what a trooper told me was if you replace it, it has to be oem. I live in nc and they try to get me with all those BS equipment laws, to low, exhuast, taillights clear turn signals etc., but I quickly remind them thats all legal down here. I used to live in Va, got tired of tickets and the harassment so I moved to NC.where they get you is, your aftermarket exhaust willpass inspection because its a muffler, but once you hit the street its not oem,so its illegal. checkout the inspection hand book maybe 3" thick, then checkout the book the troopers use, 2 of them about 8" thick