if the law says you have to have stock exhaust, how are they twisting it to their advantage by pulling you for a non-stock exhaust? maybe i missed the logic.....

and for those of you saying cops are better off stopping murderers than checking car mods, i propose this scenario. do you think there has ever been a case where someone was pulled for illegal exhaust, somebody else gets killed nearby, and the cop ignores it and continues to write the ticket? no, he's gonna respond to the murder and probably let you go with a warning. it's naive to think that if the cops stopped doing "fix it" tickets that suddenly violent crime would drop and the world would be a better place.

 

Here is the law in its entirety

§ 46.2-1049. Exhaust system in good working order.

No person shall drive and no owner of a motor vehicle shall permit or allow the operation of any vehicle on a highway unless it is equipped with an exhaust system of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment, in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise. An exhaust system shall not be deemed to prevent excessive or unusual noise if it permits the escape of noise in excess of that permitted by the standard factory equipment exhaust system of private passenger motor vehicles or trucks of standard make.

The term "exhaust system," as used in this section, means all the parts of a motor vehicle through which the exhaust passes after leaving the engine block.

Chambered pipes are not an effective muffling device to prevent excessive or unusual noise.
(Code 1950, § 46-305; 1952, c. 455; 1956, c. 651; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-301; 1960, c. 120; 1970, c. 266; 1972, c. 66; 1989, c. 727.)

The only part that you and most other people concentrate on is the first part:

"No person shall drive and no owner of a motor vehicle shall permit or allow the operation of any vehicle on a highway unless it is equipped with an exhaust system of a type installed as standard factory equipment,"

However the second part of the law reads:

"or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment,"

The key word in the above line is comparable. Comparable is defined as:

com·pa·ra·ble ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kmpr--bl)
adj.

1. Admitting of comparison with another or others: “The satellite revolution is comparable to Gutenberg's invention of movable type” (Irvin Molotsky).
2. Similar or equivalent: pianists of comparable ability.

Using the a dictionary definition of the word comparable, the law only requires similarity to the original equipment system installed on your car. In most cases this means a pipe after the catalytic converter followed by a muffler, or in some case a resonator and then a muffler.

Think of it this way. Is a Nissan Titan comparable to a Chevy Silverado? They are made in different places, out of different materials, and they share no parts, but no one would argue that they are not comparable simply because they are both trucks.

I haven't forgotten about the word equivalent either. Look it up and you will see that it follows suit in definition requiring only similarity between two items.

The law does not limit you to buying and installing only factory parts. It leaves plenty of room to install many aftermarket systems, or to go to a muffler shop to have a new exhaust installed if your original rusts off.

Think about the muffler shop replacement for a moment too. Is it standard factory equipment if a muffler shop bends your pipes and uses their own brand of muffler? No. Why? You didn't buy it from your manufacturer which is the only way to get standard factory equipment. So using the arguement that you can only have stock exhuast is completely wrong, unless you think that everyone pulling out of Meineke after having their exhaust replaced deserves a ticket too.

 

that was a well thought out and lucid argument, in which you included your facts. i appreciate debate of this caliber. i refer to the quote from the law that states that while, yes, you can replace your factory exhaust with an equivalent, it cannot be louder than the standard factory exhaust. while obviously some cars/trucks come from the factory louder than others, you cannot surpass the decibel level of your stock system. so let's say a camaro with the SLP loudmouth exhaust should get ticketed despite claims that it's 50-state legal because it's much louder than stock. whether the civic next to the camaro gets ticketed instead is a pandora's box waiting to be opened.

 

Here is another lesson on common sense for those trying to argue RACE as an issue in this thread.

Number one I will point out you are stupid.

The color orange on your civic was definitely not stock, you chose to paint your car for the sole purpose of gaining attention. There is no other reason of why you should have your vehicle BRIGHT orange, unless you are a damn city worker.

You chose to make your car bright orange, thus drawing attention.
Black people were born that way. I agree black people stand out when it comes to a crime but that is a whole other issue and argument. You chose your car to be bright orange -> thus you will be pulled.

Your car is getting attention and you are being pulled because you are dumb. Your car is bright orange, it's also a civic. They have this movie out called "The Fast and the Furious (one and two)" which depicts kids in vehicles exactly like this racing around town like idiots. You are living out the same stereo type as one of the morons in this movie down to the dot. Cops love to pull you over, they know you have altered suspension, exhaust, you're young, you have a problem argueing and defying authority. You are an easy target. They know that if they slip up and say something they can slap you with fraudulent inspection sticker tickets, exhaust tickets, suspension, air intake, just about anything they want.

Now let's put this into the equation as well -> they have more time to pull you over -> meaning there is less crime in this area. Do they REALLY need to be out chasing murderers and rapists all the time? There isn't a rape and murder every second of the day, but there are idiots like you driving around on the high ways with a huge "PULL ME" sign hanging above your head looking blatantly obvious. Please do not tell me you take this car to the strip and bitch about getting pulled there.

You chose to make your car that color, you chose to draw attention, please stop your bitching. You got a ticket for your idiocy, deal with it.

 

I am going to address the 50 state legality issue first. The 50 state legal tag only refers to its emissions legal status. I have never understood why any exhuast would be anything other then 50 state legal if it is a cat-back system. After the exhaust gases have gone past the catalytic convertor your tailpipe emissions will not change regardless of pipe diameter, presence of a resonator, or presence of a muffler. So really, any exhuast that still has a catalytic convertor should be 50 state EMISSIONS legal.

Now decibel level is another issue. I would have to agree with Keiichi on this. If the noise level is noticably louder then stock, you should probably get a ticket. If we are talking straight pipes, cherry bombs, SLP Loudmouth systems, or an unsilenced Apex'I N1, then your sound emissions will be considerably louder then stock. If you go with a more mild setup like a Borla system, and Apex'I WS, or Greddy SP, then most likely your exhaust note won't be much louder then normal. However, you would still be in violation of the law as it is written. With that, I must concede to Keiichi.

Moving away from fact now, over to opinion. I wouldn't think that most people driving imports would have any problem if their exhuast systems were either silenced or made to keep noise levels to a minimum, i.e. some of the previously mentioned systems. In the case of my friend hatch77, the first instance that he was pulled over was probably around the same time that he decided silencers were "gay" and buried his in a mound of dirt. I am also pretty sure that second instance was after he realized that silencers prevent tickets and he should probably find his. His system was not silenced (correct me if I am wrong John) and he was pulled over. I really don't know of all that many people who have been pulled over for their exhaust though.

Anyway, I really don't see any problem with an aftermarket exhaust if it is fairly mellow. I guess the real issue is sound level more then anything else. I was only looking at the physical exhaust rather then the sound produced by it. I was more under the impression that people were being fined because their exhaust looked different then stock. I wonder if anyone with an RSR ExMag has got pulled over. That particular exhaust looks a little nicer then stock, but the sound output is on the same level as a stock system for the most part.

 

hahaha, i started reading this whole thread and then i saw this. holy shit, i LOL'd.

 

Hey genius. Re-read his post. He didn't get a ticket. His car is also registered in Georgia. I am not entirely sure how that would work from state to state as far as car mods, but show me where it says that he needs a state inspection sticker for VA when he is from GA. Also, now I am not sure about this, but where does it say that an intake that is other then stock is illegal? I haven't seen that, but I guess a law like that could exist.

Lastly, his car is bright orange, true. He choose a car with that color, true. He should be condemed to an endless string of tickets for it. FALSE!!! By your line of thought, any and all brightly colored cars should be pulled over. Take a look at some of the cars that manufacters have been spitting out over the past few years. Bright yellow Integras, Mustangs, and Corvettes are everywhere. Nissan paints Xterras yellow as well. Nissan also paints a lot of there cars BRIGHT ORANGE!!!! As does Mazda. I could keep going, but the point is, just because his car is a bright color doesn't mean he needs to be pulled over. Granted, bright cars do make easier targets because they stand out. However, what you have described is also profiling. Police profile everyone, even though they aren't supposed to. His car is just an easy target. I guess he shouldn't complain if he gets pulled because his car does draw a considerable amount of attention, but at the same time don't damn everyone with a bright car with an arguement like "bright colors are for city workers". Bright colors are for anyone who wants them.

 

"Hey Genius" He is operating the vehicle on Virginia roads, under Virginia law. It goes the same way with lifted trucks, surely there is the 10 foot to the headlight rule in some states like Alaska, but try bringing that truck into Virginia. You can roam around North Carolina on 44's and have NC plates coupled with an NC inspection, but try to tell a cop that. All you need is a PO box in North Carolina or Georgia to obtain plates. Virginia laws are still into effect, you are operating the vehicle here.

His Civic was not stock orange, I know that cars are painted this color from the factory. Police do not profile them, they just SEE them more than they would see a flat black or white civic. Why? Because the fucking thing is bright orange. He is being pulled because of the color of his car, i've never been pulled for exhaust. Reason being is because I drive lucrative vehicles that do not pull a cop's eye. I had a bright red f-250 lifted up on 39.5's a few summers back. I never had a ticket until I drove this vehicle -> got lift tickets, speeding tickets, tire width tickets, altered air intake tickets, although my exhaust was perfectly stock minus the headers. I got rid of the truck, drove the exact same way I always do. I have not seen a ticket since.

His car is orange, it is itching for tickets as it draws attention. You see a bumble bee driving down the street in a flock of black cars, no shit he's going to be pulled and i'm sorry but he can get a ticket no matter what state his vehicle is registered in.

 

 

This is a completely stupid argument, by your rationale people should fear being pulled over because their car is a certain color... If I want to paint my fuckin car hot pink I can, there is nothing illegal about it so if I am not breaking the law (read: speeding or driving reckelssly) why should I have to worry about being pulled over? The truth is I SHOULDN'T but because VA laws and cops in VB are so gay I do have to, Norfolk isn't as bad but I am not going to say they are the nicest coolest people out there either!