MA Exaust Laws...
After 3 years of driving a very loud decated 400hp WRX I decided the EVO would be more discreet. Magnaflow street cat back and stock cat. Its just not worth the hassle anymore. We can all whine about it but at the end of the day they can still ticket/fine/make us go to court. It all depends on if you are willing to play the game. 
BTW in the 3 years with the scooby I never got so much as a warning about the exhaust but I did get a ticket for driving with the front fog lights on!
I didnt even fight it because I have gotten away with so much..
BTW in the 3 years with the scooby I never got so much as a warning about the exhaust but I did get a ticket for driving with the front fog lights on!
I didnt even fight it because I have gotten away with so much..
Cops can do whatever they want. That's what it comes down to.
I got a ticket for a "loud exhaust" while my car was sitting with the motor off. At no point did the cop hear my car on. Of course, the pack of Harleys that went by blowing out my eardrums while I was being served with the ticket didn't even raise an eyebrow.
The cop even went as far as to say "Why don't you get a REAL car instead of this obnoxious thing."
The only thing you can do to safeguard yourself is to either run a silencer or put on your stock exhaust everytime.
Remember...the magistrates, cops, judges, courts can do WHATEVER they want.
I got a ticket for a "loud exhaust" while my car was sitting with the motor off. At no point did the cop hear my car on. Of course, the pack of Harleys that went by blowing out my eardrums while I was being served with the ticket didn't even raise an eyebrow.
The cop even went as far as to say "Why don't you get a REAL car instead of this obnoxious thing."
The only thing you can do to safeguard yourself is to either run a silencer or put on your stock exhaust everytime.
Remember...the magistrates, cops, judges, courts can do WHATEVER they want.
Just found this searching something else, but I'll drop in my 2 cents. I have beat exhaust tickets in mass, but it takes some doing. Luckily the judges interpret the law differently than the cops do, in my experience. I have never been able to find anything in MA state law about maximum exhaust db levels. It simply states:
As seen here.
It would be much easier if they would give a decibel level and someway to get your car measured (inspection stations for example), but it's just like MA to leave it vague and allow the cops to use it as they will. It is left entirely up to the cop to determine if your exhaust is louder than stock. If you claim they are not experts on stock vehicle exhaust volume levels, they will simply tell you that the officer's "years of experience" make him an expert.
Problem is cops see an exhaust that doesn't look stock, and assume it's louder, even if it's not. So effectively, they translate the law as saying that you can't modify the exhaust at all... This is the real problem with this in this state.
Your best bet really is to try to stay off the grid. That means exhaust that not only sound as close to stock as possible, but also look stock, or at least not stand out visually. My search for a solution that fits this bill but still provides the flow I want at the track continues...
And yes, I'm a born and raised Mass-hole, and I still hate this toilet of a state.
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.
It would be much easier if they would give a decibel level and someway to get your car measured (inspection stations for example), but it's just like MA to leave it vague and allow the cops to use it as they will. It is left entirely up to the cop to determine if your exhaust is louder than stock. If you claim they are not experts on stock vehicle exhaust volume levels, they will simply tell you that the officer's "years of experience" make him an expert.
Problem is cops see an exhaust that doesn't look stock, and assume it's louder, even if it's not. So effectively, they translate the law as saying that you can't modify the exhaust at all... This is the real problem with this in this state. Your best bet really is to try to stay off the grid. That means exhaust that not only sound as close to stock as possible, but also look stock, or at least not stand out visually. My search for a solution that fits this bill but still provides the flow I want at the track continues...
And yes, I'm a born and raised Mass-hole, and I still hate this toilet of a state.
