went for a MA inspection sticker today to the same place I have taken my pickup for 3 or more years and the tech started it and immediately shut it down and said it is "too loud". same exhaust it had last year, single, stock exit point with a Magnaflow that really isn't loud at all. maybe the guy just got out of a Honda Civic, in which case it would seem loud yes. so I'm wondering if anybody knows the specs for exhaust noise level for light duty passenger trucks in MA.
thanks
here was his method: 1. start engine 2. turn engine off
I was in the showroom checking out cars and didn't get to speak with him, the service rep who is a friend just said to take it to someone else because the state has been keeping an eye on them. bunch of crap if you ask me, especially since they passed it last year with same set up.
Per zerowick:
In some places it's not rigorously defined.
Long time ago, I had a bike that needed mufflers. I was too cheap to spring for the nice, throaty Triumph stock mufflers so I got something inexpensive called "SnufferKnots" - basically steel caps that go over the end of straight pipes and have multiple holes in them. Kicks the brains out of performance, but is *really* quiet.
Practically the next day I got a ticket for muffler violation. Tried to point out that my bike was about six times less noisy than the cop's bike but he wouldn't hear it... "You don't have proper mufflers on that thing...".
just seems odd that he could make such a quick assessment, annoying more than anything. I'll have to ask a Trooper friend with DOT training, I remember seeing a sound meter at his house too. would like to go back to the dealer with the numbers!
Boy! Does that raise a flag! Are you saying that the state vehicle inspection is done at an automobile dealership?
Can you take it elsewhere?
Lena
lots of dealers have an inspection station within their service dept here in MA, it's quite common. there are plenty of places I can go, just used to go there out of convenience. my Trooper friend said anything other than stock is not technically legal, but he recommended a place where I won't have trouble.
Ask the dealer to define "illegal" in decibels... Then, and only after they figure out a number (which should take some time) pull out the sound meter.
~jp
if you look up a few post I found out from a Trooper friend that anything other then stock exhaust is not legal, plain and simple. he would know, he loves writing tickets. no big deal, I have options, my truck passes emissions with flying colors so I'm not worried.
go down to the Court House and put in a request for a variance on the code.
You know........... make a big stink out of it.
Get the local papers involved.
Call up the Radio Stations.
Picket in front of the Police Station.
Raise hell in Church about it.
^ ^
0-0 L O
~:~ MarshMonster ~you could always jest chalk it up to another idiot in the world and go somewhere else to git duh inspection~
I wonder what they think about factory optional "performance" exhaust...? Just curious because a friend of mine's Corvette has performance exhaust that was factory equipped. It's not really too loud, but definitely louder than the normal stuff.
~jp
In NY at least the way it reads is that the vehicle cannot have an exhaust that is louder than the stock exhaust system. Stock is stock regardless if it is optional or not. If it came with it from the factory it's stock.
yup, MA is the same, but Jon brings up a very good point, I bet my noise level is no louder than say the Dodge V-10 performance 2wd pickup or the new Cherokee with the 6.1 hemi. there should be a level of noise that is considered acceptable and that figure should be the standard. really mine is anything but "loud". good thing I don't have a Flowmaster "40" on it!
plenty of places I can go without a problem, no rush, only a few days over at this point.
this is what I have:
The whole "stock is stock" law seems to be designed to keep people from upgrading to a louder system, messing with their emissions output (cat) or both.
Here in GA, they won't replace a Cat unless it's proven to be defective or has a hole in it. I've heard of other states where it's illegal to replace the Cat unless the vehicle has over 100k miles on the odometer.
This just reminds me of how many aftermarket products I've seen advertised "for off road use only". I've ever seen blocks advertised for Marine use only. That one killed me, because it was (as far as I could tell) no different than any other standard 5.7L Chevy smallblock.
~jp
only way to have fun on the road is to get a pre-emissions muscle car and have your way with it! it's on my "to do" list, after the mortgage and college tuition for the kids of course... :(
Very nice...my dream machine is a 1967 Corvette Coupe.
I want one in any condition, the worse the better. I don't care about originality, or matching numbers. I just want the car, and I want to build it my way, with the options I want. It would be very stock looking--no need to screw with perfection :-)
I'd have other upgrades elsewhere (drivetrain and suspension). I did find a '66 Coupe for $3500. It was a body and frame only. No interior, drivetrain or suspension. The body was pretty well thrashed too. But it DID have a valid, clean VIN and title. So it was almost worth the $3500 for that.
I've actually thought of building one piece by piece, from scratch. The only piece you can't find is the body shell. Everything else is available as new reproduction parts. I know it'd be pricy, but considering the currently market value of these cars, it'd still be cheaper than the $60k+ that they're going for.
And I wouldn't piss off the people who are freaks about originality. My only complaint would be titling it as a kit car. That's why I was so juiced about that '66--no matter what I did it'd never be "original", yet would've still been a "real" '66. I would've had free reign over its design.
~jp
at least I didn't think I would have a problem. guy tried for 20 minutes to get the right numbers on the machine and finally said it wouldn't pass with the flow through muffler. also said the test machine had just been calibrated. doesn't make sense, passed fine two years ago, even though it was a different muffler it was still a flow through, just a Gibson instead of a Magnaflow and a dual out instead of a single. I'll try another place tomorrow, really don't want to change exhaust.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.