I've never been pulled over for my exhaust, I've been pulled over for going to fast, and I have blackout taillights, and no muffler, and the cop didnt say anything about those lol

And that's generally my argument whenever I fight the tickets in court. That along with the catalog showing my mufflers are listed as 50 state legal, and the fact that I have a valid inspection sticker, almost always gets it dismissed. But, if this is true none of that is going to help when that one cop decides he has it in for you on the side of the road.
Sure, you'll have a shot at beating it later, but it's not going to stop them from taking the car on the spot.
That was my question too. It didn't make any sense. Unless he meant you couldn't re-register it until the car was returned to stock. I don't know and he wasn't that clear. Basically just stood there threatening that if it was may our car would be on a tow truck and our registration would be revoked.
And no, there hasn't been a specified decibel limit in years. The current law reads anything that amplifies or increases exhaust noise is illegal in mass.

Exactly. Technically ANY replacement muffler that doesn't come from the dealership could be considered illegal depending on how you interpret the law.
And again this is how I usually beat the ticket.
You wan to ticket me, fine. I'll play the game. But if they are about to have the power to take my cars away on the side of the road I have a serious issue with that.

Here, I copied and pasted the current wording of the law on "illegal operation of a motor vehicle". Which is what they normally write you for since it's also surchargeable:


Section 16. No person shall operate a motor vehicle, nor shall any owner of such vehicle permit it to be operated, in or over any way, public or private, whether laid out under authority of law or otherwise, which motor vehicles are prohibited from using, provided notice of such prohibition is conspicuously posted at the entrance to such way. 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. No person operating a motor vehicle shall sound a bell, horn or other device, nor in any manner operate such motor vehicle so as to make a harsh, objectionable or unreasonable noise, nor permit to escape from such vehicle smoke or pollutants in such amounts or at such levels as may violate motor vehicle air pollution control regulations adopted under the provisions of chapter one hundred and eleven. No siren shall be mounted upon any motor vehicle except fire apparatus, ambulances, vehicles used in official line of duty by any member of the police or fire fighting forces of the commonwealth or any agency or political subdivision thereof, and vehicles owned by call fire fighters or by persons with police powers and operated in official line of duty, unless authorized by the registrar. No person shall use on or in connection with any motor vehicle a spot light, so called, the rays from which shine more than two feet above the road at a distance of thirty feet from the vehicle, except that such a spot light may be used for the purpose of reading signs, and as an auxiliary light in cases of necessity when the other lights required by law fail to operate.

No person, except a duly authorized person driving an emergency fire vehicle, shall operate a motor vehicle equipped with metal studded tires upon a public way between May the first and November the first; provided, however, the registrar may authorize the use of such tires before November the first, if weather conditions require the use thereof. Whoever violates the provisions of this paragraph shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars.

sounds like the cop was on a power trip and wanted to get under ur skin... I know quite a few cops and ill ask around about it but i dont see it being tru..Ive also had cops bs with me about things that were not true and give me a hard time and they dont like when u question them and then prove them wrong lol.

I'm thinking he was full of it too but I want to find out for sure.

I don't want to find out a month or so from now that it's true by watching one of our cars get towed away at 3am.

The law still doesn't state that it must be OEM exhaust, just not "modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the exhaust". Which still makes any catback illegal. I would still like to know WTF the cop was talking about.

Problem is in the interpretation. Every officer I've had stop me for it, every magistrate, and every judge all says the same thing. "anything other than original is illegal. Just because it says 50 state legal doesn't mean anything".

And all it takes is a statie with that kind of power to interpret the law that way and your car is on a towtruck. Waiting to hear back from a couple sources. I'll update when I do.

Yep... There's ways around it.. :D

Still a crock though.. But I think ti all depends on A: The cop B: his mood and C: what you were doing to get pulled over and your demeanor.

no offense to the good cops out there. but I HATE COPS. because of shit like this. power trippin fagggets who think they can talk down to you, be rude, and treat you like shit just because they wear a badge. fuck cops.

bottled thanks for the info on that. Ill admit my "knowledge" was through word of mouth, so my original source must have had it wrong...

im not from MA but the part of RI Im in i end up in MA alot..when i had the camaro with the TSP Rumbler on it I had been pulled over by cops and not one said anything about the exhaust. .

had a cop in RI pull me over though because some asshole stopped short infront of me and it was a double lane road so i got on it a little and went around him...he pulled me over asking why my exhaust was so loud and i said "thats just the way it is" and he went "oh thats just the way it is huh?" i said "yup" he walked back to his car, few minutes later came back and told me to get going, no ticket lol