Is having aftermarket exhaust illegal in Washington state?

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by Tim_Asphalt_FRS

Join the SEMA Action Network and contact your state legislators. These types of laws ignore the facts that aftermarket exhaust systems increase fuel mileage & reduce emissions.

@ the reduce emissions.

I don't know about you but as I've read through countless Header/Exhaust build threads on this forum alone I see many (if not most) people looking for options that remove 1 or both catalytic converters for MO POWAAAAA!

[HATED1]

Not here to argue with you man, just went through a whole thread back then on northwestnissans.c o m when it went down and they analyzed the law and quoted everything just like you did. OP, your call. Just giving you my advice based on my experience.

Here's the link to the thread:
http://www.northwestnissans.com/boar...73-Pulled-over

And just a quote from that thread:

I got pulled over for "non-stock exhaust" on the way home from PIR. I was like "it meets the db requirement". Apparently ANY modification is illegal. He said if I'm going to take the car out with an exhaust like that, I should trailer it to the track. I guess it didn't help that I had no bumpers on the car ;-)

I don't think anyone should have to spend money replacing their aftermarket exhaust (which was legal when it was installed) with a stock one. Why should people have to pay for something just because a law changed? So what, now it's going to be illegal to sell them? I don't think so! It's just another legal money making scam. Just like rental car companies charging you for going over 70mph. If they were so worried about it they should limit the speed of the car.

BTW: No bumpers, illegal exhaust, no proof of insurance, no ticket ;-)


-Matt-Panic!

[mugen79]

I am not an attorney nor a car expert but 99% of aftermarket exhausts are going to be louder than OEM so that pretty much makes all aftermarket exhausts illegal. The only exception would be TRD I think, because you can order a brand new car with TRD as an option. Now it gets confusing. So if TRD is acceptable any exhausts that aren't louder than TRD are legal now?

[Im_SPEED]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Give another look at the wording. It does not state aftermarket exhausts are legal, it essentially says THEY ARE but not if they're louder than the OEM option.

thats exactly what i said. and how may cops can tell you what the exact db of your stock car is NONE!!!! i dont even know the stock db of all the cars i own. plus if "aftermarket" mufflers were illegal you couldnt put an OEM replacement muffler from a muffler shop you would have to by an OEM part from a dealer and they cant make you do that.

[Tim_Asphalt_FRS]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

@ the reduce emissions.

I don't know about you but as I've read through countless Header/Exhaust build threads on this forum alone I see many (if not most) people looking for options that remove 1 or both catalytic converters for MO POWAAAAA!

I didn't say anything about removing cats. It's illegal to do anything to the factory cat here in CA, but a catback exhaust for sure does reduce emissions simply based on the better mileage from installing it. (As long as you can keep your foot off the floor)

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by HATED1

Why should people have to pay for something just because a law changed?

Hated, I found this question humorous as it's rather self evident.

Why should I have to pay for something because the law changed? The answer: Because the law changed.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by Tim_Asphalt_FRS

but a catback exhaust for sure does reduce emissions simply based on the better mileage from installing it. (As long as you can keep your foot off the floor)

Will not believe without data and I've never seen data to suggest this is a common occurrence.

Better mileage =/= better emissions.

You can increase mpg while simultaneously increasing emissions, in fact I venture to guess that's what most commonly happens.

[HATED1]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Hated, I found this question humorous as it's rather self evident.

Why should I have to pay for something because the law changed? The answer: Because the law changed.

I agree, Matt is a really good guy/drifter/fabricator, just maybe a tad rebellious. Haha.