How do I know which exhaust is legal and which is not? Everyone has a different opinion about it. Some say it's the size of the tube because of the pollution, some say it's the noise, and some say it's both. Let's take the exhaust I want to buy for my future Z this January, the Greddy Evo2 Catback dual exhaust, is that legal?

 

if it looks stock and isn't loud you'll be fine

remember, ur in nova

my borla has been fine...although it's probably illegal here

go look up the actual law on exhaust systems in va if you really want to know. i'm pretty sure it says something like "thinking about modifying you car is illegal"

 

Any aftermarket exhaust is illegal in VA? That seems a bit excessive, doesn't it?

 

I know mine is illegal now and I cant wait to see how loud it is . If anybody hears a 20psi boosted civic comming dont worry its just me in my Z

 

this I've GOT to hear

 

No, a Civic has a sound like no other. No matter what type of aftermarket exhaust you put on a Civic they all sound the same. Sort of like a pencil sharpener that got jammed for a second then started going really fast. No way could a Z ever create such a sound.

That sound makes me want to ! LOL

 

yea me to

 

I just got a ticket for my exhuast. I talked to the cops and looked up the laws online. It basically says that "Any exhuast on a car that is not OEM original from the manafacturer is illegal in VA." Damn NOVA laws suck!

 

Modding is not for the faint of heart.

I asked these same questions when I first got my Z. I was worried about staying street legal and passing emissions and all that good stuff. Now, I've violated federal law by replacing my cats, and I'm planning soon to install an F/I kit on my car that will likely remove any hopes of passing emissions. I doubt my car passes the Federal standards for ground clearance as it's lower than most Ferrraris. At WOT, there is no way my exhaust system would get past a cop who was in a ticket writin' mood.

You just gotta decide how important the legalities are to you and then act accordingly. If avoiding a noise ticket is more important to you than that sweet sounding, performance gaining exhaust system, then stay stock, or compromise and get the manufacturer backed Nismo system. It's all about personal preference.

It's important to remember as you're planning your mods that they bring no increase in the resale value of your car, so unless you plan on retaining all the stock parts and stripping the car back down to stock at sale time, the mods are money spent purely for your enjoyment, not as an investment in the resale value of the car.

My $0.02.

 

So all exhaust systems are illegal? What??? Then how do you not get stopped by cops, I mean like, how do cops find out you have a different exhaust on your car and if it's illegal, they can't just tell by looking and listening to it, I mean unless it's excessively loud, that's different. And even if they do stop you, all they do is give you a ticket right, they won't make you take your exhaust off , will they? And how much are these exhaust tickets and does your insurance go up if you get one?

 

Will you guys quit picking on my NISMO exhaust . Ya know it is 95DBs :P

 

§ 46.2-1049. Exhaust system in good working order.

No person shall drive and no owner of a motor vehicle shall permit or allow the operation of any vehicle on a highway unless it is equipped with an exhaust system of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment, in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise. An exhaust system shall not be deemed to prevent excessive or unusual noise if it permits the escape of noise in excess of that permitted by the standard factory equipment exhaust system of private passenger motor vehicles or trucks of standard make.

The term "exhaust system," as used in this section, means all the parts of a motor vehicle through which the exhaust passes after leaving the engine block.

Chambered pipes are not an effective muffling device to prevent excessive or unusual noise.

 

And a good lawyer may be able to force the court to interpret that in a manner favorable to your exaust system... IMHO. Its not cut and dry.. I see loopholes in it. VA really needs to adopt standards for DB like CA.

 

Yep, the biggest loophole I see is that it states that "An exhaust system shall not be deemed to prevent excessive or unusual noise if it permits the escape of noise in excess of that permitted by the standard factory equipment exhaust system of private passenger motor vehicles or trucks of standard make."

This does NOT say 'of similar make", it says 'of standard make', which implies that as long as there is ANY OEM exhaust system out there for ANY pass. vehicle or truck that is as loud as your aftermarket system, you are compliant with the law. If it said 'of similar make', then you would be more narrowed down to exhaust systems for either the 350Z, or maybe 6 cylinder sports cars in general.

The law as it is written allows comparison to ANY passenger vehicle or truck's exhaust system, so you might have grounds to argue that it is no louder than, say a Viper at WOT or something like that.

 

the law to set the dB limit was just struck down a few weeks ago

hurrah virginia

i'm sure the law is set up loosely to allow police to do what they want. get a ford and you won't have to worry, they love it

 

Everything in VA is illegal. I think they're about to vote on a law that's going to outlaw spinners. Now I'm not a big fan of them(although they do look good on certain SUV's) but that's stupid. Their lawmakers just don't have anything to do.

 

You are correct, everything in VA is ILLEGAL.

- peenie watching included