New Jersey Senators have introduced a bipartisan bill (S. 507), making it illegal for a individual, or a shop, to install or modify a car’s exhaust system in any manner which results in the car’s exhaust now being louder.
Instead of applying an objective maximum threshold decibel standard which all cars and motorcycles, whether modified or stock would need to adhere to, S. 507 instead places the legal bar at “above that emitted by the motor or exhaust system originally installed on the vehicle.”
The problems associated with a “as originally installed” standard are many. First off, the proposed legislation fails to appreciate the fact that a Lamborghini Huracán Performante has a factory exhaust, legally sold within the United States, emitting approximately 100 decibels of sound. A Porsche 918 or a Ferrari LaFerrari also had U.S. legal factory exhaust ranging between 97-98 decibels. A stock Kia Stinger on the other hand is a very, very, very quiet car from the factory. If a Stinger owner installed a aftermarket exhaust raising the decibel level to 95, he would be in violation of the law, yet the Huracán Performante owner, although 5 decibels louder, would be in compliance with the noise law! Which then begs the question, “why should people on a Lamborghini, Porsche and Ferrari budget be able to create more noise pollution than those who can only afford a Kia?” That is essentially no different than codifying a speed limit of 65 mph for Kias, but 160 mph for Lamborghinis.
Since the proposed law has no equally applied objective loudness standard, it is then completely up to the discretion of a law enforcement officer, without training or issuance of calibrated loudness testing equipment in the field, to decide whether or not he/she thinks your exhaust is louder than stock. Worse, since the law does not require state inspection stations to conduct testing using calibrated loudness testing equipment, and since the standard for what is legal is as ambiguous as the quantity of car models currently on the road, motorists are in effect guilty to prove their own innocence, as opposed to the burden being placed on the state to prove guilt.
Thirdly, even if a properly calibrated sound volume testing device was used to test a vehicles’ exhaust volume, such a measurement is meaningless without stipulating a standardized testing distance (vehicle to microphone), the sound reflectiveness of nearby surfaces (building walls, road surfaces, etc.) all which impact test results. Similarly, the transmission of sound is impacted by relative humidity and atmospheric pressure. The legislation as written does not address any of these extenuating circumstances.
To add insult to injury, the proposed law then goes on to address “unusual sounds” coming from a aftermarket exhaust. This effectively means if you install a aftermarket exhaust, and the aftermarket exhaust creates a gurgle while the car is downshifting, that the OEM exhaust did not, even if the gurgle is not exceeding the overall decibel volume of a stock exhaust, you may be in violation of the law. The scope of the proposed law is not limited to volume. If it was, it would be superfluous to mention “unusual sounds.”
Violation of the proposed law would incur a fine not exceeding $500, or imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or both.
The SEMA Action Network has a website to make it easy for you to contact your representative regarding S. 507.