dakyone

Okay, Ive got a fixit ticket to take care of, and I'm a little worried as ive never had to let the cops under my hood before...

So Im just wondering what is legal and what is not. I bought the car with AEM pullies, an AEM CAI, DC Header and exhaust. The header has a tag on it so i think its legal, but I dunno about anything else.

I have to go in for a decibel check. I assume that means theyre going to poke around my car and see what other tickets they can give me.

As a general question:
Is any modding legal? are there performance setups that are properly muffled to stock sound levels? I thought my exhaust was fairly quiet compared with most aftermarket systems ive seen. Very low pitched and not annoying ( to me at least I guess)

Mglax28

They won't look under your hood they will stand behind your car with a meter and have you rev your engine... i got one of those too... i thought the same about my exhaust.. its fairly quiet compared to others.. its 2 1/4 inch piping and not a big tip or anything but i failed. i am in CT and the legal limit is like 72 decibels and mine was around 80... goodluck though... some people talk about stuffing your exhaust with steel wool i dont know if it actually works though

lilbill97

measure your exhaust tip and buy a silencer thatll bolt into the muffler. so when you get pulled over you can say, sorry i didnt realize i didnt have the silencer in.lol

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Mglax28

haha that is genius

minilogoguy18

That's why I ride around with my silencer in the trunk when most friends wonder why I kept it cause I know someone that used to get pulled over all the time by a cop that lives down the street from them. =p

academyracer

It all depends on what state you live in. For example, in California, all vehicle modifications have to be approved by the California Air & Resources Board (or CARB, and I'm sure you've heard of them).

If I buy a CAI, I have to keep the receipt of the product (or some kind of UPC) to show which product it is, and then it would be a good idea to keep a printed copy of the CARB approval with it. (the CARB database is available online and is easily searchable: Database: Aftermarket Parts Database of Executive Orders )

This will not necessarily stop you from getting a "fix it ticket", but when you go to court, you can prove you were well within the law to modify your vehicle.

Some people think CARB is a huge pain and highly restrictive, but the reality is they keep you from paying fines and allow you to do what you want, just within certain confines. Any air/fuel modification in Colorado Springs (where I'm from) is completely illegal, period. But here in Cali, I can choose the right part and stay legal.

You'll just have to look up your local laws and restrictions and go from there.

dakyone

Yes, I do live in Cali. I did some research and found what you just said. I checked under the hood, and everything is legal, as far as I can tell.

My CAI has a carb sticker and so does my header. I cant see why someone would go to the trouble of getting those stickers and then putting on an illegal exhaust. Im going to go to a muffler shop in the next day or so to see if mine is legal.

Question: If I dont have a silencer and it doesnt appear as though one can mount in (theres no hole). Can I get a silencer made? Or are there ones out there I can buy for a DC?

Thanks all!

l33tn3wb3r

Here in NY, ANY modification to your exhaust other than OEM, is illegal. Pretty much the pigs just look at a big round muffler tip and shout ILLEGAL. Instead of having that muffler tip that ANYONE knows is aftermarket, I bought a cheap dual tip muffler that fit a 2 1/2 catback. The thing sounds so good because 1. No silencer and 2. looks damn stock because the cheap metal turned black from use, making it look like it's been there

preludatic

Ya NY was a pain in my ass when i lived there.

I remember being pulled over, and the cop said "your exhaust is not stock, therefor, it is illegal" ...as he said this, a loud ass 1960 mustang drove by... i said "why dont you pull that guy over? his **** is 10x louder than mine" and he said "because that's stock"...

thats bull****

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academyracer

*groan* that story brings back memories of Colorado... muscle cars and trucks can have exhaust systems that wake the dead, but your import cannot even so much as have a tip...

...which is why I bought a borla, extra resonator, and welded on a plain piece of piping in lieu of the tip. Never had a problem!

dakyone

Alright guys, let me know if this is a decent deal:

I went to the good muffler shop here and he said for $130 he will weld on a new muffler. No tip on it or anything. For an extra $30 hell weld a chrome tip on, but its not stupidly large or illegal looking.

I pulled in there and he didnt even have to listen to it to tell me it would be considered illegal by the cops. He says its more because of the size than anything, its quite gaping.

Is that a decent price? Also, I've got a DC Sports axel back bolt on muffler that I'll be replacing. Anyone know what that is worth? Pretty sure it isn't universal. I also think the one he wants to use is a bola turbo.


Any info would be appreciated.

academyracer

You know, that's not too bad a price... the muffler alone would be around $100 on any normal day, so another $30 to get the welding done? I say go for it.

IF and ONLY IF it's a real borla, not a flowmaster, magnaflow, or any other brand. Except Vibrant (they make flat black mufflers almost identical to borla's lineup).

If it's any of those other brands mentioned above, I say forget it, waste of time and money.

Oh, and make sure YOU keep your old muffler.

Let us know what you hear

dakyone

Im going to do the change this week. I got off the phone with the guy and after having him repeat it three times, I think the brand of muffler is actually Ibco, or Tibco or something turbo muffler. Does that ring any bells? I havent found anything about them online. I must have the spelling wrong...


Anyone heard of ibco/tibco mufflers?

spin_r_g

Never heard of them. They're probably just run of mill aftermarket mufflers. Nothing special to them.

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dakyone

found them online. Imco mufflers. Like you said I dont see anything special, but then again, most of the special ones are loud and have that aftermarket look that I am at this point trying to avoid. I might just go with this muffler.

What would a used DC sports axle back be worth?

SoundSev3n

I've got a completely shot exhaust system and have avoided tickets though sheer luck and my employer. (I deliver pizza and am left alone when I have the company sign on my car)

However this surely wont last.

Looking into a new exhaust I found this:

Apexi-usa.com states... "All A'PEXi exhaust systems comply with applicable emission laws since they neither modify nor relocate the required factory emission control devices; they are considered 'direct replacement' parts. Such parts do not require a CARB Executive Order (EO) since they are not 'add on' or 'modified' parts. A'PEXi exhaust systems are 'functionally identical' to the OEM parts during emission tests."

Being in NY, does this or does this not count as modified beyond OEM? I'm asking in response to the statement:

"Here in NY, ANY modification to your exhaust other than OEM, is illegal."

dakyone

Think im going to go just pay the piper today and tell you guys how it goes. Im a little nervous, but really I never would have bought such a loud exhaust in the first place since I can remember telling myself when I test drove the car I would someday remove it because of lack of stealth-ability and music enjoyment.

BTW that muffler will probably be for sale in a day or two, if anyone is interested... idk