going to court at the end of January for an exhaust ticket. the cop that pulled me over said it was illegal not loud. any suggestions on how to get out of it.
Find a stock exhaust and put it back on.. I had a buddy do that in WI and because the sti exhaust had a subaru oem marking on it, he got out of it.
The law says that you are not allowed to modify the stock system with aftermarket parts at all, iirc, so get ready to suck it up.
I had a loud exhaust ticket a bunch of years ago. It was on a Talon. All I had to do was put a CAT back into it. Left the aftermarket exhaust on. Took it to the cop shop, they listened to it at idle. Done. No more ticket. Did you get a ticket? or a Fix-it ticket? Mine was a fix-it ticket. From what I know, you may just be able to go to court and tell them you fixed it. That's what everyone did when I got a tint ticket. (I got a prescription by court date). The Judge asked if they removed it, they said yes. No more questions. You could say that it was that way when you bought it and now has been restored to factory. Don't bring it to court, obviously. They may ask for a receipt, but that's kinda hard if you did the work yourself. Just be ready for those kind of questions. I am not a lawyer, nor am I giving you advice. I'm just thinking out loud. Take it for what it's worth.
I always wonder how police can even give these tickets. If they like to, just hang out a block away from any motorcycle dealership/parts place and hand them out like candy on Halloween.
I have had this exhaust on for like 4 years. I drive by and next to cops all the time but no tickets. I did get another ticket before, but he heard it at like 6 grand and he was a jerk.
There's not really anything you can do... I got pulled over last may twice for exhaust tickets and had to pay for both. I couldn't get out of it at all.
You can always play the "I bought it like this and didn't know" card then throw a stock back on for a bit and normally in traffic court you'll get the ticket either dropped or reduced. However, this normally only works once, if you're a repeat offender you're screwed. Or if you say you fixed it then you might even be able to get it reduced. I know there is something in the law against crackling or popping exhaust but loudness I don't believe so.
I said it was a performance muffler. I didn't agree that it was loud. I said it was the same like what the Corvette/ Mustang guys do to their cars with Borla/Magnaflow exhaust systems. Gave me a warning citation.
If you can get to the site that sells the exhaust, print out the page that usually states 50 state legal. Never heard of a ticket for that, usually just for noise. Mike, I have a stock exhaust you could use to get it signed off if you want.
yeah I accidently said yes when he asked me if I put the exhaust on...i have a stock wrx exhaust thanks terry
I think it really is going to depend on the judge, but I would recommend taking a current pic with your exhaust on, throw on the stock exhaust and snap a pic, and bring them to court. Tell them you fixed it, and they may dismiss it...
my 2 cents. Its not worth fighting. pay it and move on, or take a bunch of time, swap exhausts, go to court, use your time and the overloaded and overburdened courts time to try to get something dismissed that you will then put back to a less than legal form and will have the possibility of getting the same ticket again. If you go to court, hope you do not get a liberal judge. just sayin. did the cop write a statue on the ticket? if so what was it? city cop or trooper will also make a difference in the court process. Did the cop car have a dash cam w/audio? https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=169.69 thats the "muffler required" statute, its pretty open to interpretation. good luck.
Have you pulled anyone over for a loud exhaust yet? If not, can you start with MNSnowBlower? Mike, how much was the ticket for and where at (more importantly, was it somewhere that you frequent)?
like $130 yeah I'm around there couple time a week, mostly to go to the gym...and I see cops in Woodbury all the time....... I was driving down Radio and I came to a roundabout, saw I could go and went (probably quicker than most people, but not very aggressively) and there was a cop sitting on a cement pad just outside the the roundabout....and I saw him so I still haven't hit the gas...so I eased onto the gas going up to 50 mph. So I wonder if he pulled me over cause I went quickly through the roundabout and need an excuse to do so...also the cop got out from the passenger side of the car. (which is a rare sight over here) so I don't know if he's new and needed to get some training and pull some people over. Also, can you request to see the in car cam if they have one..I'm just kinda curious what they said, if it picks up sounds from inside or not.
if they want to use a dash cam vid in court, they would have to let you view it ONLY if they are going to use it in the case against you. this also depends heavily on their city attorney and dept policy. Loud exhaust probs not worth burning the disc. the cams vids come into play for more serious stuff.
Comes down to time and effort. I've run cat-less Stage-X on Subies since my first WRX in 2002 sans "exhaust" issues. Seems like a trumped up charge - i.e. the officer really wanted to get you for something else but the only viable thread was something exhaust-related. Good luck. Please report back on the final outcome.
Well, you did the right thing and told the truth. Don't second guess yourself for not being a liar - you're a good person. Let them know you didn't know it was illegal, and you will sort out a solution to fix it. Its Law Enforcement's job to...enforce the law. If the law says its illegal to have exhaust that is excessively loud, then it is. He heard the exhaust at 6,000 RPM? So, you were close to red line, with a modified exhaust, in a car that looks like the cars officers constantly deal with over street racing. They also are there to benefit the greater public, and a loud exhaust means two things: modified, or broken. Its a distraction to other drivers and it can also be dangerous if mufflers, etc. fall off from being un-serviceable. The officer wasn't being a dick - he just didn't have bigger fish to fry at the moment and pulled you over. I was pulled over for exhaust tickets on two cars. I came to the conclusion that putting on a good downpipe, mid, and an STI catback gave me similar gains as long as I had it tuned properly. It sounded good, was MUCH quieter, and resulted in no more attention from LE. Everybody wins, including my neighbors - who I'm sure appreciated not listening to my rumble up and down the street in the mornings.
Dash cam picks up exterior noise - but only whats available inside the cab. They have uniform mics to cover what goes on between the officer and the occupants, generally. Two officers doesn't mean it is training - teams are almost always preferred if manpower allows it.
for this one I was just putting along when I got pulled over, so I wasn't on it hardly at all. and he didn't say it was loud but illegal.
