So, I've had my exhaust on my car since 4/2009. I have a 2.5" TruBendz exhaust with a high-flow cat, a Magnaflow muffler, AND an 18" Magnaflow resonator, along with a long tube header. For 3 years, no cop has EVER said ANYTHING about my exhaust -- nor the guys at the emissions check station. I want the performance gains of an aftermarket system but not the ridiculous noise -- my car has a deep tone, but not an overly loud one, especially compared to a lot of ricer Civics and such. Nor is it burpy or farty -- I hate the typical sound of an aftermarket exhaust.
Now, Arizona apparently has a rather arbitrary exhaust noise law -- there used to be an actual noise limit, apparently, but now, the law reads that every car must have a working muffler that prevents "excessively loud or unusual" exhaust noise. So -- it's basically up to the cop to determine what's legal or not.
I got pulled over in either late April or early May by a DPS (Arizona Highway Patrol) officer. It was about 8:30AM on a Saturday morning, and I wasn't actually on a state highway (nor was it through a quiet neighborhood or anything like that). The guy walks up and says, "what's wrong with your muffler"? I said, "nothing", then explained that it's an aftermarket exhaust. I tell him that I actually get better gas mileage with it, and he says, "No way. C'mon. Really?" and I said "Yes, I actually tested about 1 MPG better after." He then tells me that there's an exhaust law in Arizona, and he thinks there's a new one in Pima County (where Tucson is, and I live) and that I'm in violation of it -- and then starts writing a ticket. Not a warning, not a fix-it ticket, but an actual ticket. I'm always extremely polite to cops, and this time was no exception. He had me rev my car, and then said, "Yeah, this is waay too loud. You hear all those cars driving by? That's what your exhaust is supposed to sound like." I ask him how long this law's been around, again, politely, and he says, "decades", and I point out that I've never been pulled over for this by any officer before, to which he says, "Well, I enforce the law." (Emphasis his) He also mentions that he knows from his 'experience as an exhaust tech', or words very similar to that, that aftermarket mufflers are just a waste of money invented by companies to take advantage of young men. He also brags that he often pulls people over for exhaust, including 'one guy out in Marana three times, who just didn't learn his lesson.'
The cop mentions that "if you get this fixed, sometimes the judge won't fine you", and tells me to go buy an "exhaust silencer" to slip inside my exhaust tip. I say to him, "do you mean a resonator? Because I have a resonator on there?" He seems extremely confused, but he says, no, an exhaust silencer.
My court date is this Friday.
First of all, with an 18" res already on there, will a "silencer" (something I'd never heard of before this) even do anything? Second of all, won't this kill my exhaust gains? Third, anyone have any other ideas on how to get out of this ticket? I have a noise-measuring microphone with which I plan on measuring several cars to see just how out of whack my exhaust is, and maybe film it to show the judge. Maybe also take a picture of the resonator to show that I already cared about keeping down my exhaust noise. I don't necessarily disagree with the law, just with this particular enforcement of it -- this guy sounds like he's just pulling over any and everyone with an aftermarket system. If the law was meant to ban aftermarket exhaust systems, it should be written that way. (Or like California's) I'm kinda tempted to just pay the ticket and do nothing, hoping not to run into the same cop.
Fourth of all, what a dick.
Now, Arizona apparently has a rather arbitrary exhaust noise law -- there used to be an actual noise limit, apparently, but now, the law reads that every car must have a working muffler that prevents "excessively loud or unusual" exhaust noise. So -- it's basically up to the cop to determine what's legal or not.
I got pulled over in either late April or early May by a DPS (Arizona Highway Patrol) officer. It was about 8:30AM on a Saturday morning, and I wasn't actually on a state highway (nor was it through a quiet neighborhood or anything like that). The guy walks up and says, "what's wrong with your muffler"? I said, "nothing", then explained that it's an aftermarket exhaust. I tell him that I actually get better gas mileage with it, and he says, "No way. C'mon. Really?" and I said "Yes, I actually tested about 1 MPG better after." He then tells me that there's an exhaust law in Arizona, and he thinks there's a new one in Pima County (where Tucson is, and I live) and that I'm in violation of it -- and then starts writing a ticket. Not a warning, not a fix-it ticket, but an actual ticket. I'm always extremely polite to cops, and this time was no exception. He had me rev my car, and then said, "Yeah, this is waay too loud. You hear all those cars driving by? That's what your exhaust is supposed to sound like." I ask him how long this law's been around, again, politely, and he says, "decades", and I point out that I've never been pulled over for this by any officer before, to which he says, "Well, I enforce the law." (Emphasis his) He also mentions that he knows from his 'experience as an exhaust tech', or words very similar to that, that aftermarket mufflers are just a waste of money invented by companies to take advantage of young men. He also brags that he often pulls people over for exhaust, including 'one guy out in Marana three times, who just didn't learn his lesson.'
The cop mentions that "if you get this fixed, sometimes the judge won't fine you", and tells me to go buy an "exhaust silencer" to slip inside my exhaust tip. I say to him, "do you mean a resonator? Because I have a resonator on there?" He seems extremely confused, but he says, no, an exhaust silencer.
My court date is this Friday.
First of all, with an 18" res already on there, will a "silencer" (something I'd never heard of before this) even do anything? Second of all, won't this kill my exhaust gains? Third, anyone have any other ideas on how to get out of this ticket? I have a noise-measuring microphone with which I plan on measuring several cars to see just how out of whack my exhaust is, and maybe film it to show the judge. Maybe also take a picture of the resonator to show that I already cared about keeping down my exhaust noise. I don't necessarily disagree with the law, just with this particular enforcement of it -- this guy sounds like he's just pulling over any and everyone with an aftermarket system. If the law was meant to ban aftermarket exhaust systems, it should be written that way. (Or like California's) I'm kinda tempted to just pay the ticket and do nothing, hoping not to run into the same cop.
Fourth of all, what a dick.
