Are F-Types Illegal in California?
 

https://bar.ca.gov/Consumer/Referee_Program/Vehicle_Exhaust_Noise_Level_Certification.html

I stood next to my V8 on the dyno, our stock exhaust is way louder than 95db, which is decribed as a motorcycle at 25 ft or a jetliner one mile away.

Way louder.

I don't think that standing next to the car during a dyno run is the official protocol :/

Your link mentions "specified conditions" but doesn't specify what those are. The second California statue listed refers to an SAE measurement standard, and the link I found for that says it is "steady-state conditions" and "It is directed at the assessment of vehicle exhaust noise and is not intended to determine maximum vehicle sound levels."

The most important piece of all this is that they are looking for modified or degraded systems.

I reckon the get out is "when tested under specified conditions".
So a drive by test at some specified speed/revs (with the loud button off) and not by the side of the car while revving the bejesus out of it on a dyno.

Edit - Steve got in first, as usual I type too slowly!

The law is AB1824, it doesn't look targeted only at modified exausts to me, although they are targeted too...
​https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1824
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"Existing law requires every motor vehicle subject to registration to be equipped with an adequate muffler in constant operation and properly maintained to prevent any excessive or unusual noise and prohibits a muffler or exhaust system from being equipped with a cutout, bypass, or similar device. Existing law further prohibits the modification of an exhaust system of a motor vehicle in a manner that will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the motor of the vehicle so that the vehicle exceeds existing noise limits."

Put it this way, I had to stop filming due to the intense ear pain shortly after the airfoil deployed.

I'm not for banning loud things, as it would make jet airplanes and jack hammers illegal, which is obviously stupid and needless control freak behavior. This is just another assault on CO2, the vital substance that feeds everything green.

The muffler was deemed adequate at the time of sale, so if inspection confirms that it's unmodified, the ticket should be dismissed. The troublesome part of all this is not the part you're focusing on, but the standards for issuing a citation. The officer doesn't have to make any measurements on the road, and puts the onus on the vehicle owner to prove conformance. I expect this will not lead to too many unfair citations, although some nuisance citations will certainly be issued.

I get that, but the F-Type and many other gloriously loud cars predate the new testing protocol. And it is only recently being enforced as reported by many enthusiasts hammered with $1000 fines.

Why were you not wearing hearing protection of some sort? Seriously, why not?

The other shoe drops. We're back to this. <sigh> It is true that carbon dioxide is consumed by plants, but that's not the whole story.

Also, this is not an assault on CO2. It's a reaction to obnoxiously loud *modified* vehicles.

Can you cite those reports, with certainty that the reporter is being truthful about the lack of modifications?

I already showed it definitely applies to all registered vehicles in CA. It also prohibits a bypass switch, which many F-Types have.

I don't care about my hearing, its long gone from military service. That doesn't make F-Types quiet.

CO2 is absolutely vital to everything green, that is the whole story. The only anti-CO2 logic values the utterly selfish comfort of man over the health of all green life on Earth.

Mods are irrelevant to the primary law, which restricts all CA registered cars. The law goes onto say you cannot mod an otherwise compliant car to make it non-compliant.

It also says no car may have a muffler bypass switch or similar, which seems to go after the common practice of manufacturers defaulting to a quiet mode to skirt the law.

I found an edmunds.com noise test using equipment that couldn't register a noise louder than 100db. The F-Type R still managed 101.

That depends on what a "bypass switch" is. If the loud setting passes the test, the valving doesn't bypass that, but adds extra muffling.

It also doesn't make continued exposure to damaging sound levels smart. You should do more research on hearing damage.

Are you being deliberately obtuse, or are you just grossly misinformed/underinformed? Consider that even oxygen can kill people under the right conditions.

See my previous comment about what a bypass is.

That cannot be an accurate statement.

We have a thread on the Pantera owners forum regarding this ordinance because so many of our cars exceed the law's limits and so many of us are in CA. It's a problem though most think that police agencies have enough on their hands to put much effort into enforcement We'll see soon enough as my Pantera makes an F-type sound like a pussycat, so if anyone gets pulled over first, it will most likely be me, unfortunately.

Sorry dude, looks like we're both screwed.

I found another test rating the F-Type R at 104db.

After a little more research, several States are more restrictive than CA. Michigan is has a noise limit of 80db maximum. Sweet Jezzus, control freaks everywhere.

It seems like a bad strategy to depend on arbritrary enforcement of the law. It would be better to fight it. People love to complain about others having fun, then they hop on a jetliner that's 10 times louder.

But who cares anyway? A better law would be, no one shall waste State money on stupid.

We elected Moonbeam Brown as governor twice and now Gruesome Newsom, there will be no way to fight this back successfully in this state. It will be 4th gear driving at low speeds for in town driving to keep rpms and therefore noise down. California ought to be called the SNOWFLAKE STATE not the SUNSHINE one.

​​​​​​Maybe you could make a stupid legal argument like... you have a God-given right to Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness? You know, something dumb like that.

That argument doesn't work in this state or New York. Leadership doesn't believe it.

Yeah, the current majority intends to punish the minorities at every turn. I think its pretty clear after a little more research that they have made F-Types, and lots of other celebratory automobiles, illegal. It's just a matter of time until the goons come after car/Americana lovers like you. Good luck avoiding prison.