Honestly I think I've heard less obnoxious mufflers across the board since the early mid 2000s Fast and Furious heyday. Local cops cracked down on the fart mufflers pretty aggressively and those fines added up. I'd get pulled over once a month in my MR2. I bet this is a response to pop-tune/backfiring/2 step bozos. I bet it won't pass based purely on the fact that it would require every squad vehicle to carry a dB meter, and for that expenditure alone it'll get shot down.
Maybe they're going for selective enforcement. No, we don't stop EVERYONE, but with loud pipes we have probable cause. Trust me, NY has done stupider stuff than this, but I'm really surprised California didn't think of it first.
John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:Will they be holding the Harleys to the same standard?
I'm not trying to hate on riders but there are some obscenely loud motorcycles.
I used to think that. But in the last few years there have been some cars in my town that have topped even the loudest HD. It’s ridiculous for any motor vehicle on public roads to be that loud.
914Driver said:Maybe they're going for selective enforcement. No, we don't stop EVERYONE, but with loud pipes we have probable cause. Trust me, NY has done stupider stuff than this, but I'm really surprised California didn't think of it first.
First thing I thought of was that this would provide PC for a lot of stops, but if the legislation requires dB meters on patrol cars it won't go anywhere unless the state is willing to pay for it, which given the current budget shortfall, seems unlikely. And the current political climate in NY doesn't bode well for increased police funding in any case (no flounder, just a statement of fact). Unless they farm the equipment contract out to some company like they do with red light cameras - company installs meters for free, takes 40% of the haul.
I still think enforcement would be very scant. State and local cops around these parts don't seem to bat an eye at 15 over the posted limit; they're not going to yank every other car on the road to write a $50 noise citation (which would be $150 after state fees).
z31maniac said:grover said:Can we not just call this the mustang Harley law? This is too low, but I wouldn't mind seeing more reasonable enforcement. Of course, I don't see how 10in truck lifts are legal either.
The typically aren't because of regulations regarding headlight distance to the ground, but it's rarely enforced.
I never understand why guys in lifted trucks/jeeps, with headlights 5' off the ground, rolling coal, with giant LED lightbars blazing, and wheels sticking a foot outside the fenders NEVER get pulled over. Same goes for obnoxious Mustangs and Harleys.
It's like there's some strange mental thing with cops that makes them think "oh, that's how trucks/jeeps/harleys/mustangs are SUPPOSED to be." Meanwhile, Meanwhile, any other kind of car will get nailed for relatively minor (and not dangerous) aftermarket stuff, or tint a bit too dark, or whatever.
Plus, we have state inspection annually here in Virginia. All the places I go to are pretty strict when it comes to regulations on the books (like, I had to cover up my rear floodlights on the Sequioa tow rig before he would pass it this year). So I have no idea how all these guys with giant trucks and jeeps are passing with 17 lightbars on them, a Hi-Lift strapped to the hood, and aftermarket projector HIDs 7 feet off the groudn, none of which is even remotely legal. But somehow they do.
I still hear fart mufflers in my neighborhood. Even one guy has one on his kraut burning Mercedes.
nutherjrfan said:Well if they limit it to 49cc scooters and P71s that'll eliminate 99% of the miscreants.
Yes but that would be discrimatory.
Against GRM'ers.
grover said:Can we not just call this the mustang Harley law? This is too low, but I wouldn't mind seeing more reasonable enforcement. Of course, I don't see how 10in truck lifts are legal either.
I feel attacked. Lol. Mr Roush is roughly the same as stock at idle, just don’t push it past 4K. 
irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:z31maniac said:grover said:Can we not just call this the mustang Harley law? This is too low, but I wouldn't mind seeing more reasonable enforcement. Of course, I don't see how 10in truck lifts are legal either.
The typically aren't because of regulations regarding headlight distance to the ground, but it's rarely enforced.
I never understand why guys in lifted trucks/jeeps, with headlights 5' off the ground, rolling coal, with giant LED lightbars blazing, and wheels sticking a foot outside the fenders NEVER get pulled over. Same goes for obnoxious Mustangs and Harleys.
It's like there's some strange mental thing with cops that makes them think "oh, that's how trucks/jeeps/harleys/mustangs are SUPPOSED to be." Meanwhile, Meanwhile, any other kind of car will get nailed for relatively minor (and not dangerous) aftermarket stuff, or tint a bit too dark, or whatever.
Plus, we have state inspection annually here in Virginia. All the places I go to are pretty strict when it comes to regulations on the books (like, I had to cover up my rear floodlights on the Sequioa tow rig before he would pass it this year). So I have no idea how all these guys with giant trucks and jeeps are passing with 17 lightbars on them, a Hi-Lift strapped to the hood, and aftermarket projector HIDs 7 feet off the groudn, none of which is even remotely legal. But somehow they do.
friend's brother had an issue like that. He had just bought an original Toyota Land Cruiser that had been lifted with lights and all that. The Previous owner had removed the big wheels, the lights, and all the other expensive paraphernalia, but left the lift kit and the mounts. The inspection place had a field day with him thinking he had removed it just to pass inspection.
Funnily enough, I think this may be *less* enforceable than the previous rule. You can measure sound in decibels, but it has to be relative to something; usually, this is defined as a barely audible 1000hz sine wave (aka dB SPL). This works fine when you are measuring something like a rock concert or a power tool -- you know what SPL pressures will cause hearing damage, so measuring at the location of the audience / user / bystander allows you to easily determine whether hearing protection needs to be worn or the tool muffled. But, this legislation does not specify a distance that the measurement must be performed at -- sticking a db meter into a tailpipe on any vehicle will give readings above 60 dB, likely 95 dB as well. Additionally, it does not specify a weighting, which determines what frequencies are prioritized; Human ears do not hear all frequencies equally, if you want to determine how loud something is, your measuring device should have the same frequency response as the human ear. Ears also emphasize difference frequencies depending on how loud the sound is, see A vs C weighting. Additionally, since you're performing this over some time, how long is the measurement window? A good meter will offer 'fast' and 'slow' options for time average. I like building and playing with big speakers, and part of doing that responsibly is making sure you don't piss people off or lose your hearing; I've used sound meters at gigs to make sure we kept things to a level where we were not annoying neighbors. In one case, it was neighbors a mile+ away on the other side of the valley, we had SPL levels to stay under that depended on temperature and humidity.
So, a cop measures your car, and it fails the test. Is that A weighted? C weighted? Fast or slow? At what distance? When was the meter calibrated? These are all questions that could be brought up in court to fight any tickets coming out of this law. I am not a lawyer, but as I recall this law should be unenforceable -- There's not enough information available so that a citizen can ensure compliance with it. Obviously, neither did the previous language, but it did explicitly say that it was up to the cops judgement, and if you don't agree with it then you can argue it in front of a judge.
So it's a dumb bill (it's not a law yet, thankfully), but I will say that there is a problem that needs addressing here: There has definitely been an increase in large groups of bikes zooming around urban-ish areas in the past year or so. I actually have only seen / heard of bikes and ATVs doing it, not cars. It's not the usual Harley folks, it's usually 10-50 guys on dirt bikes and ATVs doing wheelies and speeding. They run red lights, make an obnoxious amount of noise, and generally are a nuisance. The person who authored the bill represents a district down in Brooklyn, which further makes me thing that's what it's supposed to address. But I also don't really see how changing laws about exhaust loudness is supposed to make a difference: They're already breaking several other laws, and if the cops were interested in doing their jobs and going after them they would have by now, but it's probably better they don't since I don't think any of the riders in these groups are the sort to pull over all polite-like, nor are they necessarily registered / plated. I'd rather just live with some people getting their kicks in a loud and obnoxious way than have bystanders put at significantly more risk by police officers in cars chasing bikes and ATVs through the city. Also, the massive difference between the car / truck requirements and the bike requirements are ridiculous. Just today I was out with my lovely partner getting some coffee and pastries and had a group of four Harleys with straight pipes roar past us in town. Choking fumes, chest pounding badly engineered rumble, speeding down an urban street with crosswalks and pedestrians, the whole bit. That experience was vastly more irritating than the guy in the new STI with a loud aftermarket exhaust: sure, we noticed it every time it moved stoplight to stoplight, but it wasn't oppressively loud, it didn't stink, and he kept his foot out of it until he got out of town proper.
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