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Finding the Fine Print: The Challenges of California's Loud Car Law

The recent changes to California's loud car law have left many owners in a pickle. With a threshold of 93 decibels, the new law aims to reduce noise pollution on the roads. However, finding this information was a huge pain in the ass for many people. Shoutout to Sarah who found it and saved us all from trouble.

According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, police officers are not rolling around with finely calibrated SAE certified decibel meters in their trunks next to their Remington 870s before making an inspection. So, how do they determine if a car is louder than the limit? Well, they just say it's louder.

However, this raises questions about the subjectivity of the law. If someone's car is super loud that probably disturbing the peace, but I don't really think anyone can tell the difference between a legal 93 decibels and an illegal 95 decibels. How will we test some of our cars then?

These cars pass no problem since their owners didn't install any aftermarket exhaust. But what about cars that come from the factory without any muffler at all? This is a Fiat 500 Abarth, our editor Max's car, for example. The turbocharger muffles enough noise that they don't need a muffler. Let's see what happens.

Go ahead and play your car with an aftermarket exhaust, and I'll check the decibel level. Your car is illegal at 100.7 decibels stock. This presents a problem because although the car is technically legal, a police officer can still pull Max over and stick him with the fine.

The obvious subjectivity of this law leaves law-abiding owners like Max in a pickle. What is he supposed to do? He couldn't get a compliance certificate from the manufacturer, but you can't do that until after he gets a ticket. That's stupid.

While we're waiting for the government to figure out how to draw the line, I have one more car to test. Jimmy put some mufflers on this thing, and now it's legal at 93 decibels. The law has good intention, but as it's written, it kind of leaves it open to be abused.

If you don't want to get a big fine, here's a tip: don't drive like a dick. I think if you get pulled over and you have a lot exhaust and you're mouthing off, he'll probably hit you with that fine. So, just be nice.

Finally, we'd like to thank ExpressVPN for sponsoring this episode. They spent a lot of time thinking about the internet and privacy online. The internet is an important issue, and without a virtual private network (VPN), all your internet browsing data can be looked at by your ISP, websites, hackers, etc. You ever wonder why websites tell you they're using cookies? That's because they're tracking your browsing history.

ExpressVPN encrypts your internet browsing data, so nosey ISPs and websites don't know what you're looking at. That's how it should be. For less than seven bucks a month, and with a 30-day money-back guarantee, ExpressVPN makes you invisible on the Internet. And as an added bonus, a VPN lets you look at streaming sites that aren't available in your country.

How cool is that? They have the new Star Wars on European Netflix. Go check it out! Take back your internet privacy today and find out how you can get a free three-month trial by clicking the link in the description below. That's ExpressVPN.com/wholesale for three months free with a one-year package.

Thanks for watching, wheelhouse! Like this video if you have a lot exhaust like this video for you have a quiet exhaust like this video if you like this video. Horn and watch more episodes and hit that yellow subscribe button right there. Watch last week's episode of wheelhouse, and guys, we have a new show called Bumper to Bumper, it's so awesome! I get hyped every time I watch it. Follow me on Instagram at Nolan J Sites follow Donut at Donut Media be nice, see you next time.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enif you're part of the online automotive scene at all you've probably heard about California's new law about exhaust if your car is louder than 95 decibels you could get a big big fine like $1000 any modification to exhaust you she'll go before a judge and it's $1,000 fine but I've seen a lot of confusion and misinformation out there so I'm going to tell you the truth about this new law so right up front you should know that every state has laws that limit excessive engine noise save your California jokes because this could happen in your state I'm talking to you Montana I found this map on the SEMA Action Network that's the Specialty Equipment Market Association there's a lobby for aftermarket manufacturers it's their job to mill this stuff anyway they've got this map showing the exhaust laws for every state and it's pretty much the same across the country if your car makes excessive noise you're gonna get a ticket SEMA recently released a fact-checking sheet about this whole California ordeal and it lays out the facts pretty well to my surprise the laws limiting exhaust noise in California they haven't changed since 2003 if the gross weight or maximum operating weight of a vehicle comes in under six thousand pounds the exhaust may not exceed a sound level of 95 decibels so the law about noise has not changed it's not illegal to install an exhaust on your car in California as long as it doesn't exceed a 95 decibels and remember this has been lost since 2003 but how loud is 95 decibels really so it's important to note that decibels work on a logarithmic scale it's kind of complicated but a good rule of thumb is that if something is 10 decibels louder that means it sounds twice as loud to human ears so even though 80 and 90 don't seem like a very big difference it's gonna sound twice as loud we're going to take some other readings to give you a point of reference 85 decibels Oh 90 decibels what Oh 99.9 decibels so if the sound level didn't change and it's still not illegal to put louder exhaust in a car then why the heck is everyone freaking out well until this year it wasn't that big a deal if you got popped for loud exhaust the police officer would just issue a fix-it ticket which means you either pay a fine or provide proof of correction to a judge they gave you an out you could throw your stock exhaust back on your car and have a police officer a DMV agent or court clerk sign off on your ticket that you made the necessary changes after paying a small dismissal fee you're free to go but that's not the case anymore California assembly bill 1824 took away that option now if an officer catches you you're getting a fine no matter what the suggested bass fine and fees for a first-time offense comes out to 193 bucks which is a little less than $1,000 which I've seen all over the internet according to this traffic infraction scheduled for 2019 there is a way to rack up a find that big but you have to dump a lot of smoke out of your exhaust or install a whistle tip the whistles if you get a ticket and you're sure your car doesn't break 95 DBS there is a way to avoid paying the fine you can bring your car to the California Bureau of automotive repair and demonstrate that the car does not exceed the sound on it you will be awarded a certificate of compliance which a judge can use to dismiss the citation it's kind of a pain in the butt to jump through all those hoops but at least not paying a fine it's also worth noting that you can't get the bar test until after you've been cited so if you have a lab car but you don't think it breaks the law across your fingers I guess if your car is guilty it's pretty much the same process you got to either put the stock exhaust back on or at the very least a quieter exhaust and bring it to the state referee who will sign off on your car and give you that same certificate and then you go to the judge but you'll still have to pay the bigger fine okay so what is the actual law it says that your car can't be louder than 95 decibels when tested in accordance with the Society of Automotive Engineers standard J 1169 this standard lays out the exact testing procedure to see if a car passes under the 95 decibel limit the procedure goes like this a shop places their microphone at the same height as the exhaust outlet no closer than 8 inches to the ground it's also gonna be parallel to the ground 20 inches away from the outlet and 45 plus or minus 10 degrees along the axis of the opening the car is then placed in neutral and revved to 3/4 of maximum RPMs or 3,000 rpm if the car was built before 1972 also the test has to be done outside or near an open shop door where no sound reflecting surfaces can be within 10 feet of the car I have to say finding that info was a huge pain in the ass shoutout to Sarah for finding it so to save you guys some trouble I'll leave a link in the description so you guys can test it for yourselves but all the stuff all the ticket stuff all the fines all this hinges on the fact that police officer has to determine that your car is louder than the limit in the first place right well how do they do that well they just say it they say it's louder to my knowledge cops aren't rolling around with finely calibrated SAE certified decibel meters in their trunks next to their Remington 870 s before keep going let me know if you've got to take it with this new law how much you've been fined and like this video kanga I get if someone's car is super loud that probably disturbing the peace but I don't really think anyone can tell the difference between a legal 93 decibels and an illegal 95 how will we test some of our cars then these cars pass no problem since their owners didn't install any aftermarket exhaust but what about cars that come from the factory without any muffler at all this is a Fiat 500 Abarth that's our editor max right there and these cars the turbocharger muffles enough noise that they don't need a muffler let's see what happens go ahead your cars illegal 100.7 decibels stock this presents a problem because although the car is technically legal a police officer can still pull max over and stick them with the fine the obvious subjectivity of this law leaves law-abiding owners like max in a pickle what is he supposed to do I guess he couldn't go get a compliance certificate from the bar but you can't do that until after he gets a ticket that's stupid where do we draw the line while that's up in the air there's one more car we have to test Jimmy put some mufflers on this thing the law has good intention I think but as it's written it kind of leaves it open to be abused also I think a good tip if you don't want to get a big fine is don't drive like a dick I think if you get pulled over and you have a lot exhaust and you're mouthing off he'll probably hit you with that so just be nice Thank You expressvpn for sponsoring this episode I spent a lot of time thinking about the internet and privacy on the internet it's an it's an important issue without a virtual private network all of your internet browsing data can be looked at by your ISP websites hackers do you ever wonder why websites tell you they're using cookies that's because they're tracking your browsing history okay that's kind of creepy but expressvpn can end that expressvpn encrypts your internet browsing data so nosey ISPs and web sites don't know what you're looking at that's how it should be for less than seven bucks a month and a 30-day money-back guarantee expressvpn makes you invisible on the Internet and as an added bonus a VPN lets you look at streaming sites that aren't available in your country how cool is that they have the new Star Wars on european netflix you know go check it out take back your internet privacy today and find out how you can get a free three-month trial by clicking the link in the description below that's expressvpn comm slash wheelhouse e^x PR e SS VPN dot-com slash wheelhouse for three months free with a one-year package I know how to spell take back your privacy today thanks for watching wheelhouse like this video if you have a lot exhaust like this video for you have a quiet exhaust like this video if you like this video horn and watch more episodes and hit that yellow subscribe button right there watch last week's episode of wheelhouse and guys we have a new show called bumper to bumper it's so awesome I get hyped every time I watch it follow me on instagram at nolan j sites follow donut at donut media be nice see you next timeif you're part of the online automotive scene at all you've probably heard about California's new law about exhaust if your car is louder than 95 decibels you could get a big big fine like $1000 any modification to exhaust you she'll go before a judge and it's $1,000 fine but I've seen a lot of confusion and misinformation out there so I'm going to tell you the truth about this new law so right up front you should know that every state has laws that limit excessive engine noise save your California jokes because this could happen in your state I'm talking to you Montana I found this map on the SEMA Action Network that's the Specialty Equipment Market Association there's a lobby for aftermarket manufacturers it's their job to mill this stuff anyway they've got this map showing the exhaust laws for every state and it's pretty much the same across the country if your car makes excessive noise you're gonna get a ticket SEMA recently released a fact-checking sheet about this whole California ordeal and it lays out the facts pretty well to my surprise the laws limiting exhaust noise in California they haven't changed since 2003 if the gross weight or maximum operating weight of a vehicle comes in under six thousand pounds the exhaust may not exceed a sound level of 95 decibels so the law about noise has not changed it's not illegal to install an exhaust on your car in California as long as it doesn't exceed a 95 decibels and remember this has been lost since 2003 but how loud is 95 decibels really so it's important to note that decibels work on a logarithmic scale it's kind of complicated but a good rule of thumb is that if something is 10 decibels louder that means it sounds twice as loud to human ears so even though 80 and 90 don't seem like a very big difference it's gonna sound twice as loud we're going to take some other readings to give you a point of reference 85 decibels Oh 90 decibels what Oh 99.9 decibels so if the sound level didn't change and it's still not illegal to put louder exhaust in a car then why the heck is everyone freaking out well until this year it wasn't that big a deal if you got popped for loud exhaust the police officer would just issue a fix-it ticket which means you either pay a fine or provide proof of correction to a judge they gave you an out you could throw your stock exhaust back on your car and have a police officer a DMV agent or court clerk sign off on your ticket that you made the necessary changes after paying a small dismissal fee you're free to go but that's not the case anymore California assembly bill 1824 took away that option now if an officer catches you you're getting a fine no matter what the suggested bass fine and fees for a first-time offense comes out to 193 bucks which is a little less than $1,000 which I've seen all over the internet according to this traffic infraction scheduled for 2019 there is a way to rack up a find that big but you have to dump a lot of smoke out of your exhaust or install a whistle tip the whistles if you get a ticket and you're sure your car doesn't break 95 DBS there is a way to avoid paying the fine you can bring your car to the California Bureau of automotive repair and demonstrate that the car does not exceed the sound on it you will be awarded a certificate of compliance which a judge can use to dismiss the citation it's kind of a pain in the butt to jump through all those hoops but at least not paying a fine it's also worth noting that you can't get the bar test until after you've been cited so if you have a lab car but you don't think it breaks the law across your fingers I guess if your car is guilty it's pretty much the same process you got to either put the stock exhaust back on or at the very least a quieter exhaust and bring it to the state referee who will sign off on your car and give you that same certificate and then you go to the judge but you'll still have to pay the bigger fine okay so what is the actual law it says that your car can't be louder than 95 decibels when tested in accordance with the Society of Automotive Engineers standard J 1169 this standard lays out the exact testing procedure to see if a car passes under the 95 decibel limit the procedure goes like this a shop places their microphone at the same height as the exhaust outlet no closer than 8 inches to the ground it's also gonna be parallel to the ground 20 inches away from the outlet and 45 plus or minus 10 degrees along the axis of the opening the car is then placed in neutral and revved to 3/4 of maximum RPMs or 3,000 rpm if the car was built before 1972 also the test has to be done outside or near an open shop door where no sound reflecting surfaces can be within 10 feet of the car I have to say finding that info was a huge pain in the ass shoutout to Sarah for finding it so to save you guys some trouble I'll leave a link in the description so you guys can test it for yourselves but all the stuff all the ticket stuff all the fines all this hinges on the fact that police officer has to determine that your car is louder than the limit in the first place right well how do they do that well they just say it they say it's louder to my knowledge cops aren't rolling around with finely calibrated SAE certified decibel meters in their trunks next to their Remington 870 s before keep going let me know if you've got to take it with this new law how much you've been fined and like this video kanga I get if someone's car is super loud that probably disturbing the peace but I don't really think anyone can tell the difference between a legal 93 decibels and an illegal 95 how will we test some of our cars then these cars pass no problem since their owners didn't install any aftermarket exhaust but what about cars that come from the factory without any muffler at all this is a Fiat 500 Abarth that's our editor max right there and these cars the turbocharger muffles enough noise that they don't need a muffler let's see what happens go ahead your cars illegal 100.7 decibels stock this presents a problem because although the car is technically legal a police officer can still pull max over and stick them with the fine the obvious subjectivity of this law leaves law-abiding owners like max in a pickle what is he supposed to do I guess he couldn't go get a compliance certificate from the bar but you can't do that until after he gets a ticket that's stupid where do we draw the line while that's up in the air there's one more car we have to test Jimmy put some mufflers on this thing the law has good intention I think but as it's written it kind of leaves it open to be abused also I think a good tip if you don't want to get a big fine is don't drive like a dick I think if you get pulled over and you have a lot exhaust and you're mouthing off he'll probably hit you with that so just be nice Thank You expressvpn for sponsoring this episode I spent a lot of time thinking about the internet and privacy on the internet it's an it's an important issue without a virtual private network all of your internet browsing data can be looked at by your ISP websites hackers do you ever wonder why websites tell you they're using cookies that's because they're tracking your browsing history okay that's kind of creepy but expressvpn can end that expressvpn encrypts your internet browsing data so nosey ISPs and web sites don't know what you're looking at that's how it should be for less than seven bucks a month and a 30-day money-back guarantee expressvpn makes you invisible on the Internet and as an added bonus a VPN lets you look at streaming sites that aren't available in your country how cool is that they have the new Star Wars on european netflix you know go check it out take back your internet privacy today and find out how you can get a free three-month trial by clicking the link in the description below that's expressvpn comm slash wheelhouse e^x PR e SS VPN dot-com slash wheelhouse for three months free with a one-year package I know how to spell take back your privacy today thanks for watching wheelhouse like this video if you have a lot exhaust like this video for you have a quiet exhaust like this video if you like this video horn and watch more episodes and hit that yellow subscribe button right there watch last week's episode of wheelhouse and guys we have a new show called bumper to bumper it's so awesome I get hyped every time I watch it follow me on instagram at nolan j sites follow donut at donut media be nice see you next time