Anyone in Massachusetts comment on exhaust/other laws? Will F-Sport be OK?
03-27-12, 06:17 AM
#1
Anyone in Massachusetts comment on exhaust/other laws? Will F-Sport be OK?
I have a 2007 IS350 with an F-Sport exhaust and I'm going to be moving to the Boston area this summer. I just found out after reading up on Massachusetts' vehicle laws that they're pretty strict on what they term "modified" or "aftermarket" exhausts. Here's the page: http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/Ge...er90/Section16. And here's the relevant excerpt:
No person shall operate a motor vehicle, nor shall any owner of such vehicle permit it to be operated upon any way, except fire department and fire patrol apparatus, unless such motor vehicle is equipped with a muffler to prevent excessive or unnecessary noise, which muffler is in good working order and in constant operation, and complies with such minimum standards for construction and performance as the registrar may prescribe. No person shall use a muffler cut-out or by-pass. No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any way which motor vehicle is equipped (1) with a muffler from which the baffle plates, screens or other original internal parts have been removed and not replaced; or (2) with an exhaust system which has been modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the exhaust.
The bold part is what I'm concerned about. The F-Sport exhaust was a dealer-installed option and was installed prior to delivery of a brand new vehicle. The exhaust system was not modified to increase the noise emitted, it was simply replaced by the dealer with another Lexus system.
I don't know if the above clarifications are relevant, nor do I know how exactly they enforce this. How do they know for example that my exhaust is louder than stock, since different stock cars will have different exhaust noise levels?
Are there any other Massachusetts laws I need to be concerned about with my car?
No person shall operate a motor vehicle, nor shall any owner of such vehicle permit it to be operated upon any way, except fire department and fire patrol apparatus, unless such motor vehicle is equipped with a muffler to prevent excessive or unnecessary noise, which muffler is in good working order and in constant operation, and complies with such minimum standards for construction and performance as the registrar may prescribe. No person shall use a muffler cut-out or by-pass. No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any way which motor vehicle is equipped (1) with a muffler from which the baffle plates, screens or other original internal parts have been removed and not replaced; or (2) with an exhaust system which has been modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the exhaust.
The bold part is what I'm concerned about. The F-Sport exhaust was a dealer-installed option and was installed prior to delivery of a brand new vehicle. The exhaust system was not modified to increase the noise emitted, it was simply replaced by the dealer with another Lexus system.
I don't know if the above clarifications are relevant, nor do I know how exactly they enforce this. How do they know for example that my exhaust is louder than stock, since different stock cars will have different exhaust noise levels?
Are there any other Massachusetts laws I need to be concerned about with my car?
03-27-12, 07:06 AM
#2
nawh you will be fine the wont do anything, i got the f sport exhaust and intake and i love flooring my car every little bit i can lolx. trust, no problem at all and i drive all over mass from suburb to city area. just watch out for speakers in the suburb, i got one warning before lmfao
ps i have friends with loud *** exhaust because they changed the headers and the whole exhaust suspension on thier cars
ps i have friends with loud *** exhaust because they changed the headers and the whole exhaust suspension on thier cars
03-27-12, 07:38 AM
#3
It very here and there around this state. City cop don't care just the state trooper who will mess with you. Put it this way if you have a hks hyper with 4"tip that just asking for pull me over hahaha....My ticket was in my eg hatch with b18c5 and spoon exhaust. After a year of getting pulled over with warnings. One day he said I got you know here you ticket and have a good day the law just passed lol. A mile down the road from my place is the state trooper barrack. So having a loud exhaust ain't worth it too me any more.
03-27-12, 08:20 AM
#4
I do not believe the law is relevant. NOTE: I'm not a lawyer, this should not be considered legal advice.
however, your exhaust is a "stock" part, it's not modified.
The law doesn't say you can not replace the exhaust with a louder one. It says you can't MODIFY the exhaust to amplify the noise (which seems mainly to be intended to stop you from removing resonators or other non-muffler sound baffles and the like from an existing system).
the fact MA has repeatedly tried to pass (as recently as last year) but seemingly NOT ACTUALLY PASSED, an addition to the law that explicitly bans aftermarket exhausts make the car louder tells me that the CURRENT law does not prevent that.
The proposed language in the last try was ""The use and sale of any exhaust pipe that increases the sound emission of any vehicle including motorcycles shall be prohibited"
If this was already illegal they wouldn't have been trying to pass this amended law. (which again, was last suggested in April 2011, and I can't find any evidence that it passed)
however, your exhaust is a "stock" part, it's not modified.
The law doesn't say you can not replace the exhaust with a louder one. It says you can't MODIFY the exhaust to amplify the noise (which seems mainly to be intended to stop you from removing resonators or other non-muffler sound baffles and the like from an existing system).
the fact MA has repeatedly tried to pass (as recently as last year) but seemingly NOT ACTUALLY PASSED, an addition to the law that explicitly bans aftermarket exhausts make the car louder tells me that the CURRENT law does not prevent that.
The proposed language in the last try was ""The use and sale of any exhaust pipe that increases the sound emission of any vehicle including motorcycles shall be prohibited"
If this was already illegal they wouldn't have been trying to pass this amended law. (which again, was last suggested in April 2011, and I can't find any evidence that it passed)
03-27-12, 09:19 AM
#5
That's my feeling on it too - I did not "modify" my exhaust in any way (remove mufflers, cat delete, etc), I simply chose a different exhaust when ordering from the dealer. Hopefully this won't become an issue and I won't get pulled over, but I think this will be my explanation if I do.
I think they're probably more focused on seeking out truly modified exhausts and super loud ones, neither of which describes the F-Sport.
Anything else I need to be worried about in MA? I have HID fogs installed, will that be a problem? Do you have to have working fog lights to pass inspection? If not, I could just unplug them. But if you do, and Massachusetts is strict on lighting modifications, I may have to remove the HID kit.
I think they're probably more focused on seeking out truly modified exhausts and super loud ones, neither of which describes the F-Sport.
Anything else I need to be worried about in MA? I have HID fogs installed, will that be a problem? Do you have to have working fog lights to pass inspection? If not, I could just unplug them. But if you do, and Massachusetts is strict on lighting modifications, I may have to remove the HID kit.
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