Grey Area

Was pulled over recently and recieved a warning for "Defective muffler system." I am currently running a straight pipe set up with antique plates. Was wondering if anyone actually had any insight to what was legal/illegal.

 

I can't say for sure , but I'd be willing to bet that a straight pipe is probably illegal ...

 

No gray area.



Sec. 547.604. MUFFLER REQUIRED. (a) A motor vehicle shall be equipped with a muffler in good working condition that continually operates to prevent excessive or unusual noise.
(b) A person may not use a muffler cutout, byp***, or similar device on a motor vehicle.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.


Taken from this: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/docs/TN/htm/TN.547.htm


You will have to put a muffler (s) that looks like a muffler(s) on it to get out of that one

It might be time to make wall hangers out of the rat rod exhaust and put a real traditional hot rod exhaust system on the car.



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If it's your avatar you got off light!

 

No grey, you need a muffler.........

 

'But officer, how can I have a defective muffler system when I don't even have a muffler?'

 

In California, without a muffler, you would get a cite for modified exhaust which is a fix-it and a fine.

 

if it's the car in your avatar, you're lucky it ain't in an impound yard somewhere. Running antique plates on that thing should be your biggest concern. You're way past that "grey area" with that alone. And then you have that organ pipe exhaust.
It's a rolling citation.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking, while looking at the avatar pic.

 

I run zoomies on my 29, no baffles. My foot is my muffler. Haven't really had a problem YET! Eyes wide open!

 

For years the police looked the other way with regard to moderate exhaust noise. Those who want to run straight pipes and "scare the living **** out of kids and old people" are the cause ( along with un-baffled Harleys) of the recent crackdown . You've only yourselves to blame.

 

Grey area ? ? Lmao

Take the car to municipal court,
Bring with you some do***entation of how the factory built it, and show them how you haven't changed the vehicle and its complety stock. Whoops ! !

Show them the do***entation from the exhaust manufacturer that clearly states " legal for highway use" using a sharpie to redact the part that says "for off road use only" might work. Whoops ! ! !

Show them your R&D for a home built exhaust system and how you believe it complies in all aspects of the laws. Whoops ! ! !

 

I have a straight exhaust with no muffler on my T-bucket's Chevy 235 and so far no issues. But then, I live where John Deere tractors and Gleanor Super Series combines are making a hell of lot more noise than me. However, Ohio law says:
4513.22 Mufflers.

(A) Every motor vehicle and motorcycle with an internal combustion engine shall at all times be equipped with a muffler which is in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and no person shall use a muffler cutout, by-p***, or similar device upon a motor vehicle on a highway. Every motorcycle muffler shall be equipped with baffle plates.
No person shall own, operate, or have in the person&#8217;s possession any motor vehicle or motorcycle equipped with a device for producing excessive smoke or gas, or so equipped as to permit oil or any other chemical to flow into or upon the exhaust pipe or muffler of such vehicle, or equipped in any other way to produce or emit smoke or dangerous or annoying gases from any portion of such vehicle, other than the ordinary gases emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine under normal operation.

(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

 

I hope you thanked the kind officer for only giving you a warning. Question is are you going to fix it or...

 

I run zoomies on my 29, no baffles. My foot is my muffler. Haven't really had a problem YET! Eyes wide open!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AS YOU CAN SEE, I RUN LAKES HEADERS AND I TOO DRIVE LIKE ABOVE. I DRIVE ALL OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AND (SO FAR) HAVEN'T HAD A PROBLEM WITH TROOPERS OR CITY COPS/ SHERIFFS. EVADING THE LAW IS PART OF THE FUN AS LONG AS IT'S SAFE.

 

No input on the citation, but I'd love to hear what those pipes sound like !

 

I live in Texas, I drive my 27 'T' with no baffles or mufflers. I have never had a noise problem. Drove this car over 2000 miles on the last Americruise & noise was not a problem. You foot IS actually how to control the noise, however your headers seem to advertise that your exhaust is illegal. I realize you like them, but they are a focal point on your car & the first thing anyone, more especially a cop will think about is how loud it is.


This car of mine had no baffles or mufflers either. I drove it with no problems to Bowling Green, KY & back.

 

Hey, put a muffler on that thing, I,m trying to sleep.

 

hey you kids, get off my lawn

 

At least it was a warning, and not a ticket. So.....what else were you doing? I think that they were looking for a reason to pull you over.

 

If you don't want to change your exhaust then don't worry about it, you were lucky you got a warning, unlucky to be encounter a trooper that stopped you for loud pipes. I don't see a grey area, the statute quoted above is very clear. If it continues to be a problem, you get stopped again, continue to get tickets, then do something about it if you want but make sure you haven't had a few beers when you drive your roadster, a muffler ticket is nothing compared to a DWI and the loud exhaust gives them reason to stop you.
Your car has been running like that for quite a few years now without this happening, you just happened to meet the wrong officer at the wrong time . Now that it is yours, being your first hot rod, naturally it is being driven a lot more so there is more potential exposure, which increases the odds. I used to get nervous as hell every time I saw a cop when I drove my T coupe, it was nasty loud but luckily I never encountered an officer who stopped me.
I guess this means you won't be going with me on Luckey's Run again?

 

Had buddy who got a ticket for loud mufflers that said he went to court to contest it and asked what is considered to loud ? How many descibels is to loud ? Where do you want me to go so you can test it ? Claims they had no way off testing so it was at that point your honor is'nt it then a matter of opinion and claims then they had to let him go with no fine. He's not one to lie or ******** but who knows .

 

Master of None he was simply driving down the highway at 60 mph in a 70 speed zone at about 3PM on a Sunday afternoon coming from a rod run, out in open country. In Texas law enforcement officers always pull you over for any infraction, taillight out, failure to dim lights, anything. In a lot of cases that leads to DWI, DUI, driving without a license, no insurance etc but in this case all he was guilty of was loud exhaust. Funny, but not too funny to Cale, the trooper AND Cale are both good friends of mine.

 

So beating the ticket was more important than the h***le of going to court?

I've always tried to be legal on all of my vehicles, even my Harleys. I figure the vehicle violation stop is an open invitation to a closer inspection of you and your vehicle. For me, it's not much of a problem anymore, but there was a time that a traffic stop was a great way to go to jail.
Larry T

 

You got off pretty lite if you ask me but your pipes look cool as ****! At sturgis i ve got 27 noise tickets in the last few years! My daddy used to say you gotta be tuff if your gunna be dumb and by the way ive got straits on mine to!

 

Question answered, thanks. I guess Iowa is a lot more lax in their enforcement of muffler laws for older vehicles. I and others generally have to be doing something to draw attention from the local law enforcement. The only thing that most likely got the troopers attention was he was obeying the speed limit.

 

I may be way out on a limb here, but I don't think an antique plate has anything to do with the legality of the exhaust system.
Sometimes law enforcement has no sense of humor, they just don't get it.

 

I bet if you disected 99% of our hot rods none would be totally legal in some respect, let's be honest here. Whether or not you get stopped depends a lot on several factors.

1) The cop himself, some are cool and some are not so cool when it comes to modified cars.

2) How you are driving. If you are acting like an idiot and drawing attention to yourself, you have a better shot at getting stopped.

3) Your age. I think a younger driver is more likely to get pulled over than an old man like me. Is that right? No, but it is just the way it is.

We have been very fortunate and have driven around for years now with open headers with no issues. (knock on wood) We have p***ed a lot of local police and Sheriffs and have sat right next to them at a light and the only conversation we have had is when one rolls down the window and says he likes our cars.

Just this past Saturday night we took my Sons rpu for a long drive and p***ed a lot of cops on the trip. His car is LOUD, and we held our breath, but we were going under the speed limit, not acting like a squirrel, and they let us p***.

I was sitting at a light one time in my 23 with Limefire headers and a kid pulled up next to me in a Honda. He said "Do you get stopped for your loud exhaust?" I told him no. He said "That's funny, I get stopped all the time." When the light turned green he pulled out like John Force and was cutting in and out of traffic...........maybe that had something to do with him getting stopped.

Don

 

THE LAW AROUND HERE WONT SAY **** UNLESS YOURE DRIVIN LIKE A IDIOT....LIKE I DO WITH NO P***INGER. IF I SEE A STATE-BOY AND I'M OPEN HEADER I'LL SHUT IT DOWN AND COAST IF I CAN.lol

 

thats why we go to bowling green to hear exhaust like that !!! 60 mile one way for us......we do it often.never had a problem. Youre ride is *****in !!!