I was in downtown Sacramento, and out of nowhere, I get pulled over... the cop says my exhaust is too loud, and makes me pop the hood. I guess he was looking for a turbo, but since he didn't find it, he gave me a ticket for "LOUD EXHAUST". I just have an HKS exhaust with stock cats and stock headers, w/JWT pop charger+Z-tube.

Has anyone gotten one of these in cali? How much is it just to pay it and is there any way to get it signed off without putting on the stock exhaust?

 

Man that sucks! Where were you downtown?

I hope you can get it cleared somehow w/ out having to swap back to stock exhaust.

 

Patrick, that was an unfortunate stop. However, the HKS is California 95db legal. I don't have the HKS documentation. I believe it is on their website somewhere. The officer that stopped you was correct, the exhaust is louder . . . However, it supposedly does not exceed the California db limit. The trick is proving that. Good luck to ya.

 

Any of us that have aftermarket exhaust could get the same ticket you did.
If it sounds louder than stock they can write the ticket. Find the information
on the HKS web site about DB levels and take it with you when you have to
get the ticket written off. You should be allright....

 

Are they allowed to issue a ticket without first using a decibel-meter to determine the actual loudness? Wouldn't what they did today be them over-stepping their bounds and hoping that it's uncontested (so free money for the city/county)?

 

around J & 15th st. there are plenty of cops just sitting there waiting to pull people over.. I wasn't speeding or anything either

 

That's what I was thinking, but apparently they don't need a decibel meter to issue the ticket. I'm not sure what they would look for to sign off the ticket though.

 

^ Gotcha. Best of luck to you finding the info you need to defend yourself in court and winning the case! Let us know how it goes.

 

Nate, our cars are modded. The officer was had the right to question the aftermarket exhaust. It is the risk, which we all take.

 

If the officer thinks it's too loud in his estimation he'll write the ticket, no meter needed in Ca. That works the same way with speeding, if the officer
thinks you're going 10 MPH over the posted speed he'll write the ticket and
he doesn't need a radar gun....this quite often doesn't hold up in court but
they believe the officer first in his opinion....Ca. rules and regulations... Who said it was, "Fair?"

 

per HKS:

All HKS exhaust systems are engineered to comply with the 95dB noise limit law specified by the California Highway Patrol and the Society of Automotive Engineers - except those that are designated for off-road use only.

Each system is individually designed for a specific application and complies with the requirements of Sections 27150, 27151, and 27200 of the California Vehicle Code; and Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 10361, which establishes a noise limit of 95dB(A) for passenger cars. This statement applies to unmodified HKS exhaust systems that are less than 13 months old, are in good condition, and have been properly installed on the specific vehicle for which it was designed. The age of your exhaust system, along with certain engine modifications such as headers, intake, etc., may also affect its current noise level output.

I think I'm going to try to get it signed off as is, and see what they say. And if they won't I'll fight it in court.

 

I'm staying out of downtown tonight. Good luck.

 

the funny thing was, the cop was a younger asian guy, and he was asking me what kind of exhaust it was... he thought it was a borla for some reason.

and when I told him it was an HKS, he looked interested and i think he actually wrote it down... i wouldn't be surprised if the guy had a G of his own, that hypocrite

 

Patrick, thank you for pulling up the HKS db info. I need to put a copy of that in my car. Hopefully, if ever required, it will satisfy the questioning officer.

 

Good info...wonder if Injen has the same...hmmm cuz I'm louder than a HKS.