Hey Guys,

I just got pulled over for having a modified exhaust in Daly City, CA. I was purposely drivng really slow because the cop was behind me. The cop was cool because he could've sited me for my entire engine bay! He also said that they were told to crack down on modded exhausts(noise).

He said that I need to produce paperwork to prove that the CARB/noise level of exhaust is legal. I bought my HKS cat back about 4 years ago. I don't have ****.

Has anyone been pulled over for this? How'd you get out of it? Can someone fax me a copy of their paperwork? I'd appreciate it...big time.

John
415-609-2341

 

Call HKS ... they're pretty helpful.

Oh yeah, and you'll have to do better than "HKS cat back" ... model name?

 

That happend to me in DC years ago. I did not fight it...should of.

Call HKS directly. Find out if they have anything for you. That would be the first step.

Good luck...****. They have nothing else to do.

 

If you get a fix-it-ticket for the exhaust, and you go slap your stock CB back on, do you get out of the ticket? In Colorado a fix-it-ticket is a defective vehicle ticket. no getting outta that one here.

 

Your HKS exhaust is totally legal in CA, as is an M2, Blitz, Apexi, local muffler shop job.. whatever as long as it is 'cat-back'. The only thing that will render a cat-back system illegal is the noise output level, which is measured at idle from a given distance (don't remember off the top of my head). Now putting on a downpipe, or modifying anything else involing the emissions systems is illegal. That is why a cat-back system is legal, it comes aft all emissions related equipment. Do call HKS though, they are one of the only helpful aftermarket companies. Good luck.

Matt

 

Well unless its over 95 dB, its legal. You should have asked the cop how man dB's over it was, thats bull ****.
Yet another reason not to move to the peoples republic of California.
Why keep an eye out for people flying into buildings when you can give someone $hit about their lights or how loud the exhaust or stereo system is.
Welcome to the United States of America.

 

Yea, fix-it-tickets suck. Was in my friends integra when he was pulled over for his exaust, when there was nothing wrong with it, mean while a old *** gto drives by with its muffler half hanging off screaming like a woman dying. Cop didnt even flinch.

 

in california, they have a DB meter and they will ask you to rev up your car around 3000-4000RPM (cruising speeds) and then test it from roughly 25FT away. Then they'll write it up on the ticket and give it to you. Just put the stock CB back on and then find any police officer to write it off for you.

Danny

 

John, as an acoustical consultant, I will be glad to measure your exhaust noise for you. Of course, you could always go buy a $30 Rat Shack meter and do the same thing. They definitely cannot force you to take the exhaust off unless it is over 95 dBA at a distance of 20-inches from the exit at 3000-5000 rpm.

read below:

http://www.apexi-usa.com/productdocu...P_Bulletin.pdf

I will be glad to measure it for you if you can't find anyone closer.

 

There is a guy in the West forum section that is a cop in San Leandro. I forgot his name. He owns FD modded as well.
Maybe he can help. I remember that he mention something about those Harley riders that set-off people alarms...

Reza

 

Yeah, down here in So. Cal. we get busted for that all the time. In my city/area they have a 'special' unit devoted to fix-it tix, cuz they have nothing better to do. I could have sworn only a handful of exhausts were certified as street-legal (for noise purposes not smog), Greddy being one of them. This is off their site:
http://www.greddy.com/CHPnoisepolicies.html
Personally, unless u want to really fight the principle of it all, just slap u'r stock back on, pay $10 for the sign-off fee, another $10 for the "court" fee, and be done with it....... till next time.
BTW, Greddy exhausts are supposed to come with paperwork detailing the noise levels of the exact model u buy that they recommend u carry in u'r car

 

Not true, it is perfectly legal to increase the noise levels of your exhaust above factory levels unless you exceed 95 dBA at 20-inches.

 

A-******-men.

 

Wrong. That USA remark is completely and totally off base.

Welcome to the People's Republic of Kalifornia. Various parts of the Constitution do not apply. The environment is first and foremost. Second is whatever the people vote for, irregardless of legality. Socialism at its worst in North America, after Canada.

For those of you in CA that don't like it, tough. Keep on voting Democratic and that's what you get...

 

I was able to get PR Motorsports in Hayward, the shop that originally sold me the Cat-back 4 years ago to fax me documentation from HKS stating that my exhaust is legal.

Now, that's customer service...Thanks Rick!

Now all I have to do is show in court and show the documentation. Can any cop sign off? Wait, scratch that...I don't want any more cops to ask to look under the hood. Once they see my intakes, M2 Large SMIC, and polished UIM/TB and ic pipes...I'll be toast !!!

 

they shouldn't have to look under the hood.

in fact, I don't believe they constitutionally CAN look under your hood, unless you let them.

If it's a fix-it, and you think your exhaust is less than 95 dB. Don't even both putting your stock back on. Just take it to someone to sign off. Why fix it when nothing needs fixing?

 

they can't look under your hood, but they will trick you, if they ask "can i look under your hood" just reply niecly, no. in virginia any modifications to the exhaust of a car is illegal, however all these civics going around don't get caught. its a sublaw so you only get a ticket if you get pulled over for soemthing else. i got a fix it ticket too, but i haven't done anything yet, just tell them your stock exhaust is on backorder. for the rest of your life =)

 

Haha yeah, I would just take it to someone else and say you fixed it without doing anything. Just borrow a dB meter and demonstrate for yourself that it passes the test. The proper way to do it once the new law goes into effect is to take it to a smog station where they will test it and issue you a certificate. The cop was just trying to do his job so he can get a promotion, its too bad he has the lameass task of issuing fix-it tickets and also doesn't know what he's doing. Ironically he'll probably never get promoted since he can't even do this correctly. He just wasted his and your time by pulling you over, and wasted the cities time and money by creating needless paperwork. You'd think if you issue tickets for a living you would at least keep up with the vehicle code...

 

what i did 30 minutes ago in Daly City:

took off my apex'i gt
put back my oem exhaust
drove to the Daly City Police Department
asked this dumb blonde bitch to go outside and check it out
that stupidass bitch said it's still too loud, I was like it's an rotary engine for christ's sake. It was as quiet as stock! She said, "well, you can go back to frisco and have it signed off there..."
I took off and on my way home I saw a motorcycle cop, I waved and pulled in the gas station and had him take a look at it.
He said: "pop the hood for me, is this the stock exhaust?"
I was like: "yeah..."
he said: "if you got a modified exhaust ticket, you got to put the whole thing back to stock..."
He went to the front and checked out my engine and he said: "where's the headers...?"
I was like: "this car has no headers, it's a rotary..."
Then he kneeled down and stuck his head behind my passenger rear wheel and took a look. Then he signed it off.
I was like: "woohoo!!!!"
I then stuck my head in the same place and realized that from there you can't really see ****.
Now all I gotta do is go to the traffic violation office and pay the $10.

 

oh and I forgot

I still gotta put back my loud *** Apex'i GT exhaust.

I have dp & mp btw

 

WTF??? You still have to pay, even though there is nothing wrong with you car??? I'm glad I live in NY, I would freakin sue for everytime I got pulled over for something stupid and still had to pay them for something.
So they can just pull you over, give you a tickect because your car is too red, then you still have to pay them $10.00???

 

Congrats. Sorry about my earlier post, i don't really know too much about my rights. I'm surprised they didn't look for a cat. Once i drove thru a yellow light near a cop, so he pulled me over. All he did was check under the car for the cat. I think THAT ticket's worth a grand.

 

yeah but my car is loud in the first place

and for some reason the courtesy warning notice was missing the speeding part of my initial ticket...so happy.

 

I got pulled over and given a ticket twice in my 7 the first time was for "fire coming out of my exhaust" with the T51Kai when i would decelerate in 3rd gear it would throw 2 really big fireballs. And the 2nd was for my wastegate. It's open and i had my boost turned down to like .5 bar i got on it going across a intersection and it poped.....externaly gated 7's are LOUD when the gate opens.....he nailed me for "modified exhaust" But he couldn't prove it because "it wasn't making the sound anymore"! I got out of bot tickets...if you have a friend that's a lawyer the courts don't mess with you if you have a lawer call about the tickets it seems.

 

jpandes: why bother showing documentation and go through w/ all that bullshit while you can just do what I did and pay $10? I mean even if you win you still gotta pay the $10 you know.