that stops you that he can't do anything about it, I would be surprised if you got this ticket.