MA laws

[88shadowpjct]

is anyone familiar with the laws in MA about exhaust? is it really ANY modifications to the exhaust that are illegal? or just if its louder? any place i can look this stuff up? a real place. im always fidning 389473984 different opinions on the internet. and if pre-OBDII cars fall under this law or not?

thanks,
nick

[kermit]

do you guys have a secretary of state of dmv. they could probably tell you.

[sittn86]

Highway Patrol HQ would know. Just asking an officer probably won't work because, well, no explanation needed. AFAIK, cat. laws are on the federal level.

[Screamin4banger]

Yup,

Any modification to an exhaust system From the cat forward on a road vehicle is a violation of EPA regulations unless the modified part is approved for use on that vehicle. Thats why you only see "cat-back" systems for sale. Not 'cause manufacturers are too lazy to design a whole system.
Ever see that sticker that says C.A.R.B E.O.#XXXXXX on headers and stuff? Thats 50-STATE legal stuff. California Air Resources Board Executive Order #XXXXXX
Heck, Do FWDP or TU downpipes have the approval? I dunno. if not, then thats enough to put you in violation. The Gestapo will make you buy a DP from AutoZone.

The real question is: does your state check that stuff?
Wisconsin is getting new emission laws July 1st

[blown3.8]

i run 2.5" froim turbo back with a free flow cat to a 9x4" tip with no muffler.

legally you cannot modify a stock system if you run it on a main road.

i pass inspect every time.

if a cop was an ass and knew you had no muffler he could prolly be a prick if he was positive it came with one.. but what cop knows a TD specs from 17 years ago?? when in 04 there are turbo cars with no mufflers.

also if its hacked u have a worse chance of getting porked.


my car isnt that loud when im not on it. if i just putter around u cant tell. turbo eats up alot of of the noise. its the time before it spools up and then when its not really spooling that u get noise. under boost its quiet. hard decel mine is NASTY loud and popping. i dont do that around the popo's

plus neon srt4 has no mufflers stock. so thats another theory to defend myself.

no cop around here even knows what a daytona is and if im ever asked id say the exhaust is built to factory specs. like a neon srt4. i know they look for funny welds around the cat etc..they look for hax! keep ya shit tight get a good exhaust guy dont be a "look at me with my loud exhaust" and u wont have a problem" i live near lakeville mass and they will pull u over for ANYTHING -they get behind u they run ya plate -u fart in traffic they will pull u over to smell it.etc etc. and i have no issues at all. ever.

[88shadowpjct]

yeah i asked a cop today if the laws apply to pre-OBDII cars... he didnt know what i was talking about so he said "i have no idea" so im just gonna run it with full 3" and if i get pulled over, i'll say it doesnt apply to pre-OBDII cars.

[jonnymopar]

I've gotten my balls busted about my Neon. I've got a stock downpipe, stock cat, and a Borla cat-back system. Both times were over a year and a half ago. One of the two times, I asked the officer, as nicely as I humanly could, if there was somewhere I could read the law in black and white. Of course, being an asshole cop, he got all huffy with me and ran back to his car. He brought out a little book that he had open to Mass General Law Chapter 90 Section 16. Here is the text of that law:

M.G.L. - Chapter 90, Section 16

It keeps on saying "modify". It says nothing about "replacing". No, you can't remove baffles from your muffler. No, you can't drill holes in it. No, you can't install a cutout on a street-legal car. No, you can't by any means defeat any function of the catalytic converter. It says nothing about replacing your exhaust system with a better performing and/or longer lasting system. This law is as foggy as they get. What is quite clear is that the people that write these laws would probably look at an O2 sensor and think it was a spark plug. Completely brainless about anything to do with what they're writing laws about.

I've had friends get tickets for their exhausts and not a single one has held up in court. Both times for me, it was speeding, then they'd pull a "hey, how bout that exhaust?" during the citation. They're all full of it and know nothing.

If your exhaust is REALLY loud, then you're asking for it, no matter what. As far as legality, basically don't touch the cat.

[88shadowpjct]

ya i was thinking about it today, im goign to cut and re-weld my exhaust so i can put a cat in it. then as Blown3.8 said, "plus neon srt4 has no mufflers stock. so thats another theory to defend myself." i'll just say that's the way dodge put out the options on the old turbo cars and the srt4's just all came like that. and since i'll have a glasspack, i'll say my exhaust actually has more sound reduction than the factory one did. i think we all have dodge on our side of this law since they came out with the srt-4.

[88shadowpjct]

or i'd like to mate up an srt-4 rear section to my exhaust (spare tire well removed) so i can show them it is factory hardware

[bill baker]

I got pulled over near holyoke ma. on 91 last year in my shadow. 3" all the way cat and ultraflo.
Cop said it was modified from stock and was going to ticket me. I told him its registered in vermont. we argued the fact for a while and he let me go saying that if he sees the car again he will ticket me. (other words,he had nothing on me).

I suppose if i went by him in a 440 cuda with a dual 3" system with no cats that would be ok.

[Screamin4banger]

I don't think I'm gonna be visiting Massachusetts any time soon

[Shadow24V]

yeah, MA and CA are possibly the worst states when it comes to "car enthusiasts". In MA, from what ive seen, its all the rich snobs that want the ricers cracked down on, but those of us that do it right and arnt idiots are getting screwed as well. I work in Agawam MA, so i guess im tempting fate a little each time. Im probably going to get a 3" exhaust this summer if i can afford it, im going to keep the cat, and get a decent muffler, something not too lond, but not factory quiet either.

MA cops are also usually assholes. in Agawam, the chief of police and 90% of the cops are all italian, so if you dont know "Uncle Tony" you get screwed...and if you are italian or know someone, you get away with murder

[neonsox]

^For Hood, I'd guess Or not.. I used to work there.

But I live in Agawam and have found that it really depends on the towns you travel through regularly. Chicopee is bad out here and so is Hampden, probably because they really have nothing better to do than pull over "suspect" cars. I got pulled over once in my old Daytona Shelby because there was a car "like it" in the area causing problems. They were probably looking for an RX-7 or something.

Oh well.

[Shadow24V]

Naw, i work for a landscaping company. Anyways, i was going to some Karate classes in East Longmeadow in a beatup geo, and id get followed for a couple blocks every couple times. guess the rich snobs dont want "lesser" cars driving through "their" neighborhood lol

[neonsox]

It can be snobby in some areas around here... and then there's Holyoke.