This is crazy...I went into Meineke today to see about having my stock resonator taken off and swapped for a glass pipe to increase flow and add some sound to the exhaust...the Remus I have now is very quite. Anyway, Meineke told me that as of Jan 1, 1999 in Maine, it is against the law to alter your exhaust system in ANY way that makes it louder than stock. Apparently this is to retaliate against all the Fords and Chevy pickups driving around with the really loud, crackling exhausts (ummmm...how about dealing with those freaking Harleys FIRST!?) Anyway, they would not work on my car and told me that any non-OEM part that I put on there would be illegal and I could be ticketed for it. I'm guessing that I would be ok as long as it doesn't get too loud, since I just passed inspection last week with my Remus before I even knew about this absurdity.

Basically I'm wondering if anyone else knows about laws of this type elsewhere. I find it kinda iffy in that my exhaust has to be 'louder than stock' to get a ticket...how's a cop gonna know my exhaust is louder than stock if it's still quieter than a Mustang Cobra?

Thoughts?<ul><li><a href="http://vu.union.edu/~allenw">Will's A4 page</a></li></ul>

The people making these regulations just don't have any Elvis in them.

Will it seems that the people at Meineke are doing 1 of 2 things:

1.) Protect themselves from incase you get ticketed, they might be liable if the courts require you to disclose who did the work on your car.

2.) Just being dicks (pardon the language) about it because they just don't want to deal with that anymore.

A police officer isn't going to know if your A4 is louder than stock. I mean an A4 is so quiet as it is. A glass pack isn't going to attract any attention. But then again there is a possibility that it might seem suspicious to an officer seeing your Remus tips and hear that your $35k German Car is making a bit more noise than he's ever noticed before. It may just be chance, but it could happen. There is no way to be certain. It's a gamble, you may want to look around at some other muffler shops and see what they say. If not, try going out of state and getting it done(? if this is an option).

Good luck to you...

Marcus Frost
99.5 1.8TQM (Friday)

You are not allowed to put a new exhaust system on. BUT, if you had
installed one previously you are not obligated to remove it and replace it
with stock. So they have to prove that you put it on recently...gosh, I
bet that would be hard to do.

I would just go across the state line. I remember my days living back East and most states are all pretty close. A two hour trip at the most to get to what Vermont or NY? Sorry if I don't know my geography of that area very well. My two years at Plattsburgh AFB were too much for me and I got frost bitten by the -80 chill factor in my brain.

29-A M.R.S. § 1912 (1998)

§ 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.

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.

3. AMPLIFICATION PROHIBITED. A person may not operate a motor vehicle with an
exhaust system that has been modified to amplify or increase the noise emitted
by the motor above that emitted by the muffler originally installed on the
vehicle. ...

Also, the inspection regs specify that they have to fail your car if it violates the statute. CMR 16-222-001.

I have to say that mechanics in Maine are pretty anal about cutting corners, compared to other places I've been in. I had to blow up a flat tire with a bike pump because a local shop would not let me use their highpower airhose on it because the rim was scraped up and therefore "unsafe."

BTW, I also live in Portland, ME, for one more week - then its back to new york in my month-old A4. I haven't seen the red A4 pictured on your page. Have spotted an old S4 (with the 2.2 L five cylinder) around, though - any idea who owns it?

--Shane 1.8T qms silver (and NY plates!)