There is a piece of legislation in Michigan that raises eyebrows. House Bill 5726 effectively is a ban on aftermarket exhaust systems that are not purely 100% stock. Here’s the wording exactly from the bill that is the eyebrow raiser:
(7) A MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIR FACILITY SHALL NOT MODIFY ANY EXHAUST SYSTEM CAUSING THE MOTOR VEHICLE TO WHICH THE SYSTEM IS ATTACHED TO PRODUCE NOISE IN EXCESS OF OEM STOCK DECIBEL LEVELS.
Hmm…near as I can tell, that’s pretty much every exhaust system out there, from full kits to hacking in a glasspack. Ok. So what’s the fine if one decides to not follow this law? $10,000, plus $100, attorney’s fees and court costs incurred if you were the installer privately. If you had a shop install it, they get fined too. The pass/fail is by decibel measurement, so as long as your system was as quiet as the stock one, you would get away with it. And bypasses and cutouts are illegal…I’m not sure if they were illegal before this bill, but they are certainly listed now.
I could go on with the “if one does it they all will do it” speech, but here’s the bigger issue: Most of the aftermarket kits out there currently improve engine performance, are as clean as a stock exhaust if installed right, and on older vehicles, exhaust work could certainly be needed and useful. And while I understand fines for excessively loud cars, is the possibility of ten thousand dollars at first violation reasonable? Currently the SEMA Action Network is fighting this piece of legislation and I suggest that if you live in the state that you do your part as well.
Click Here to visit SEMA’s SAN Network page that covers H.B. 5726
Click Here to see the actual language of the bill
Since Michigan has been run ( into the ground) by Democrats this shit doesn’t surprise me.
Muck Fishigan
Ouch, it must be embarrassing to realize that Michigan is Republican controlled. Better luck next time.
no michigan is currently run by republicans (they haver the majority) and have been sense the last election. so republicans mainly snider has run this place to shit
Yeah nothing like jobs coming back to Michigan since Snyder took office. Maybe instead of a fine the government could use granholms drivers responsibility fee
The Driver Responsibility Fee was a Terri Lynn Land proposal, passed by Granholm. Maybe you could blame it on Obama.
Michigan was run into the ground by Detroit’s lack of foresight and inability to compete with imports during the first gas crunch.
I see this bill as unrelated and sadly car-phobic.
Calfornia’s pain in the ass pollution laws are one thing but DAMN, no being able to make a car even a bit louder? Evil. UnAmerican.
Who are we, the Taliban?
Yet loud ass Harleys will continue to run amuck..
You mean putter and chug obscenely loudly.
Yeah, I don’t get that. What are the cops/lawmakers afraid of overweight 50 year olds suffering a midlife crisis or something?
we have the exact same crap with Harleys here in Australia! why are they exempt? Why can they have open pipes and rev the crap out of them anywhere they go?? utter bullshit.
Near Labor day I was driving near my home at corner of M61 and old US 27in my jeep with quite aftermarket exhaust stopped too make my turn when four cope cars(three clare county and one state) come speeding up lights and sirens on pulled in front of me and blocked intersection!!!All of a sudden her come about 50 bikes mostly Harleys. too make a turn on m 61. doing some honor of some kind! 90% of them were running illegal straight pipes,the sound was so load it hurt my ears and the cope in middle of road just waved them though with big smile on his face.Guess if your friends with police you get a wave, and took four cope cars off the road. All to PC for me
What about businesses that specialize in performance exhaust systems?!?! and What about the Woodward Dream Cruise ??
YOHB?
So what is the stock decibel level for a 1969 Camaro? or any car built in the last 10-15 years?. Unless you were there when the cars were new, they have NO idea what a “stock” exhaust system sounded like on any vintage car.
should be “Previous to the last 10-15 years”
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I can’t stand those people that make their Rice Burner super loud. But on the other hand, legislation like this is not good for the car hobby.
And as mentioned, they do nothing about motorcycles . . . ???
Over the last decade…….or longer, Michigan leaders have managed to run the state into the ground. This bit of legislation should be no surprise to anyone. It will be against the law soon to have aftermarket wheels, be a small business owner or try to help the state rebuild in any way in.
Theres dumb exhaust rules here in New Zealand too. Your not allowed to fit a exhaust that is able to be ‘adjusted’ easily eg. cut-outs and valved mufflers but if the car came with one from the factory, its ok.
I think the law is dumb and will disobey this one. But as for the motorcycles they should be loud. People should hear them helps let people know they are next to them on the road. People In cars don’t pay attention so the loudness will help them understand. But banning aftermarket exhaust is insane. What about all the performance shops that’s a lot of their bussiness
If you read the legislation carefully, it says that it’s OK to have an aftermarket exhaust AS LONG AS the noise level does not exceed the OEMs Db level as it came from the factory.
So that doesn’t preclude any 3rd party exhaust system. It just means it can’t be louder than stock. Fine with me.
So, if cars have to be so super quiet, then a motorcycle can’t use the argument that “loud pipes save lives”. Cars will be so quiet that a Harley won’t need a straight pipe to be heard.
I’m a Michigan resident and I am extremely saddened at this. None of my vehicles have stock DB exhaust kits (they’re all high quality systems too) so this is a bit worrysome to myself and anyone I know who loves to modify cars. This law seems too insane to pass anyway but someone has to put up a fight. We’re still a safe haven for no smog checks so something as trivial as this is ludicris.
California and some other states already have the law in affect for motorcycles
Whats the big deal if you modify your exhaust….its your vehicle and i see it as expressing yourself. Which would fall under freedom of speech sort of…if you read the actual bill. Motorcycles and mopeds are also included. I feel as though loud pipes on a bike helps other drivers who nornally dont pay attention realize the bikes are there. I really hope this gets shot down.
It’s your vehicle . . . but it has to comply with State and Federal regulations, as far as equipment on it. It’s as simple as that.
More stupid politicians with no balls to take on real problems, so they just screw with the people so it looks like there doing something. Fools that don’t know the repercussions of their stupidity.
BTW, Michigan has had laws pertaining to Exhaust since 1978:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(iohl0x45ilsniljkrouablnk))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-257-707c
BTW, Michigan has had laws pertaining to Exhaust since 1978:
Just Google: Michigan Laws+Exhaust.
You people that throw one party or another under the bus without researching are idiots. Go to the Michigan Law site and look up the bill. It was proposed by Doug Geiss, a Democrat representing the metro area near Romulus. Not good or bad, just the facts. Learn to internet before pointing blame.
I grew up in Michigan and most of my family and business are still based there. For such a pro automotive state that depends on manufacturers (OEM and Aftermarket), this seems very short sighted. Why this but not bikes? I see tons of “Loud Pipes Save Lives” stickers and yard signs, and all the bikers made a huge deal about helmets and now helmets are optional. Who is really behind this deal? An angry neighborhood coalition? A big corporation?
Workaround: I decree that every car should have wide open bi-modal exhaust like the Corvettes, Camaros, Hellcats, etc from here on out.
Pretty bogus stuff, unless you buy factory you will never get that same sound, even a Walker or Donaldson muffler will have a different decibel level than a factory unit
Know what’s funny is I got pulled over for excessive exhaust noise in my dart by a CHP on a Harley 8 years ago and I made a statement that his bike had Samson Exhaust that was clearly louder than stock. Apparently they don’t have to follow their own rules. Good ol CA can’t do anything here.
This will never pass, as they would have to enforce it on Harley’s also. HD’s and other bikes do not come from the factory with loud pipes, they are actually very quiet when stock.
(7) A MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIR FACILITY SHALL NOT MODIFY ANY EXHAUST SYSTEM CAUSING THE MOTOR VEHICLE TO WHICH THE SYSTEM IS ATTACHED TO PRODUCE NOISE IN EXCESS OF OEM STOCK DECIBEL LEVELS.
So, you can’t have a shop install a system, but you can still buy a sawzall and hack it off yourself.
Honestly, this is an amendment to a section of the vehicle code that ALREADY prohibited much of what people are complaining about. This new section just puts the onus on shops not to break the law. The wording is a touch fuzzy, but it appears as though the person who INSTALLS the system would get the $10k fine.
So, by adding this short paragraph (which again, is to the existing vehicle code that already prohibited loud exhausts), it gives the police/state the power to fine shops for knowingly installing loud exhaust.
Probably the same jerks that wrote the no cell phone law for CDL trick drivers, $1100 to the owner of the truck $11,000 to the user of the phone. All about the money nothing to do with safety.
Michigan, congrats! SEMA & legislature scrap plans to offer compromise to exhaust noise bill: semasan.com/page.asp?conte… #SEMA #IgnitedWeStand
5:57pm – 15 Sep 14
Cut outs and by passes of exhaust has been illegal in many places since I got my drivers license, over 60years ago !