I was speaking to a Traffic guy at work yesterday and the rule about legal exhaust noise levels is likely to come into greater force soon. That limit is 74db's

There is a little more to it than just taking a roadside reading but that is the rule for passenger vehicles.

But if you can pass the SVA at 101db's.......?

I thnk I can see both sides of this argument.

On the one hand, I work full time on cars that would have difficulty in meeting such a low limit, and on the other hand I live in a country area where noisy cars, and to a much greater extent, noisy motorbikes, can be heard for the best part of two miles.

I suppose the right thing to do know is for us all to start thinking abut how our cars could be made a good deal quieter in case this rule does come in and, more tothe point, get enforced.

There isn't really room for an expansion box on a se7en, and the complex pipework that modern cars have to keep the induction quiet would also be a big problem.

This is going to be tricky.

Anybody who feels really strongly about this might loke to start a petition, personally I don't think it's worth the bother

John

My shop is right on a main road through the town and we get loads of bloody born again bikers on Harleys, those things make a HUGE amount of noise .... how come they're legal?

Awful things should be banned .... rant over

The figure is meaningless without a distance, I suspect what is happening is the roadside test is being brought into line with IVA which is lower than SVA.

I'd not get worried yet see the following for a sense of what 74dB means.
http://www.chem.purdue.edu/chemsafety/Training/PPETrain/dblevels.htm

(minor point, but IVA/SVA measure dBA which is slightly different)

But what revs is that at? If it is at idle, it'll be no probs

I think this will be come a legal minefield in the future.
I was at the department of transport for a meeting on Monday with a man who has a title of head of Emissions and noise reductions. This is being driven by the EU where they are pushing for less road nosie from tyres and from exhausts. So it is an issue that is getting attention. The legal problem is it is very difficult to operate a retrespective law. A car leaglly produced and registered at 100DB should not be subjected to a design led law where it cannot possibly pass.
Motorbikes have to have any replacement exhaust made to the BS standard which means they cannot be any louder, we all know they are but that is the law.
I feel that so long as your road exhaust passes the soud level it was designed for then you will be okay, the caveat is that the person doing the test will not necessarily be aware of the design/law it came under. Perhaps we all need to carry a copy of the relevan SVA/IVA page to ensure we have an answer.

there is a diffrence between an exhaust note that is loud and sound nice and something like a harley that sounds crap and is way too loud..

[Edited on 16/5/09 by jonesier1]

I think the problem with Harleys is that it is all about posing and bonding with other (HOG riders, isn't that what they call themselves?), and part of the pose is to have what are, in effect, open pipes. Presumably they put the proper ones back on for MOTs

John

Don't suppose it will stop the boy racers on their mopeds taking the baffles out of the exhaust round my way. I can hear them coming a good 5 minutes before they arrive late at night. Most of the proper "bikers" don't seem to be as noisy

Won't be retrospective, so I'll be sticking to about 104db at the mo

On the subject of Harleys, why do their owners try thrashing their bikes? Is it cos they're closet Jap sport bike riders who'll have the proverbial taken by their peers

ATB

Simon

By the look of it 74db is pretty quiet for anything other than a luxury saloon, especially at speed

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Originally posted by jonesier1
there is a diffrence between an exhaust note that is loud and sound nice and something like a harley that sounds crap and is way too loud..

[Edited on 16/5/09 by jonesier1]

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Originally posted by flak monkey

You've got to b kidding?!

The sound of a big twin is just simply awsome...its one of those iconic engine notes, up there with the big block V8 on race pipes

David

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It fully expect it wont be retrospective. Laws in the UK rarely are.
It will affect newly built cars.

As a last resort, Fit a TURBO, they gobble up noise, and make you go faster.

I ran my Land Rover with just the turbo and straight pipe for a month before I realised the back box had dropped off.
There was very little increase in noise, and that was just with a straight pipe from the turbo. I had ditched the £70 centre box years ago as it rots quickly and wasnt really necessary.

I would wait until this become actual law with real details of what the requirement is rather than speculation on what might happen before doing any worrying about it.

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Originally posted by wilkingj
It fully expect it wont be retrospective. Laws in the UK rarely are.
It will affect newly built cars.

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As a last resort, Fit a TURBO, they gobble up noise, and make you go faster.

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I would wait until this become actual law with real details of what the requirement is rather than speculation on what might happen before doing any worrying about it.

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