spyderphile

Couple of weeks ago, I read about someone's thread about being cited for his stock GT4 RS being too loud. Interestingly, GT4 RS is actually quieter, on the outside, than 981 gen GT4/Spyder due to GPF and noise regs. Porsche just cheated by piping the intake sound into cabin. So, being cited for noise, as heard on the outside, is alarming.

It brings up a few questions: As most of CA drivers, in this forum, modified their exhausts, have any of you failed the noise test? You should pass the Smog Test if the Cat is untouched. Of course, you'll fail the Visual; but, can a "friendly" facility cut you slack if you pass smog? Or, the cars are too new to be needing to go through these tests?

Here is a reference on the topic:

California Exhaust Noise Law

Some excerpts:
- Since 2003, exhaust systems installed on motor vehicles with a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating of less than 6,000 pounds, other than motorcycles, may not exceed a sound level of 95-decibels when tested under Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) test procedure J1492 (formerly J1169). This was not changed by A.B. 1824.

- Motorcycles manufactured after 1985 may not exceed 80-decibels.

- Is anything being done to fix this?
- In February, California Assemblymembers Jim Frazier and Tim Grayson introduced SEMA-supported legislation (A.B. 390) to repeal the section of A.B. 1824 that amended how California law enforcement officials issue citations for exhaust noise violations. A.B. 390 would re-institute law enforcement’s discretion to issue “fix-it” tickets. In September, Language from A.B. 390 was included into a budget implementation bill (S.B. 112) and passed by the legislature. S.B. 112 was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in late September and is effective immediately.


At some point, I'm planning to move to San Diego. There is no way I would drive the 982 Spyder stock; will rather dump it! Would love to hear how you all are dealing with this; or, plan to. I have a feeling even the bone stock 981 Spyder could fail 95 db limit! And, my F4 will definitely fail though it's optional exhaust was from factory.

Thanks.

Larry Cable

not worried, pretty much every Harley Davison blows sound here ... have yet to see any enforcement here in the bay area fingers crossed

I would not sell my Spyder based on a probability

clutchplate

I wouldn't worry about it. The police will be too busy arresting people with gas stove tops and dishwashers to bother you. Sure you want to move here?

josephr25

It's luck of the draw. I've been running my JCR Superlight for a year and cops haven't bugged me (fingers crossed). In fact nobody's ever complained about it, not even neighbors

Xxyion

Just to make sure one thing is clear. The "noise test' cannot be done by a cop on the side of the road. These are usually performed by a state ref at a specific testing location. I dont have the official guidelines with me, however their rules state that they have to test the car in the state that the car would start up in. This means valves off and sport mode off. This is partially why these options do not stay on after you turn the car off. Now as long as you have your valves working and are probably using the stock backbox, you'll be fine as our valves dont even open up till almost 5k RPM and most testing is done around the 3-4k RPM range. I know this because ive had multiple friends get state reffed for loud exhausts.

Now, this is the only time that you will be tested for sound. There is no requirement to test every year for sound. The only thing that is required is a smog check. And even then, that's only after 6 years of new car ownership. Which means that if you bought a 2020 car, you wouldn't have to legally smog check till 2026. I heard somewhere it might even be up to 8 years now but i'm unsure.

Ive run exhausts on all my cars, the key thing here is to just not drive like an *******. If you see people slowing down, close those valves for a second to make sure you're not too loud when you pass by that cop on the side of the road.

You did mention you are going to be in San Diego, AFAIK, San Diego cops are not as strict on it. They mostly just care if you are driving like an ***. Just dont do that and you can get away with tint and loud exhausts. A lot of cops won't pull you over for just those things, but if they have a reason to pull you over then they will tack those things on just to inflate the ticket fee.

Christmas50

I've lived in San Diego since 1990 and have heavily modified E46 M3 with full Supersrint race exhaust(former track car) and OAP's on GT4. So far so good if that makes you feel better. LOL!

Lucifer

Not sure about the rest of California, but just yesterday I told my wife while driving in the bay area that I didn't notice a CHP in months. So even if it was a thing, the chances of actually being cited for that seems slim

Regul8415

I’ve been lucky to not get pulled for sound with my Dundon headers. Even had an occasion where an officer pulled up next to me to compliment the car and sound.

GoodRevrnd

The problem is nobody seems to know what the SAE J1492 testing procedure is. But we know it is NOT noise at WOT. I think it is roughly a measurement at 50% redline rpm. Then the problem is dbag cops which in their unrivaled ability to assess if an exhuast is not compliant will flag whoever they want as excessive noise.

Larry Cable

there is really no reason whatsoever to sell your car if/when you move to Ca

Xxyion

I'm hesitant to list it as this is just what my friends have told me, but when they were tested it was 20' away at an angle and the car needs to be run at normal coasting RPM. We dont coast at 4k RPM, its closer to 2-3k.

The downside to CA is that something was passed a few years ago which allowed cops to make a judgment on exhaust noise levels based on their hearing alone. So if a cop believes you are out of compliance, then they can write you a ticket for it and make you go test at a State Ref facility. You then pay for the test to be done and then you pay a reduced ticket cost if they find you in compliance. No matter what, you get dinged.

This issue is exacerbated if the testing facility tests incorrectly. If you fail the test, you are required by law to "fix" the issue. If you are running a stock exhaust (as with the Hyundai that got state reffed), and they fail you, you fall into a catch 22. The Hyundai in question was tested incorrectly and therefor failed the sound test. By law they were required to get the issue fixed and then retest. However they were completely stock. And Hyundai won't "fix" it because there's nothing to fix. Because there was nothing to fix, there was no work done, and because no work was done, the car couldn't be released from its out of compliance state. Its a really bad system that isn't really designed to do anything but generate revenue and its systems like these is the real reason why so many people hate the car laws here.

spyderphile

Yeah, straight-piped Harleys are just obnoxiously loud! They don't sound good to begin with! Good to hear enforcement isn't rampant.


Excellent question. Move to San Diego is primarily motivated by weather, beach and thriving Argentine Tango community in SoCal (I'm a dancer). I'm done with this Frozen Tundra! Losing about six months of driving/riding each year is dumb, not to mention f#$#$ freezing cold! I'm open to considering alternate cities. Ideas? Not too hot and very mild winter that's not in Hurricane Alley or Tornado Alley could work!


What if I get the short end of the stick.....?

@Xxyion : Thanks for the detailed response; appreciate it. Currently, the valves are permanently open; I can add a Controller. The exhaust is JCR silenced valved. So, guessing, it'll fail? What about the GPF-delete? That alone increases the volume. And, are you saying unless you get cited for sound, the noise test isn't done normally? Not even during Smog Test? Specifically, if testing is required after six years, by '26, we should expect to see some scrambling by modded drivers.

Good to hear San Diego is relatively safer. I do love to shift closer to the limiter to enjoy the soundtrack! That's the whole point of all these mods and dance! Granted, my 982 isn't broken-in yet. But, boy, it sounds glorious with limited, occasional, short bursts to 5-6k and downshift (manual) blipping!

@Christmas50 : Great to hear. I'm guessing your M3 went through multiple Smog and Noise tests over the years? Obviously it passed. Could you share some details on testing prep if any?

Good to hear.

Dundon can get loud. If a cop complimented the sound, that's something! You probably lucked out!

This is the most problematic element: specific cop's discretion! They have massive discretion and decide at the moment based on how he/she "feels"! You get the good, the bad, the ugly and the evil! You just don't know!

Thanks, @Larry Cable . I really don't wanna dump it! Based on my very limited driving (still breaking it in), I absolutely love it! With the sound mods (valves permanently open, Sound Symposer-delete, GPF-delete, JCR silenced/valved), it sings beautifully! And, yes, move to San Diego is still a plan, not a confirmed decision. Many things can change that plan, in a few years.


Yeah, cop's discretion is a massive problem! So is the competency of the testing facility. If a car fails in one facility, can you take it to a different facility for a second test?


I'm thinking about taking a road trip in 982 to San Diego for a couple of weeks, perhaps in '25 summer. Can I go to a test facility, pay for a compliance test? It won't be for a certification as the rule states one can't get a preemptive certification. I just would wanna know if the car can pass a noise test should it require. Thoughts?

Thanks everyone; appreciate the great details and opinions. I'm keeping all the options open: the move, keeping the car, etc. I'm certain that I won't be rolling back the mods; but, add a valve controller if required. Also clear to me, I'm NOT gonna sell the 981 Spyder! Out of the box, bone stock, it's a rock star! Just shorten the gearing!

BabyNSX

I had a very similar experience... I was filling up for gas one evening when an officer walked up to me and started talking to me about my car and how he wanted to purchase one... I too have the Dundon setup and when I fired up the engine he gave me a big smile and complemented on how great the car sounded.

Xxyion

@the_rider Yeah there is no sound test at smog facilities when its time to do smog. It's not even something required by the state of California when you purchase or sell a car. The one thing they really care about is Smog compliance. Again while we do have the sound limitation, it is not something that is tested for unless someone thinks you are out of compliance. So it creates a weird situation where running a loud exhaust is actually fine, until a cop decides it isn't.

As far as Smog compliance goes, OPFs are not tracked nor do they have sensors and so switching out OAPs to get rid of OPFs will not make you fail smog. As someone who has lived in CA their entire life and has had many a modded car, i'll say CARB (smog) compliance is actually more annoying that worrying about volume level of your exhaust. That's because simple things like air intakes need to be CARB compliant or else it will fail the smog test. You can't even use aftermarket catalytic converters. You are required by law to run OEM cats or else its an automatic fail.

I wouldn't bother with trying to get a test done at a facility. There's just no point. What i recommend doing is just make sure you have control of your valves again. Dont drive like an idiot, and listen to your maps app letting you know of upcoming speed traps and just close your valves or cruise in a speed where the valves are closed. The main thing cops look out for is ******* driving. And so if there is anything i do recommend you do when you move here, is DO NOT drive like how you would in any of the non major metropolitan states. We dont have long stretches of road to bang through the gears in, and in the small instances that we have a slight stretch, cops are usually there for specifically that reason alone. Spirited driving on backroads is generally ok and fine, but if a cop thinks you're being too much of a hooligan, then be prepared to see lights.

Again, San Diego is generally better than the San Francisco Bay Area in terms of cops being ticket happy, but same general rules apply. You can run as many mods as you want, its more about your driving style that will determine if you get pulled over or not.

spyderphile

Thanks, @Xxyion . It really is a messy and highly screwed situation! Rules aren't clearly defined; processes haven't been defined or clear. No preemptive mitigation is possible. Test Centers can be incompetent. No way to know if you're in compliance until a moronic, whimsical cop decides on the side of the road! I need to think this through. Still planning to make a trip to San Diego in 982 to check things out. Many things can change until the actual move. By the way, I moved from Bay Area to Minneapolis; so, can relate to everything you wrote! :-)

Not worried about the smog anyway, since the changes are cat-back. GPF-delete is just a straight pipe and isn't monitored as you noted. I believe from MY26, California is gonna require GPF. Well, that would be someone else's problem! :-)