Originally Posted by AffyliatedZ

Pulled over for a "loud exhaust" (Fairfax County, VA)... I have a squeaky clean driving record so no, I wasn't speeding or driving recklessly... I was cruising at 35mph in the busy suburbs. I have a Tomei which is pretty tame in normal driving if you keep it under 3k. First thing he asks "Your exhaust is louder than all the other cars, is it aftermarket?" and I said "Yes, it's aftermarket and I passed inspection - I have a functional catalytic converter and no leaks so it functions exactly like the stock exhaust." He responded back with "it's still louder than all the other cars out here."

I have never been pulled over before. In my head I was thinking about all the motorcycles/harleys/trucks/domestics that are WAYYY louder than my Z. Was I profiled? I mean yeah, you can absolutely tell I have an aftermarket exhaust - the Tomei looks like a cannon back there... But I feel like he pulled me over to see if he could possibly hit me with other violations and just used my exhaust as an excuse after finding nothing. I showed him my silencer and told him I can install it in 2 minutes (in desperation) and it will really muffle the sound... he didn't buy it. He didn't even know what a silencer was.

Now on the ticket, it says my charge is "unapproved equipment (aftermarket exhaust)" - it says NOTHING about it being loud. If I passed my inspection/emissions then wouldn't that mean that it's approved? Also - is a silencer good enough to have the charge dropped if I snapped a pic and brought it with me to court?