New "modified exhaust" law revokes registration?!?
 

Ok, so we got stopped last night after work by one of Massachusetts finest. We were getting gas in the wrx and he pulled in and sat back in the lot waiting for us to leave.
I started the car, pulled away from the pump and he immediately flipped the blues on and pulled me over in the parking lot.
So, he walks up to the car and asks what's wrong with my exhaust. I calmly replied that it was a 50 state legal replacement exhaust (I know technically according to mass it's supposed to be factory, that's not the debate here).
He tells me no way, it's too loud and not legal, takes my license and registration and goes back to his car. Comes back 10 minutes later with a warning for "modified exhaust".
Now here's the good part. He then tells me that it needs to be returned to stock. As of may 1st mass law is changing. "Massachusetts is getting serious about people modifying their cars. As of may 1st there will be no modified exhaust, altered height, or any other such modifications tolerated. If I see this car again after may 1st and it isn't stock I will have the power to revoke your registration on the spot and have your car towed. And, you won't be allowed to have it back until it is returned to stock."
Now that sounds like a load of horse shit to me and I've been searching online for any info and can't find anything saying that. But, knowing mass it wouldn't surprise me and I don't want to find out it's true come may by having my car towed.
Anyone know what's up here? Need to know cause if it's true I figure I have a month to move to New Hampshire lol. Cause I'm not about to return every vehicle I own to stock or buy another one to drive. Or does anyone in nh want a roomate in their mailbox for registry's sake lol?
You want to ticket me, fine. But to have the power to basically impound my car is freakin rediculous.

wtf???
A WRX??????
fartcan??????

No it's not. I hate fart cans.
It's actually a hooker aerochamber muffler with a turndown that exits under the car and is painted flat black so it doesn't look obvious. Believe it or not it's less blingy than factory

fuckkkkk that. that is what really pisses me off, like what is the big deal?? I can see them trying to bust balls if you dont have any emissions and stuff on it (but they cant cant prove that unless they pull you over and look, and in that case you would be considered guilty untill proven innocent)

in all seriousness tho, are they going to pull over every single car that 'sounds' louder then stock adn have it towed? sounds like the government just trying to sqeeze more money out of people.

I work with two franklin police officers, ill ask them if they have heard anything about this

sounds like b/s to me...

Me too. But I want to know for sure.
Leaving the bar after closing time and driving all modified cars we get stopped A LOT.
It would suck to ge towed away every time.

Holy crap, if that is true that is ridiculous. Are they going to impound all the Harleys with straight pipes too? Is my car that is not stock but no louder than stock now subject to being towed? Hopefully he was either full of it or misinformed.

I'll ask my friend in the how just got out of the academy he's always up to date on these things

Well technically in mass your car is already illegal. Depending on how you interpret the law anything that is not "stock" is illegal and has been for a couple years now.
Thy could always write the ticket. But if this is true then they'll have the power to revoke your registration on site and have it towed away.
I'm praying it's not true.
If it is I say we all pitch in on a cheap apt in nh for the address and "move" to new hampshire. Northeast f body housing anyone lol?

if that law is true then theyre gonna be towing alot of cars. im calling bs on it too but who knows now a days.

well you massholes got no one to blame but yourselves cuz you voted these morons in office thst made those stupid laws.
vote em out and youll see a change .

I know a couple of years ago they were trying to put a law in that the only legal exhaust was from the factory. IE " NO AFTERMARKET EXHAUST". I thought SEMA shot that down.



The staties will probably LOVE Worcester this year!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

If this law is true!

Go read the description for 90-16.
It can be interpreted different ways but for a cop with something up his ass for modified cars can interpret it to be nothing beyond stock is legal

It's a WRX.What do you expect?:p

i got pulled over in Pittsfield 2 years ago coming from a show lol.
for loud exhaust .
rookie cop
another cop shows up and i heard him tell the rookie to let me go cuz I have CT plates.

Haha. Another reason why I left that fucking state when I had the chance. Def wouldn't surprise me if it was true.

sounds like a load of shit to me allot of cars you cant even get a stock exhaust for what you suppose to do crush it

how are you suppose to fix your exhaust if you cant have the car back until its fixed? lol

sounds like horse shit, i honestly dont think theyd ever get away with passing a law like that. last i knew there was a certain decibel law in place.

are custom exhaust shops all going to be shut down for doing illegal mods?

Wow I never even thought about that but i don't think so because it they do non street legal mods as it is

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

Lol! Most Wrx/Sti owners I met are not only good citizens, well educated with good jobs, and a clean criminal record... They baby their cars and drive the speed limit :) I met a few that told me I was crazy for modifying mine as much as I have. We don't belong in the typical import stereotype category ;)

When will cops realize this lol

This coming Fruesday at a quarter past never

I have a few customers that are local and state police. All of them hate the import exhausts and make it a point to pull them over. You might not be the typical Civic owner but you have an "import" car.

i honestly think its the ricers that are the cause for ALL of our head aches. ive had Many cops say my car sounds Good. "not like them ricers" if your respectful and weren't bangin sideways down the road. how Honestly can they hassle you over an Exhaust! Really.

Ricers ruined the car scene for everyone else.

I can agree that most modified exhaust on imports are obnoxious but the Camaro, the 68, even the truck are way louder than my car. If I had that tingy high pitched fart can bs ya pull me over... Sucks to be placed in stereotype and harassed just because my car is an import. Seems a bit discriminating.

just be damn lucky your name isn't Muhammad and you wore a towel........

Lol I think they just took the heat off of them hot rods ;)

Troof^^^

I've gotten bothered way less in the 68 since the fast and the furious came out lol.

Oh and update. Talked to someone I know who is also a state trooper.
He says be has heard of no such law and normally they have postings up weeks before changes go into effect.
So as far has he knows there's no worries about this. Whew...