Washington Exhaust/Muffler Law

[Hardwyre]

(3) No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor vehicle in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the engine of such vehicle above that emitted by the muffler originally installed on the vehicle, and it shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle not equipped as required by this subsection, or which has been amplified as prohibited by this subsection so that the vehicle's exhaust noise exceeds ninety-five decibels as measured by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) test procedure J1169 (May, 1998). It is not a violation of this subsection unless proven by proper authorities that the exhaust system modification results in noise amplification in excess of ninety-five decibels under the prescribed SAE test standard. A court may dismiss an infraction notice for a violation of this subsection if there is reasonable grounds to believe that the vehicle was not operated in violation of this subsection.

This subsection (3) does not apply to vehicles twenty-five or more years old or to passenger vehicles being operated off the highways in an organized racing or competitive event conducted by a recognized sanctioning body.

 

Just so everyone knows, Washington state really screwed the modding community by removing the FACTUAL requirement for a "exhaust noise/modified muffler ticket". It used to be you could get the tickets dismissed if you read the judge the law and stated that, no, the officer did not pull out a dB meter and perform the prescribed test.

 

SEMA has made a good argument though. Since the law no longer defines what "too loud" is, the law can be contested as being vague, and therefore unconstitutional. It can be argued that an officer can not accurately guess the dB of a vehicle (especially in lieu of there not being an actual "too loud" limit set anymore), nor can an officer simply guess if an exhaust system is not OEM or high performance OEM. If the reason an officer stopped you was because you have an "illegal exhaust", since the law is vague to dB limits and the officer can not possibly know every OEM offering, it can be argued that the stop itself was unlawful harassment and any "evidence" or examination of your vehicle after the stop is an illegal search.

 

Thoughts?

[NWOleman]

i take it you got a ticket for this?! :D

[]2eDeYe]

Did they just recently change all the WAC's? That and the bumper WAC don't read like they did last year.

[Shonuff]

This section does not apply to vehicles 25 years or older.

 

That's the important bit.

[Str8_69]

Use a JDM coffee can?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:D

[521chowda]

Just hang out the window and make the noises yourself. Isn't it technically illegal to use any after-market parts on your vehicle?

[HRH]

I've driven the 510 around for 3 years with nothing but a glasspack. It's loud, don't get any static for it, but I'm also not romping on it when I see cops, mind you. It's no louder than a harley, and they all run around here. But that's Spokane/CDA, not the other side of the state. I wish I was over there to rattle the doors of some luxo cars! :D

[wildmaninid]

Idaho also has a convoluted exhaust law, which is as vague and bullshitty (yes that's a word) as washingtons. At the time I was in the thick of it, idaho law read that it was illegal to modify your exhaust....period. a chrome tip was technically illegal. Well..........I kept getting harrassed when I lived in cda, and I was getting threatened by the cops, but basically getting pulled over for my barely louder than stock muffler. I started doing research, and there is actually a federal law that as written supercedes (within reason) these state codes. That is the magnuson-moss warranty act, wich was won several years ago, on the basis that some mfgrs were voiding warranties on vehicles that were. Using aftermarket parts (air filters, brakes, mufflers etc). This piece of hidden legislation was one of the major battlers against the closed hood laws (where it would be illegal to even change your own oil) and guarantees the right for ricers to put on shucks piece together cold air kits and fender vents. I did get a ticket for my exhaust, and I took in the idaho code and this federal act, and showed them to the judge and the ticket was dropped. I had the court (paid them extra actually sucks) for a notarized transcript of the judges ruling, which I kept in my glovebox and was successful in never getting another ticket for it again, however it did not stop them from pulling me over for it....

[HRH]

Was that in the purple neon Bill? I'm surprised I haven't caught more flack for the 510, being Kubota orange and loud as hell. I did get pulled over in Oregon the last time I was at Canby. This was before the event in the twisties headed to the Tillamook Cheese factory and Cannon Beach. Guy was nice, saw me pass two cars on a rare straight stretch, kept asking if I had a muffler and I kept waffling that it had a glasspack mid-car. I also explained it was going to be a rally car at some point. We dickered back and forth and he told me if he had a radar gun I would be getting a ticket, but he didn't. ;)

 

Nice guy actually, apparently he had been trying to catch up to me for 5 minutes or so. :D

[Spades]

Most laws regarding the modification of cars are VERY vague in every state...some of the exceptions to the rules are set laws (such as "your trucks bumper can not be more than 40 inches from the pavement" or "a nitrous bottle may be installed but is to be disconnected at all times the vehicle is on the roadway"...).

 

The best way to avoid a ticket is to keep out of trouble, or to make sure your car can not be misconstrued as being illegally modified. When I was young and stupid and used to go cruising and street race, my car was intentionally kept "stock" looking on the outside...no blue headlights, no flashy wheels, a intentionally quiet exhaust, and a car that no cop would normally suspect.

 

If you are not going to be racing or doing stupid stuff, you can often get away with more. Vague laws can be fought in court, but if you have a criminal record or you are doing something illegal, the last thing you want is attention. That is where the exhaust comes in. If you are a young kid running around doing burnouts, you may not want exhaust that can be heard from 10 blocks away, and that is impossible to defend as being under 100 decibels.

 

I quit racing a doing stupid stuff, and have not been pulled over in years...and both my cars have VERY loud exhaust...however, it isn't worth an officers time to harass me because even though they see me in town all the time in my beat up wagon, I never do anything stupid or illegal, so they leave me alone.

 

So, in the end, you can fight the noise ordinance as being vague and unconstitutional, but save that for court...the last thing you want to do when pulled over by an officer is to get into an argument. If you have something in your car and don't want it searched, you should be running quiet exhaust, if you have nothing to hide, let the cop go through your car, take the ticket, go to the courthouse with pictures of your exhaust system and proof that your exhaust is quieter than the legal limit, and prove the officers incompetence and prove that he or she was singling you out and harassing you. Chances are if you are respectful but firm and competent, the charges will be dropped to prevent a further legal battle.

[thisismatt]

Solution: Don't use a loud, annoying exhaust. Problem solved.

[Spades]

Solution: Don't use a loud, annoying exhaust. Problem solved.

 

Heh, well, loud exhaust may annoy some people, but there will ALWAYS be car enthusiasts running loud exhaust. Considering that most Harley's are 20+ decibels louder than my dual exhaust napsz ratsun, I think some of the "your exhaust is too loud" comments are misdirected.

 

I do agree that 90-100 decibels is plenty loud enough for a street car, and there needs to be some sort of muffling system, I also will say that if you are someone that goes everywhere full throttle, quieter exhaust will help keep your neighbors and jonny law happy with you.

 

I guess I look at it this way, if some kid is driving recklessly, I would rather hear them coming 3 blocks away. 10 blocks? no....3 blocks? yes.

[HRH]

You can hear my 510 10 blocks away. :D But generally I'm not squirreling around too much in neighborhoods. If I am, it's doing donuts in from of my house every once and a while. The neighbor kids love it.

[moparvwfreak]

With the laws how they are is EXACTLY why any mods on my car look like it came that way factory. My passat, the only noticeable mod without popping the hood is Audi wheels. It's dropped, cammed, CAI, strutbar, ecode lights (no hids), and a stereo. Otherwise stock looking. My bimmer still looks stock yet it's dropped with projectors and hids and a system. No loud exhaust unlike my GLI.

[Shagy]

Glass pack = muffler... unless they have it writen down what a muffler needs to be....

 

 

In the area I live in the sheriff/CHP is real bad about the exhause tickets...but most of them dont know WHATs illegal....

[Spades]

Glass pack = muffler... unless they have it writen down what a muffler needs to be....

 

 

In the area I live in the sheriff/CHP is real bad about the exhause tickets...but most of them dont know WHATs illegal....

 

 

a long glasspack that isn't blown out and is located near the exit of the tail pipe and a tailpipe with a slight bend can actually muffle sound quite well...the problem is most people do not use 24"+ long glasspacks or turned down tailpipes, and often people run the same glasspack for longer than a couple years or intentionally burn the packing out of them.

 

The real issue is vague laws, and not giving officers simple decibel meters you can find at most electronics stores. I would like at the very least to have all of the states adopt a set law for what is acceptable for decibels for all motorized vehicles, and then when an officer pulls a vehicle over, that officer either needs a decibel meter with him, or writes him a "fix it" ticket that requires owner of the vehicle to drive to a state inspection facility to ensure his exhaust is below the legal noise limit.

 

The reason most overly loud and obnoxious bikes and muscle cars get away with it, is because the people driving them are older and often do not drive as "crazy"...most cops won't pull over the 40+ year old man or woman tooling around in a classic car, but they will pull over the kid in the 90s civic with a fart cannon.

 

I learned this lesson when I was 16...my front wheel drive car looked mostly stock, but would sometimes get checked out by cops even though the exhaust was close to the stock decibel level and far below the legal limit. I realized how the law worked when I was riding in my dads 400hp '72 montecarlo and we blasted by a parked cop open headered....that's right...no exhaust hooked up. Guess what? the cop gave a glance, and then continued to watch for bigger fish. The car was so loud that my ears rang for an hour after a 10 minute ride...we couldn't even yell over the noise...yet my stock looking car with quiet exhaust would get pulled over...and the car with no exhaust passed without a second glance.

 

Cops profile, just like everyone else does. If you have something to hide or drive...aggressively...get quiet exhaust. The more careful you are and the less you have to hide, the louder the car can be. Just be warned...the louder it is, the more you expose yourself to that one state trooper that is below his ticket quota for the month...and the more likely your neighbors are to hate you.