Hello everyone. I was pulled over yesterday on my way to take my wife to see the x-mas lights at va beach for a loud exhaust. Let me give you some background.

I have a '99 Cavalier Z24 2.4L. I've had this car since I was 16 (I am now 23). To start with, I had a pacesetter header, catco high flow cat, and a 2.5" catback with a magnaflow muffler (it was "Stan's Catback"). I had driven that car daily and had never been pulled over.....until Mother's day 2008, I was pulled over by a town cop. He asked why my exhaust was so loud and I told him it had a hole in it (which it did, i wasn't lying, but it wasn't bad enough to make it any louder). So i decided to replace the muffler with another magnaflow because I love the sound, and I had him add a glasspack resonator to it so that it would be a little quieter.

All was fine until yesterday. I'm doin about 71 MPH down I-64 E and pass a state trooper parked in the median. As soon as I pass him, I see him pull out. I looked at the speedo and was still running 71 MPH with the cruise set. So i kept and eye on him and sure enough, when he got up behind me, the lights came on. I thought to myself, "Damn I wasn't speeding, What am I getting pulled over for?" So I pull over and shut off the car, and before my wife could hand me the registration and I could get my license out, he's at my window. I roll it down and before he asks for my license and reg. he asks me why car is so loud. So we talk a bit and I play as dumb as I can. He tells me that it is illegal to have a muffler louder than OEM. He then says "And now you're gunna ask me why it passed VA state inspection." I didn't say anything because I am trying to play dumb (I am a VA state inspector haha) Anyway, he doesn't explain why and just tells me that it is illegal. He then asks me to start the car back up so he can hear it. My car is not loud at idle AT ALL. he even gets down on the ground to look under my car. He comes back again to tell me that it wasn't because of my tip (which isn't very big) that he pulled me over, it was how loud it was when I passed by him is why he pulled me over. He then tells me he won't write me a ticket, that I need to get a quieter muffler.

So how the heck did I get by with it for about 6 YEARS before any cop pulled me over? I mean, I drove this car back and forth to school without any problems while all my honda owning friends were all getting tickets.

My car isn't even that loud. There is a harley that has an exhaust on it that can be heard about a 1/2 mile away and i can hear him go through the gears! No way that is "Legal" but I doubt he would ever get pulled over.

Our State inspection trooper came by and I told him about the time i got pulled over on Mother's Day and he just said that somebody didn't have their morning doughnut!!

Anyway, long story short, I didn some reading and apparently it is illegal to have an exhaust that isn 't comparable to the noise levels of a stock exhaust. So I guess I am going to have to replace the muffler with a quieter one. So my question is....Which muffler is the quietest muffler that doesn't hinder performance a great deal? I've read on here about a Walker's quiet-flow? any other suggestions?

I'm just sick of this stupid bull$&^% about a loud exhaust. If it were a motorcycle, muscle car or truck it would be ok.

Ok im done ranting lol any help would be appreciated (as well as sound clips and exhaust mods done when clips were taken!) thanks everyone.



99CavyZ ~ Black ~ 5-Speed
"If It Bleeds For A Week Straight, How Come It Doesn't Die!?"

Dynomax super turbo.

get the longest case length you can fit , if you have a 14" length now get a 18" or 22" if you can fit it , same with a resonator , get the longest length , also you can do it with the cat too

if also heard of people getting pulled over and getting a ticket for modified exhaust , if the cop thinks the flashy chrome tip isnt stock , and even when the tip was a OE part still get a ticket

I think the cop was just bored and wanted someone to pull over. But why loud exhaust? The guy that flew by me and 80 MPH didn't get a speeding ticket, but I get pulled over because my exhaust isn't stock and my car "shouldn't be that loud"?

I've heard mixed reviews about the dynomax super turbo...some say it's loud, some say it's not...If I can figure out whether or not I can make a sounds clip and put it on here I will.

Anybody wanna tell me how? i have a cell phone with a memory card, where can I upload it to to post it on here?



99CavyZ ~ Black ~ 5-Speed
"If It Bleeds For A Week Straight, How Come It Doesn't Die!?"

Wait hours to drive the boardwalk? Where you located?

.........also where on 64 is 71mph not speeding? Seriously, please share.

Walker was a waste, Dynomax Super Turbo +1.

Joe~ Yes, 71 MPH is speeding, but who actually gets a ticket for that? Also, who actually follows the 65 MPH speed limit? Yes I know if i would have gotten a ticket for speeding, I would have been in the wrong, but i've passed many cops while running 70-72 MPH and never been pulled over. But again, If he wanted to give me a ticket for 71 he could have, but he never mentioned my speed. Not saying I wasn't "technically" speeding. And I live in Harrisonburg, long drive yes, but my wife wanted to go. And if you think thats a long drive, i followed somebody through the boardwalk that was Pennsylvania.

Oh, and i see where i said i wasn't speeding...yes technically i was, i shouldn't have said i wasn't, my bad...what i meant was it that i wasn't going any faster than i normally do since i got my license and haven't been pulled over for that yet (and i hope i dont). I really was expecting a speeding ticket, never even thought of my exhaust.



99CavyZ ~ Black ~ 5-Speed
"If It Bleeds For A Week Straight, How Come It Doesn't Die!?"

dynomax super turbo x2.
although i have been pulled over and had it mentioned to me that the exhaust is too loud with that muffler, i've never been ticketed for it (knock on wood).
this is the exact muffler that i bought, its long enough, plain enough and cheap enough that it doesn't attract any unwanted attention, or hurt the wallet any. i went an extra step and painted it black to hide it a bit more, and keep it more stock looking. i like the sound, and the way it looks. but the biggest issue i've found isn't with the mufflers (especially if they're traditional chamber mufflers) but more so with the cops. it almost completely depends on them in this situation. some cops can just be dicks about stupid @!#$ like this.




Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Sunday, December 13, 2009 3:19 PM

Ok guys, I hope this works...http://novaguy6873.fileave.com/


Thats my exhaust....my Father in law is in the car, i'm at the back...at 10 seconds thats when he holds it at around 3k (which is about the same rpm i was at when i was pulled over.) i realize that this is sitting still with no load on the car, but thought it sounded similar since i wasn't climbing a hill when i was pulled over. Tell me if ya'll think that the super turbo will be quieter.





99CavyZ ~ Black ~ 5-Speed
"If It Bleeds For A Week Straight, How Come It Doesn't Die!?"

meh hard to tell.


Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Sunday, December 13, 2009 3:55 PM

you cannot look at it as 'who gets a ticket for that?'. you have to look at it like this...

did i do something illegal?
is doing 1mph over the speed limit speeding and therefor AGAINST THE LAW?

if you answer responsibly you will come to realize the cop had every right to pull you over, ticket you, and continue on his merry-chest-puffed-out-way.

cops are there to generate revenue. if they see an easy opportunity to do so they are going to do it. end of story.



Stand in the corner and SCREAM with me!!!!

I got a 116 dollar loud exhaust ticket a couple years back and the cop that pulled me over said if he could hear a car 100 feet away it was too loud....i was like BULL @!#$!!! You can hear a car with factory exhaust within 100 feet!! So eventhough i was pissed I just went along my merry way. My car still has the same exhaust setup and I have never been stopped since...

z yaaaa~ YES I was speeding, i know i said i wasn't, but i guess i dont consider 72 or less in a 65 zone speeding while on an interstate, though i know technically it is...I hardly every do the passing at that speed, but rather get passed all day long....But that had NOTHING to do with why he pulled me over....I would have understood if he would have pulled me over and given me a ticket for speeding...Though i would have been a little upset over a ticket for 71 in a 65 zone, but what could i say? i was breaking the law...But that wasn't why he pulled me over, he never mentioned my speed. I'm simply wondering why some of the louder exhausts dont get ticketed, why i went so long with this exhaust and not gotten a ticket, and as to which muffler i should get to help quiet my exhaust down so that i dont get pulled over again.



99CavyZ ~ Black ~ 5-Speed
"If It Bleeds For A Week Straight, How Come It Doesn't Die!?"

do you really think you are the only one in the world getting ticketed for loud exhausts? ask anyone here... i would say 9 out of every 10 of us has been pulled over at least once for a loud exhaust. its commonplace in the tuner world. has been for years.

what is really going to twist you're noodle is the fact the cop really doesnt care about the exhaust. he was looking for bigger/other things like drugs, or a DUI. something along those lines. any time a cop can get probable cause odds are they will pursue such.

and for the record my only two speeding tickets EVER have been for 5 over. there is no fighting it. granted it is ridiculous but it is the law.





Stand in the corner and SCREAM with me!!!!

Z~ Yeah some laws are just rediculous...The exhaust thing wouldn't bother me so much if I would be used to it...I guess what I mean is is that i went so long without any hassle now within the last year and a half i've been pulled over twice...Of course, like you say, maybe my car looks like I'm hiding something or maybe i do lol i dunno. You're probably right, but i guess i just feel like why start pickin on me now? i've passed the same cops quite a few times with no problems over the last 7 years and just recently it got too loud? I know it's common place for sport compact tuners to get pulled over for loud exhaust, but around here, it was just for imports, as most of them had "fart cans" instead of an actual performance exhaust...I also failed to mention, my bro had an 01 Z with the exact same exhaust, drove in the same places as i do, and never got pulled over either. Who knows, maybe it was a bigger reason...I guess they're getting desperate for money thanks to the economy, but it's anyone's guess.

Seeing as it has been a year and a half since the last time i was pulled over, should i just keep the exhaust i have now and take my chances? decisions decisions.



99CavyZ ~ Black ~ 5-Speed
"If It Bleeds For A Week Straight, How Come It Doesn't Die!?"

honestly... im sure the only reason you havent been pulled over for it in the past is because you got lucky.

in all reality for every 'illegal' mod you're car has it is just a matter of time before you get busted for it. its the way it goes, unfortunately.

my cars have lots of illegal things on them and for years i was pestered by the police for them... until i moved out of the rinky dink small town i lived in. i moved to a city and all problems pretty much ceased. why is this? because they have bigger fish to fry.

but not a time goes by that i think i am safe and will not get a ticket. every time i drive my white cavalier i try to avoid cops constantly just so i dont have to deal with it. because i know that it really is just a matter of time before i get busted. it sucks but it is just the way it is.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Sunday, December 13, 2009 6:53 PM


Stand in the corner and SCREAM with me!!!!

Its like you already said some cops just do it. Most won't ticket for it(and here in houston cars are loud) but every once in awhile they just do it. I've been pulled over with nitrous in my car(its not illegal as long as its out of arms reach and not engaged), no front license plate(although the law states it only has to be visible mine was on the windshield) cop even told me he was pissed when he had to put one on his z06. Its totally at there disgression and they can interpret the law as the see fit. And on the zone speeding I don't know how it is in va but here in texas the speed limit is flexible to an extent if traffic is moving at 70 in 65 you can be going 70 most of the time this doesn't happen but I have used this in court. But keep in mind a modified car will always attract more attention than a stock car just the way it goes. Just my 2 cents.

Consider yourself lucky. The police had a sort of pit stop thing set up a couple blocks from my house where they were doing random inspections on vehicles when I was 16 for about 2 weeks. I was pulled over 6-7 times during that, and asked to follow the officer to that spot so they could "inspect my car". The first time I was worried because they made me park right behind a tow truck while they checked everything. Every other time, I would follow the cop there, the guys waiting there would recognize the car and laugh and wave me on. To them it was funny that I kept getting stopped. My boss didn't think it was funny that I kept being late for work because "I got pulled over again".

I would say just get the longest resonator you can fit installed, should make it significantly quieter. Cops will always pick on people with modified cars, especially things like cavs, fires, neons, or basically any cheap import... Its obvious why they do it, they can't tell if you are a responsible driver, or just a fast and the furious wannabe thats always racing from light to light. It just gets really annoying...

Dynomax super turbo

I just got my first exhaust noise ticket. @!#$ gave me 2 tickets. ONe for an illegal muffler and one for making too much noise...wat a douche...

oh ya i was speeding too.

Mo~ That blows. I was just reading the law again here. It basically states that any exhaust that makes more noise than the OEM exhaust system is illegal and grounds for a ticket. Also, you can't run straight pipes or a muffler without interior baffling. So basically, i'm FU&$%!....

I'm still debating on whether or not to wait to get a ticket before I do anything, to just try to put a long ass resonator on (found one on summit that is 23 or so inches long) or do both a dynomax super turbo and resonator. I may just try the resonator first. The resonator i have on here now quieted down the exhaust at first but in no time it was just as loud as it was to begin with.



99CavyZ ~ Black ~ 5-Speed
"If It Bleeds For A Week Straight, How Come It Doesn't Die!?"

The laws here are similar...I have been pulled over 6 times for loud exhaust but luckily got off with warnings knock on wood. There was this one time that i was going over a bridge and i unknowingly had an undercover transportation authority behind me. I got a ticket for 65 in a 55 which is not the norm around here...traffic flows at 65. The fishy part is 3 people passed me on the bridge while the cop was behind me but I got pulled over...the reason my exhaust made me a target. only thing i can figure. Do illegal things become a target. sucks but its the truth and loud exhaust is always a gamble.

I've never been hassled on my exhaust (header back 2.25 magnaflow dual) and i've been pulled over a little over 10 times since I've installed it, for unrelated reasons, but they've never mentioned my exhaust.

Not sure about you guys. But my next car will not have a loud exhaust, it's just not worth the heat that comes along with it. An exhaust cut-out will be next on the experimentation list. Least that way you can turn it on and off when you don't want attention.

i have exhaust systems on both my cars. the cav has header, cat and a thermal exhaust. the camaro has LT's, ory (no cats), and a loudmouth 2 exhaust and never been pulled over for exhaust. then again i dont drive like an asshat revving my engine every time i get the chance and flying down the road 15 miles over the limit



Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!

My GTC has a pacesetter header, high flow cat, thrush 28" glasspack resontaor to a dynomax superturbo muffler with a generic exhaust turndown. It looked stock, it sounded stock cruising, if you gave it some gas it got a throaty but far from loud.

exhaust sound clip