Exaust Systems Defective Ticket in VA
Exaust Systems Defective Ticket in VA
Here’s a story about my exhaust problem (ticket):
Windsor, VA: It’s 4:45pm and I’m in a 35MPH zone running 37 in traffic. I pass Officer Di*khole on my left. He’s running radar. I see blue lights swerving through traffic and I pull over when he’s behind me. He comes up to the car asking about where I got my tint put on. He comes back with the tint meter and it reads 14%. He went on to state the law about tint “here in the Commonwealth” and I respond by telling him that I know only newer officers carry a meter when they are “qualifying”. He validates my claim, agrees with me and tells me that he’s a new officer. I’m cool with playing the odds of a tint ticket every year or so and know the law, so that’s fine.
He comes back with the tint ticket and another ticket for “Exhaust Systems Defective 46.2-1049 ”. I was puzzled and told him the exhaust isn’t even a year old and has no flaws. He proceeds to tell me that “here in the Commonwealth” ANY exhaust (aftermarket or whatever) not installed at the factory is illegal. I have an ARK Grip V2 304 SS with a bumper tuck, so I’m thinking the shiny polished beauty is what caught his attention and he just knew that Nissan was not capable of selling a car with such an amazing exhaust.
I then go on to ask the officer if the ticket was due to emissions or the sound it produced and he told me that none of that matters, “I just know it’s not stock”. I told him that I assume that if there were a problem with my exhaust, the VA state inspection station would have given me a rejected sticker. After I sign both tickets, he tells me that “It is a really nice exhaust” and asks “Does this car have turbos”? I respond by saying “Is that illegal too”? He says “No” and “Have a nice day” and leaves.
Fast Forward……. In court: Today, December 14, 2011 @1PM
They called me, the judge asked about my window tint and I plead “Guilty” but also provide photo evidence of it being removed. Yea, I gave in….. Result: Dropped
The judge asked about the “Defective Exhaust”. I plead “Not Guilty”. I asked the officer to state to the court the type of exhaust installed on my car at the time of offence. The officer tried in the best words he could come up with to explain to the judge that “it was one of those exhausts with the extra pipes, made to make the car sound louder”. He said that he knew the exhaust was not stock.
I responded by telling the judge that the exhaust installed on my car is not a “universal” type such as those purchased at an auto parts store. I said the exhaust was manufactured for my car and is a direct bolt on that requires no “modification or fabrication”. I also explained that the exhaust has two mufflers and the “extra pipes” referred to by the officer were indeed resonating chambers with the purpose to eliminate “highway drone”. I went on to explain that the car has 2 stock catalytic converters and 4 O2 sensors that are in perfect working order. I also stated that due to the vagueness of the VA law, a lot is left up to opinion. I quoted the following statement: “such exhaust system shall be of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment”. I explained that the term “or comparable” was very vague and by definition, was not enough to determine that my particular exhaust was “Defective”.
The judge replied by saying that “it sounds like you know what you are talking about, I’ll take your word for it, Dismissed”. Result: Dropped.
I did not see that coming and walked out not paying a dime.
Now that I have evidence that this case was dropped in court and I was found “Not Guilty”, I assume that if I carry paperwork of the dismissal with me in my car, If this same event reoccurs, I should be able to get out of a repeat offence. Not sure, but willing to try..
Hope this information helps..
Below is the current VA state law regarding exhaust:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
§ 46.2-1049. Exhaust system in good working order.
No person shall drive and no owner of a vehicle shall permit or allow the operation of any such vehicle on a highway unless it is equipped with an exhaust system in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual levels of noise; provided however, that for motor vehicles, such exhaust system shall be of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment. 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 vehicle through which the exhaust passes after leaving the engine block, including mufflers and other sound dissipative devices.
Chambered pipes are not an effective muffling device to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and any vehicle equipped with chambered pipes shall be deemed in violation of this section
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Below is the VA guidelines for the inspection station to address exhaust:
14. – INSPECT EXHAUST SYSTEM FOR:
• Exhaust line-manifold, gaskets, pipes, mufflers, connections, etc.
• Leakage of gases at any point from motor to point discharged from system.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Windsor, VA: It’s 4:45pm and I’m in a 35MPH zone running 37 in traffic. I pass Officer Di*khole on my left. He’s running radar. I see blue lights swerving through traffic and I pull over when he’s behind me. He comes up to the car asking about where I got my tint put on. He comes back with the tint meter and it reads 14%. He went on to state the law about tint “here in the Commonwealth” and I respond by telling him that I know only newer officers carry a meter when they are “qualifying”. He validates my claim, agrees with me and tells me that he’s a new officer. I’m cool with playing the odds of a tint ticket every year or so and know the law, so that’s fine.
He comes back with the tint ticket and another ticket for “Exhaust Systems Defective 46.2-1049 ”. I was puzzled and told him the exhaust isn’t even a year old and has no flaws. He proceeds to tell me that “here in the Commonwealth” ANY exhaust (aftermarket or whatever) not installed at the factory is illegal. I have an ARK Grip V2 304 SS with a bumper tuck, so I’m thinking the shiny polished beauty is what caught his attention and he just knew that Nissan was not capable of selling a car with such an amazing exhaust.
I then go on to ask the officer if the ticket was due to emissions or the sound it produced and he told me that none of that matters, “I just know it’s not stock”. I told him that I assume that if there were a problem with my exhaust, the VA state inspection station would have given me a rejected sticker. After I sign both tickets, he tells me that “It is a really nice exhaust” and asks “Does this car have turbos”? I respond by saying “Is that illegal too”? He says “No” and “Have a nice day” and leaves.
Fast Forward……. In court: Today, December 14, 2011 @1PM
They called me, the judge asked about my window tint and I plead “Guilty” but also provide photo evidence of it being removed. Yea, I gave in….. Result: Dropped
The judge asked about the “Defective Exhaust”. I plead “Not Guilty”. I asked the officer to state to the court the type of exhaust installed on my car at the time of offence. The officer tried in the best words he could come up with to explain to the judge that “it was one of those exhausts with the extra pipes, made to make the car sound louder”. He said that he knew the exhaust was not stock.
I responded by telling the judge that the exhaust installed on my car is not a “universal” type such as those purchased at an auto parts store. I said the exhaust was manufactured for my car and is a direct bolt on that requires no “modification or fabrication”. I also explained that the exhaust has two mufflers and the “extra pipes” referred to by the officer were indeed resonating chambers with the purpose to eliminate “highway drone”. I went on to explain that the car has 2 stock catalytic converters and 4 O2 sensors that are in perfect working order. I also stated that due to the vagueness of the VA law, a lot is left up to opinion. I quoted the following statement: “such exhaust system shall be of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment”. I explained that the term “or comparable” was very vague and by definition, was not enough to determine that my particular exhaust was “Defective”.
The judge replied by saying that “it sounds like you know what you are talking about, I’ll take your word for it, Dismissed”. Result: Dropped.
I did not see that coming and walked out not paying a dime.
Now that I have evidence that this case was dropped in court and I was found “Not Guilty”, I assume that if I carry paperwork of the dismissal with me in my car, If this same event reoccurs, I should be able to get out of a repeat offence. Not sure, but willing to try..
Hope this information helps..
Below is the current VA state law regarding exhaust:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
§ 46.2-1049. Exhaust system in good working order.
No person shall drive and no owner of a vehicle shall permit or allow the operation of any such vehicle on a highway unless it is equipped with an exhaust system in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual levels of noise; provided however, that for motor vehicles, such exhaust system shall be of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment. 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 vehicle through which the exhaust passes after leaving the engine block, including mufflers and other sound dissipative devices.
Chambered pipes are not an effective muffling device to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and any vehicle equipped with chambered pipes shall be deemed in violation of this section
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Below is the VA guidelines for the inspection station to address exhaust:
14. – INSPECT EXHAUST SYSTEM FOR:
• Exhaust line-manifold, gaskets, pipes, mufflers, connections, etc.
• Leakage of gases at any point from motor to point discharged from system.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
According to the law you posted anything louder than stock is illegal. I think that's all they can get you for, not looks alone. Otherwise getting a non-OEM (but equivalent) muffler at x-muffler-shop when your oem goes out would be illegal too. California has some of the worst laws and even there anything post cat is legal if it's under a certain DB limit which is defined in the law.
Sometimes I wish I had louder exhaust but when I breeze past po-po's hardly louder than anyone else around me but still pushing 450whp, it's difficult to make the switch LOL.
Sometimes I wish I had louder exhaust but when I breeze past po-po's hardly louder than anyone else around me but still pushing 450whp, it's difficult to make the switch LOL.
Last edited by djamps; Dec 14, 2011 at 05:18 PM.
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I just recently went through the same thing a few weeks ago, wasnt as lucky but I think thats because I'm in the military and in Virginia Beach, I was given the "the noise coming from your car is deemed illegal by the city of Virginia Beach" reson for mine though 
. Great to hear that there are still people in the Gov't that have a brain and still use common sence lol.
. Great to hear that there are still people in the Gov't that have a brain and still use common sence lol.
and yall wonder why I NEVER clean my exhaust tips....
best thing is to avoid in the first place....aka the new black mist on the FMIC. if you are worried about performance issues, ensure you FMIC is rated 300-400 over what you are running and paint that bia bia black.
great post! Love it!
best thing is to avoid in the first place....aka the new black mist on the FMIC. if you are worried about performance issues, ensure you FMIC is rated 300-400 over what you are running and paint that bia bia black.
great post! Love it!
According to the law you posted anything louder than stock is illegal. I think that's all they can get you for, not looks alone. Otherwise getting a non-OEM (but equivalent) muffler at x-muffler-shop when your oem goes out would be illegal too. California has some of the worst laws and even there anything post cat is legal if it's under a certain DB limit which is defined in the law.
Sometimes I wish I had louder exhaust but when I breeze past po-po's hardly louder than anyone else around me but still pushing 450whp, it's difficult to make the switch LOL.
Sometimes I wish I had louder exhaust but when I breeze past po-po's hardly louder than anyone else around me but still pushing 450whp, it's difficult to make the switch LOL.
so now that there are 4cylinder Harleys out there, can an civic run straight pipes. I bet the civic burns more efficiently than a Harley.
we should all ralley together to get mufflers put on those fat hogs with phat riders to even the score a bit!
Thanks guys. When it happened, I wanted to jump the gun and hurry up to rant about it on here. The last thing on my mind when I bought my exhaust was that some rookie cop would use it as a target. I would understand if I were driving like a douche or something but that's not the case here. I think my politeness in the whole matter was what worked in court. I tried to be firm and push the fact that I knew more about my exhaust than the traffic cop. I have taken so much from this forum in the past and hopefully this will be a little to help someone in the future.
so what you are saying is, if in VA and pulled over by n00b cop for tint/loud/flashy/bling bling on teh exhaust:
ask cop if he certified for tint meter inspections? when questioned about our aftermarket exhaust say its oem fit and not altered in anyway shape or form?
jk, cool story br0
ask cop if he certified for tint meter inspections? when questioned about our aftermarket exhaust say its oem fit and not altered in anyway shape or form?
jk, cool story br0
printed va code.
as it reads...this particular section is not asking for cat converters, only exhaust leaks. Chambered sections of the exhaust are not aloud.
Strange because a muffler is chambered.
as it reads...this particular section is not asking for cat converters, only exhaust leaks. Chambered sections of the exhaust are not aloud.
Strange because a muffler is chambered.
