New LAME law went into effect in Maine today.... [Archive] - Toyota Yaris Forums

View Full Version : New LAME law went into effect in Maine today....

fnkngrv

07-12-2010, 07:40 PM

big lo

07-12-2010, 07:59 PM

That really sucks, but is the TRD exhuast legal then or ilegal, down there in Maine? After this bullsh!t law, what will others do in that case?

JumpmanYaris

07-12-2010, 08:08 PM

Get u the HK1 it says TRD on it bam made by "Toyota" lol really nice sound 2

RedHatch08

07-12-2010, 09:00 PM

That's CRAZY.

That's OFFICIALLY the dumbest sh!t I've heard today...

yarrr

07-12-2010, 09:03 PM

hmmm maybe if aftermarket companies could follow dB rating laws this wouldn't have happened.

Apparently nobody on this thread lives down the street from a 16 year old with a flowmaster on his titan.

rihdrkc

07-12-2010, 09:22 PM

Same shit happening with motorcycles across the country. It is not the mufflers, it is the asshole behind the wheel.I have a Concept G on the Yaris and the mufflers on my bike can be very loud if I want them to be. I just do not sit at the red lights revving my engine or have my foot in it late at night in residential areas. Get used to this shit cause it will be coming to a town near you.

RedHatch08

07-12-2010, 09:33 PM

hmmm maybe if aftermarket companies could follow dB rating laws this wouldn't have happened.

Apparently nobody on this thread lives down the street from a 16 year old with a flowmaster on his titan.

I can sympathize.

I used to have an apartment where this loser with a rusty purple Neon would park right below my window. It had a super obnoxious exhaust. I knew any time he came in or out of the area, day or night.

I just think the law should be based on the exhaust being too loud, not the manufacturer.

sqcomp

07-12-2010, 10:21 PM

I'm wondering if they're going to actually going to enforce this on motorcycles as well. Personally I'll never have to worry about it but it is a bit messed up that you cannot modify your vehicle.

2manywheels

07-12-2010, 10:26 PM

There is a difference between an open/or non existent baffle on a bike/car and a properly installed after market exhaust.
I understand how it gets started, but pushing this is bullpucky!
They want to do the same thing here north of the border...
A few ruin it for the rest...

cali yaris

07-12-2010, 11:01 PM

What was wrong with the decibel limits? Seems to me that was a reasonable approach.

This is just to get more money from tickets -- but what about the lost business (and therefore tax revenue) ?

Most states, including Maine, already have a law on the books that prohibits operating a motor vehicle on a public highway without a serviceable muffler (MRSA 29-A§ 1912). The real noise offenders, those with straight stacks or gutted mufflers, are operating in violation of this law.

RedHatch08

07-12-2010, 11:08 PM

2manywheels

07-12-2010, 11:35 PM

kac

07-12-2010, 11:38 PM

we have that law in Illinois. Made it very easy to write exhaust tickets back when I was carrying a badge.

TRDMarty

07-13-2010, 03:48 PM

Bummer on the new law.
Just make sure all you Yari owners in Maine post your aftermarket exhaust systems for the rest of us to buy from you :biggrin:
Just KIDDING
So if you own an older car that you can not obtain factory exhaust systems for it,
wadda ya do??
I know!! Maybe one of our fellow Toyota members knows someone who can produce a Toyota metal stamp that can be ''stamped'' on the exhaust tip so it would be visible to the cop that thinks he or she actually knows what they're
looking for. :iono:
Just a thought

firemachine69

07-13-2010, 03:52 PM

What was wrong with the decibel limits? Seems to me that was a reasonable approach.

This is just to get more money from tickets -- but what about the lost business (and therefore tax revenue) ?

Cali, the laws for decibels are entirely subjective, and therefore, irrelevant and unconstitutional.

This is a "reap what you sow" type of event. Some kids just didn't get the premise of not winding up their little four-banger with fart can at every corner and light, and now everyone pays the price.

33OH

07-13-2010, 04:53 PM

So now that the decibel thing is out the window... "factory" straight pipe? :biggrin:

'LilRedYaris

07-13-2010, 05:01 PM

bkrownd

07-13-2010, 05:15 PM

This is a non-issue. Nobody will know or care if you don't have a jackass-loud car. Annoy your neighbors and be prepared to pay the price. Good riddance.

90tsi

07-13-2010, 07:01 PM

I have to agree with Marty. what about ppl that already have one installed for years like trucks with duals, older cars, and what not.... they cant possible think ppl are going to pay to have factory exhausts put back on.

firemachine69

07-13-2010, 08:49 PM

The people that make laws like this do not realize the sheer absurdity of them. Like what's going to happen when your stock factory exhaust system rusts away or gets old? Are you gonna order a new one (stock) from Toyota? Likely not, as that would probably be outrageous in several ways! You're gonna have someone bend up a newer and better flowing system for you. Of course this law now probably makes those businesses illegal... What :bs:!

In one word:

Tough. Buy it, or scrap the car. That's what it'll boil down to.

Having said that, if it sounds factory, and looks factory, you won't be bringing on any attention to yourself.

Yarisduder

07-13-2010, 08:59 PM

Usually laws aren't retroactive, so if you've already got an after market exhaust, they can't make you change it back. Here they've made it illegal to register right-hand drive cars, but all the right hand drives registered before the cut-off date are permitted to stay registered.

yarrr

07-13-2010, 09:50 PM

Cali, the laws for decibels are entirely subjective, and therefore, irrelevant and unconstitutional.

you got some splainin to do.

TLyttle

07-13-2010, 11:49 PM

I love the sound of a high-performance motor. However, it is not necessary to announce to all and sundry that you own such a motor. It is quite possible to run a motor without busting a dB meter! I had a Maserati go by the other day, and the sound was thrilling!!! I heard it, but hardly anyone else did, which is the way it should be. Nothing annoys me more than a herd (bovine/biker connection here) of 100 or so Hardly Driveables going by, blotting out all conversation for a couple of minutes, to show their "individuality". Sure. All on the same bikes, all in black leathers, , all going to the same place to do the same thing at the same time. Some individuals.

I see the REAL performance bikes go by, making minimal sound, but what a sound. I hear the very-hot 4-bangers go by, then wonder what possesses some knothead with his heavy Chevy to install the loudest exhaust he can find.

How simple can it be? Noise is NOT performance!!!

advocate

07-14-2010, 02:30 AM

Quite simple. And yet fat middle aged men do it constantly with their choppers and their harleys. annoys the piss out of me.

severous01

07-14-2010, 09:10 AM

well, one state did it so get ready for the rest to do it. that's what they do...get the foot in the door and then force it wide open.

kuyachris84

07-14-2010, 09:19 AM

we have that law in Illinois. Made it very easy to write exhaust tickets back when I was carrying a badge.

We do?

I see so many cars with aftermarket exhaust not from their car manufacturer.. I guess nobody really cares then? HmMmm...

33OH

07-14-2010, 09:21 AM

I enjoy how theyre punishing people for using mufflers. I personally think they need to ban eBay exhausts under $20. That'll get rid of the problem. :laugh:

Thirty-Nine

07-14-2010, 01:19 PM

markitect

07-14-2010, 02:15 PM

I believe Wisconsin and Minnesota also had these laws. Which means, technically, a cop could sit outside of Midas, Meineke, or any other exhaust shop and write tickets to nearly anyone. I mean it's NOT the original manufacturer's exhaust system.

I ran aftermarket exhaust systems on seven vehicles and never got a ticket because of it.

Seems like at that point the law is anti-competitive, and could get thrown out in court. My guess is that cops don't sit outside Midas and ticket people, because they know if they did the company would challenge the law.

Wowzers78

07-14-2010, 11:42 PM

That's really a strange way to go about solving a problem.

You can modify a factory exhaust system to be just as loud and be in total compliance with this law. or use another system and slap a TRD / toyota logo on it, lol.

Most people that have custom exhaust are at a reasonable decible level. This law was obviously written by someone who had little to know knowledge of exhaust systems. Its a shame how something that poorly written / executed can affect a market.

kac

07-15-2010, 01:26 AM

I can speak as a police officer who enforced this law in Illinois. I used this law to pull over/give tickets to people who has super loud annoying fart cans or ridiculously loud stupid exhaust of some other type. Never bothered anyone with an after-market exhaust that was of a reasonable volume. And I believe that is how other police officers deal with things like this.

frog13

07-15-2010, 10:40 PM

pure241

07-17-2010, 01:58 AM

None of this then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btCAdhRB49w

HTM Yaris

07-17-2010, 07:58 AM

Maybe I'm wrong , but I'm guessing the law was aimed at the Harley crowd . I mean the beautiful state of Maine is not the place that would seem to harbor a bunch of 4 bangers with fart cans .

127.0.0.1

07-17-2010, 09:21 AM

Maybe I'm wrong , but I'm guessing the law was aimed at the Harley crowd . I mean the beautiful state of Maine is not the place that would seem to harbor a bunch of 4 bangers with fart cans .

the law is aimed at being able to crackdown in beach towns like Old Orchard where every wannabe fat old bastard, who's life is washed up and they are essentially waiting to die, ride their stupid over-priced Harleys with straight pipes all day and night. locals cannot get a moments rest for 5 months of the year.

asshats, all of them. never has so little horsepower made so much noise.

noise does not equal power or performance. noise equals tiny pee-pee and lack of self-esteem, and the
people who live there and pay taxes don't want these dips**ts waking them up from over a 1/2 mile away

that is the bottom line.

kdctuning

07-17-2010, 10:05 AM

I live on Cape Cod in Ma. and used to get shit all the time in my Sentra. It was not annoying, just a nice robust tone. The have been trying to put that law thru here for some time. And they will not give bikes shit about it because they are harder to see, so they need to be heard.

It is a whole bunch of :bs:

Castaway

07-17-2010, 10:40 AM

Funny how this topic ended up in Cosmetic Modifications... just saying...
Is someone trying to get some attention?

Slitwrist Smile

07-17-2010, 03:29 PM

My RC51 has a deep exhaust note with Sato Pipes on it.
V-twin .. same as a harley or similar v-twin metric cruiser..
Take out the baffle.. There you have it.. Loud/obnoxious..
I'd love to stick a freakin wad of wet concrete into one of them open/straight through pipes.. :o

I also have a 2003 rc51 AND a 08 cbr1000rr... the rc has devil twin carbon fiber pipes, and my cbr1000rr has a erion racing exhaust. I swore nothing was deeper than the rc51, but jebus cripes my cbr1000rr is a beast. WAY louder, way more power, lighter ect. the dang thing cranks out 168hp.

and I have trd exhausts on both my s/c'd scion tc and my yaris sedan. Very subtle and quiet, but you can tell its not stock, factory quiet.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/exceed19/sno%20day%20hoez/IMG_0421.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/exceed19/Honda%20RC51/rc51_prime3.jpg
covered in snow :
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/exceed19/sno%20day%20hoez/IMG_0443.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/exceed19/DSC08079.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/exceed19/Erica/IMG_0293.jpg

I vote keep aftermarket exhausts rolling :) everything I have is modified and sounds hawt! brrrrrrhhhh brrrrhhh brrrahhhh wahhhhhaaaaaaaa waaaaa :burnrubber:

fnkngrv

07-19-2010, 01:46 PM

So after the law being up and running for a week or two I can tell you that I have seen a bunch of local bikes being pulled over and from a couple sources some people have received "active" warnings which means that they have to replace the mufflers and then bring the bike to the police station for validation. As for some of the comments about being smart with your aftermarket exhaust it varies from town to town and city to city on how proactive they are going to be. In a town of a little under 10k people that I live in you are a police magnet even if all you have is nice wheels. I am monitored by the cops here all of the time and all I have is a couple of stickers, tint, my wheels, and AFE, spiderlites, angel eye fogs, etc. My springs are on the way from the Philippines so I am sure once the car gets dropped they are going to watch even closer. I am an avid biker myself, but to be honest I am glad that bikers are being brought into check on things. I am going to play it safe and when I get my exhaust I will go with a TRD then, plain and simple. They are 50 state certified legal. As for older cars I do not believe that they are affected as it is common sense that you will not find a stock system for a lot of the older models however with the way the law is written from what I have been informed it allows the police to pull someone over with a classic for example much easier and give them a summons. I drive respectfully so even with my green LED turn signals the police don't give me grief however I have been told by Cruz for example that if I were to be driving in Mass with them I would be pulled and ticketed in a heartbeat. Shrugs...the biggest issue here is like everything else...give an inch and someone will try to take a mile...on both sides of the equation.

R2D2

12-19-2010, 07:44 PM

Fnkngrv,

Can you reference where you have seen this law written or where you heard about it? I'm drooling over getting a new axleback and this thread scared the snot out of me, lol.

All I've found is:

1. You have to have a muffler.

2. You cannot modify your exhaust in any way which results in it producing more noise than stock.

3. You can be exempt from 1 and 2 above if the result is noise less than 95 db as measured by SAE J-1169 test method, 1998.

Here is the actual section from maine law, title 29 as available this very evening:

Title 29-A: MOTOR VEHICLES HEADING: PL 1993, C. 683, PT. A, §2 (NEW); PT. B, §5 (AFF)

Chapter 17: EQUIPMENT HEADING: PL 1993, C. 683, PT. A, §2 (NEW); PT. B, §5 (AFF)

Subchapter 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS HEADING: PL 1993, C. 683, PT. A, §2 (NEW); PT. B, §5 (AFF)

§1912. Mufflers

1.*Muffler required.* A person may not operate a motor vehicle unless that vehicle is equipped with an adequate muffler properly maintained to prevent excessive or unusual noise. For purposes of this subsection, “excessive or unusual noise” includes motor noise emitted by a motor vehicle that is noticeably louder than similar vehicles in the environment.

[ 2009, c. 639, §1 (AMD) .]

2.*Cutouts prohibited.* Except as provided in subsection 5, a muffler or exhaust system may not be equipped with a cutout, bypass or similar device.

[ 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF) .]

3.*Amplification prohibited.* A person may not operate a motor vehicle with an exhaust system that has been modified when the result of that modification is the amplification or increase of noise emitted by the motor above that emitted by the muffler originally installed on the vehicle.

[ 2009, c. 639, §2 (AMD) .]

4.*Exhaust system fastened to engine.* The entire exhaust system must be complete, without leakage and securely fastened to the engine block and frame.

[ 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF) .]

5.*Exception; racing meets.* Notwithstanding subsection 2, an owner or operator of a motor vehicle used occasionally in racing meets may obtain a permit from the Secretary of State for installing a cutout, bypass or similar device on the exhaust system of that motor vehicle pursuant to this subsection.

A. The cutout, bypass or similar modification must be kept closed and inoperative while the vehicle is on a public way. [2003, c. 452, Pt. Q, §23 (NEW); 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]

B. The permit must be in the vehicle at all times while on a public way. [2003, c. 452, Pt. Q, §23 (NEW); 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]

C. The Secretary of State shall determine the eligibility of all applicants for a permit. [2003, c. 452, Pt. Q, §23 (NEW); 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]

D. The permit fee is $1 for the registration year. [2003, c. 452, Pt. Q, §23 (NEW); 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF).]

[ 2003, c. 452, Pt. Q, §23 (RPR); 2003, c. 452, Pt. X, §2 (AFF) .]

6.*Exception.* Subsections 1 and 3 do not apply to a muffler or exhaust system that does not emit noise in excess of 95 decibels as measured in accordance with standards and specifications outlined in standard J-1169 adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers in May 1998. A person served with a Violation Summons and Complaint charging a violation of subsection 1 or 3 must provide satisfactory evidence that the muffler or exhaust system does not emit a noise in excess of 95 decibels as measured in accordance with standards and specifications outlined in standard J-1169 adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers in May 1998. Measurements must be made by participating certified inspection stations.

This subsection applies to motor vehicles as defined in section 101, subsection 42, except that it does not apply to motorcycles.

[ 2005, c. 314, §11 (AMD) .]

SECTION HISTORY

1993, c. 683, §A2 (NEW). 1993, c. 683, §B5 (AFF). 2003, c. 140, §1 (AMD). 2003, c. 452, §Q23 (AMD). 2003, c. 452, §X2 (AFF). 2005, c. 314, §11 (AMD). 2009, c. 639, §§1, 2 (AMD).

R2D2

12-19-2010, 08:17 PM

In case anyone is interested this is how the db rating is obtained under J-1169.

"Under the SAE standard, a sound meter is placed 20 inches (.5 m) from the exhaust outlet at a 45-degree angle and the engine is revved to three quarters of maximum rated horsepower. The highest decibel reading is then recorded..."

CB900F2

12-20-2010, 07:15 AM

Even if you get a replacement muffler from Midas they will issue you a ticket?

So yeah, some douche decided to slip in some lingo into a referendum from June here in Maine and now on any motor vehicle you are only authorized to have exhaust systems made by your manufacturer. SOOOOO no Nitto, Dynamax, Greddy, Tanabe, etc....

Really sucks cause I was about to pull the trigger on a medallion....ass clowns!

:bs::bs::bs::mad::mad::mad:

MUSKOKA800

12-20-2010, 11:21 AM

So yeah, some douche decided to slip in some lingo into a referendum from June here in Maine and now on any motor vehicle you are only authorized to have exhaust systems made by your manufacturer. SOOOOO no Nitto, Dynamax, Greddy, Tanabe, etc....

Really sucks cause I was about to pull the trigger on a medallion....ass clowns!

:bs::bs::bs::mad::mad::mad:

Yes it does sound like BS.
Your saying they've made not only aftermarket performance exhausts illegal but the replacement products sold by all those legitimate muffler shops (Midas, Speedy, Mieneke, etc.) illegal. Somethings smells fishy in Maine. :iono:

cali yaris

12-20-2010, 11:30 AM

For purposes of this subsection, “excessive or unusual noise” includes motor noise emitted by a motor vehicle that is noticeably louder than similar vehicles in the environment.

That sounds like officer discretion, just like we have here.

R2D2

12-20-2010, 04:56 PM

I talked to a police officer about this today and he said the law was "tweaked"-it pretty much gives them a means to write someone if their exhaust is obnoxious.

He stated aftermarket exhausts are fine as long as they aren't blatantly loud.

I like the fact that the law does provide an objective means of proving the legality of ones system using the J-1169. The Tanabe Medalion Touring was under 93 db using the same method according to Tanabe's in house testing so it would be good to go here in Maine. That's the exhaust I'm planning on buying.

Anyone know what the Nitto would test at?

R2