Tego

Is there a law that an exhaust is too loud?

marker

There are city bylaws that give explicit Db levels in certain cases, but in most cases, there are no defined limits. What might be acceptable on the 401 at noon may not be acceptable on a residential street or hospital zone at 3:00am, or any other time of the day either for that matter.

Transport Canada stipulates maximum Db levels that manufacturers of new cars, trucks, and motorcycles must meet. Trucks are allowed slightly higher Dbs than cars or motorcycles. These levels are by and large much lower than the noise typically put out by fart can exhausts.

The HTA provides no specific Db limits. Again, what is reasonable is defined by the circumstances. Even with a legal muffler you can still be nailed with an HTA ticket for unnecessary noise for ANY noise your car puts out that the cop feels is not reasonably necessary given the circumstances.

If you have a non-stock muffler that fails to adequately muffle the noise your car puts out, you can also get nailed for "improper muffler" even if that same muffler would otherwise be considered okay on a different model of car.

Frankly, the smart people go for quiet. It shows consideration for your neighbours and those who live in other areas where you drive. You don't have to put up with exhaust drone inside your car which can be fatiguing on long trips, and liable to get you pulled over around town.

On the other hand, it seems like the ones who "need" the loud sound are the ones who also need attention.... something must be missing in their life...

imported_fine2ne

yes.


they give you a ticket for improper muffler.

Double_B

Love the last line.

DumbasSi

Maybe they have a small penor.

Tego is latino afterall.

marker

Yeah, I suppose you could say it's hitting a "little bit" below the belt.

Double_B

Haha ouch! Thanks for the afternoon laugh!

Tego

Please...

Reason I'm asking because I can get a BC exhaust from OptionJDM dirt cheap but read online that they are stupid loud...lol

marker

Dirt cheap might be the initial cost, but....

Factor in the time you'll spend going to court over improper muffler and unnecessary noise tickets, plus whatever other tickets you ALSO get at the time while they have you pulled over for your noise, plus the fines you'll pay if convicted, plus the insurance surcharges that may also come out of them.

Add in the non-$ costs associated with pissing off your neighbours and the effects of constant exhaust drone inside your car.

It may be dirt cheap for a reason...

Tego

Because I'm sponsored. lol

Thanks for heads up though marker!

Nova_Dust

Wouldn't they give you the exhaust for free if you were sponsored?

I know Spec 2 is stupid loud, much like my old one. I thought the other ones are ok.

imported_SilverSleeper

Yeah I heard the Buddy Club system was stupid loud as well...I don't even think the muffler works.

imported_gatherer

you don't want it then ... forget what the law says at the moment after a few months you'll go crazy from the sound .. I got a DC sports cat back exhuast for cheap, the only reason I got it was because my old muffler fell apart. it's nice and quiet outside fo the car, nothing offensive but damn is it loud inside the car. the exhuast sound is ussually louder in the car then outside the car in my experience...and trust me after having a side exit no muffler exhuast ont he car at the track anything louder then stock annoys me to no end... you will eventually be bothered by the sound given enough time.

now taking the law into account...

do you really want to be hassled because fo the noise? I'd perfer to fly under the radar and be left alone.

Nova_Dust

My experience with muffler nowadays is that the quieter it is, the better.

But on the track, that is another story. For day to day driving, the less you get noticed, the better.

marker

Unless that track is Calabogie, in which case you will need to be muffled to meet local concerns over exhaust noise.

Also, SCCA club racing has stringent on-track noise testing to ensure that exhaust noise levels for any given competitor do not exceed a certain level.

Nova_Dust

Does this apply to road racing? Like Shannonville or Dunville and whatnot?

marker

Shannonville has curfew hours on Sunday morning because of a nearby church, but express DB limits that I know of.

Mosport has no Db restrictions, but they can't run past 11:00pm because of local noise bylaws. This mostly affects the oval. If we ever get another 24-hour endurance race on the main road course, I think they just eat the fine for that as part of the cost of doing business.

When SCCA comes to Mosport, as they might for this years BARC weekend, SCCA imposes their own Db restrictions as amatter of their own rule set.

Nova_Dust

I see. Thanks for the info. I still use the stock muffler, even ran that on the track so I guess don't really need to worry too much about the noise level.

I am turn off by the N1 style muffler more and more now.