What if this was Illegal?
 

Kind of just a random thought, but what would you do if for some random reason, a law came out stating that you can not have a car that has anything over the stock horsepower and torque (Lets give it a margin of like 10 below or above)? Would you continue to mod your car and just say **** the law, or would you mod it within that 10 HP margin, or would you stop modding your car in general? I know this is completely unrealistic but just an interesting thought on if they put a Horsepower cap on cars in the states.

You mean like they have in Cali? lol

They wouldnt put a "horsepower cap," per se, but they would make other laws that would make it increasingly difficult to modify a car.

And yeah, Id probably say F-the-law and do it anyway. Id probably end up driving the modded car less often though.

Most mods that add power probally aren't CARB legal I was assume... so therefore adding power isn't legal anyway :-)

Yeah thats what I was thinking, i mean its not like i really obey the traffic laws as it is.. and i knew it wouldnt really happen just an interesting thought

Yeah hahaha i guess thats true, but if they actually like cracked down on it, these meets wouldnt even happen anymore or anything :(

they crack down in cali big time

/thread

If the limit was 10% margin I would a buy a Bugatti Veyron and then ad a AEM cold air intake yo.

I'd sell all my **** and just buy a LSx Corvette.

Oh yeah? Would you? lol

I think it actually is illegal to modify a car in anyway, it's just that Cali is the only state that does anything about it.

Pretty sure there are laws that say you can't modify a vehicle from the way it was built by the manufacturer

Thats not a bad thought honestly. I mean, the vette chassis isnt the ideal car for me, but as far as stock horsepower and low resale... you can get an LSsomething vette for like 16k now. Cant beat that.

Its a shame the vette is so cliche, because Im sure theyre fun as hell to drive.

Laws constantly conflict other laws. Its all about how big of a dickhead the cop is, and how good your in-court arguing skills are.

There's a lot of PA laws out there that most people violate. Speed Limits for example.

Its not illegal to put on a (some) catback or an air intake or a new engine or anything like that in PA. I dont think its illegal to turbo your car either, so there is some things you can do that are legal.

You have much to learn grasshopper.

lol I was thinking the same thing.

Hahaha well if that stuff is illegal i guess I must have A LOT to learn.. xD oh well im only 17 at least im finding out now

It's a great idea to post stuff like that on the internet.

Oh, well that makes sense now. :-p You have a lot to learn, bud

you can legally add an intake, exhaust, and a header as long as you keep the cat. as far as a new engine, it has to be newer than your cars year.

Than the "scene" people would die off, and the enthusiasts would have dedicated track cars.

It's already illegal to have a modified exhaust in most states, even if it passes emissions and still has a cat. It's already illegal to lower your car to the ground or have your wheels poking out or a big camber. VIP style cars get pulled over all the time because of their suspension setup because they mess up the streets when they scrape and a big bump could cause an accident or traffic in a slammed car. My slammed friends caused lots of traffic on the way to Formula D 2011 in Wall, NJ. They would not go past 55mph on the highway in fear of scraping.

But I agree with mcperson2k, I think people would just have dedicated track/race cars and trailers to take them to the track.

Two of my friends in PA with exhaust got pulled over and got a ticket for having aftermaket HKS exhaust. And they have cats.

There is no law about how low a car can be. Tires/wheels just can't stick out past the fenders. Headlights have to be within a certain range from the ground, thats it.

Bumpers as well.

I could swear I read a minimum of 5" ground clearance before but that was years ago.

I thought there was a law that said (I can't remember exactly...) that either the center of your headlight, or the top of your fenderwell cannot be less than 20 inches above the ground, or something like that.

The bumper itself cant be below a certain height. There is a law that says something about it. I dont know it word for word but i know you can be pulled over for being too low. It happened to a friend of mine recently.

Then the cop kicked his bumper and it fell off. :eek:

So he let him go. lol

Thats news to me.

its funny how many people modify there cars and have no clue of the laws

for an exhaust you can modify it as long as its not for the purpose of increasing sound, there is a db limit for exhausts and thats the only way you can get a ticket for it and have it hold up (they have to physically measure it at your tail pipe and the tail pipe must exit after the rear door)

there are no laws on intakes at all in PA

in pa the law for "lowered or raised" vehicles is a certain limit that your lights can only be so low or high off the ground

there are plenty of carb legal turbo kits for cali residents (or atleast there were untill greddy went under)

it is your vehicle and they will never be able to stop you from modifying it unless you drive it on the streets and it doesnt meet certain safety or environmental requirements

Dont know? Or just dont car? lol

And I thought the exhaust law was about emissions. Oh well, I know my Borla is good. haha
I was kinda pissed when I first got it tho... small piping (2.25 then less than 2 after the split...), two mufflers, a mid muffler, and a huge resonator. But the tone of it is an absolute symphony! Well in the car atleast... when I put it on before I did the PCDs and the J pipe it just changed the tone a little, it wasnt much louder at all. But like I said just cruisin around normal, the tone of it sounds amazing inside the car. Sometimes I turn off the radio, and just listen to it. :D

this is incorrect. while there is a DB limit, it is rather unenforceable. first the officer needs to be trained properly on using the equipment, second it needs to be done similarly to production vehicles, from a certain distance.

a member did his research and fought a "too loud" ticket by following the legal guidelines that manufacturers use to ensure their vehicle fall within the legal limit. Granted, the ticket he received wasnt given to him w/ a DB reading, but the officer arbitrarily decided the exhaust was too loud.

Also, if you don't want to deal with issue w/ police pulling you over for illegal modification, buy domestic. Tossing loud exhaust on a civic is the right way to get pulled over quick. tossing loud exhaust on a mustang doesnt get you a second glance... knock on wood lol

sounds like a win win to me.

Not true, what about the guy with the Sonic Blue Mustang posting in the Ask The Law section? They're pretty sure he's bein hassled for his exhaust! Boom. Mind blown. haha

how is it incorrect? it is the law and there is a guideline they have to do to enforce it... just because some officers dont do there job properly does not mean I am incorrect, it just means that the officer better know that law if he wants it enforced

incorrect as far as placement of measuring device. It does not get placed directly behind your vehicle.

sorry, i forgot to read the entire forum before making an obviously never 100% true blanket statement.

Hastled and cited are very different.

He also has Kooks long tube headers that are for 'off road use'.

so where does it get placed?

i have full exhaust on my car, long tubes, etc and havent been hassled. I also don't go dropping gears around the police but typically go up a gear if i can and the car quiets down quite a bit.

if you're getting hassled for exhaust w/ 4.6l mustang you're being a tool

it's off to the side at a certain distance and the vehicle is supposed to travel past it at a certain rpm or speed. I don't remember the specifics that this guy found out. But i'm positive a number of legal stock cars would go over the DB limit if you put the meter directly behind the vehicle.