So a stock GT350/GT350R is too loud for Florida? Wtf?

[dmcg940]

i live in the Daytona Beach, Florida area. I've daily driven my 2016 GT350 in Sport Mode since the car was new. I'm not sure what the exhaust difference is between Sport and Track Modes, but Sport Mode definitely does not say Track Use Only. Isn't Sport Mode loud enough? I've never been pulled over by the police but, as my car has not been modified in any way, I'd be fighting any attempt to ticket me from driving in Sport Mode.

I drive my dead stock GT in Sport mode all the time, outside of Tampa. I marvel at how loud it is for a stock Ford exhaust, after the stock '89, '94, '99 and '15 systems I have owned over the years. But it's not nearly as loud as a dozen or so other Coyotes running up and down Highway 60 without cats. Day-um! Now, those are loud. And they seem to get by with it, at least in this part of Hillsborough County.

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[DougGT]

Yes I am

Where are you in Florida? I'm in Miami and have catted longtubes with resonator deletes on mine and cops kinda love the sound of my car down here.

 

[Saxgod]

Ford clearly say valves arre for off road use. The volume of sound is indeed in excess of the law.

technically he wasnt using the valves...hence why it was so loud

 

[Dave2013M3]

Just had a cop turn on his lights and pull me over while I was on my way to get my haircut this morning. I was behind a bunch of cars at a red light and as soon as I gave the car some throttle to go, the guy came out of nowhere and flagged me.

He told me that he pulled me over because my car is too loud, because I modified the stock exhaust. The only modifications that I have done was replace the resonators with the LTH resonator so they my GT350 sounds just like the GT350R. After I told him that my car's exhaust was still stock (because it still is) he said that according to the law my car is too loud and I'm supposed to drive it normal mode with the valves closed. So if you have a GT350R you are breaking the law by driving with exhaust valves open.

This doesn't make any sense to me because Florida doesn't have yearly vehicle or emissions testing, also I hear tons of loud ass cars all the time here because people delete their catalytic converters. To make it even more funny while I was stopped there was another GT350 that sped by and he said "oh there's another one"

I could understand maybe if I was being obnoxious and just sitting in traffic bouncing the car off the rev limiter, since I was nearby a school or was driving by pedestrians and just slamming on the throttle to scare them but I didn't do anything like that. As I drove off I saw the cop stop somebody else so maybe the guy was just stopping people just to find something wrong?

Idk the whole ordeal rubbed me the wrong way, and it seems stupid that a stock car is considered too loud. I looked up the state law (here) where there are db limits but they laws explicitly states: No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor vehicle or any other noise-abatement device. I really wasn't in the position to argue or create a scene so I just put it in normal mode and then flipped it back after he left. I have driven by cops before with my exhaust flaps open and it never was an issue, I will make a mental note to go to normal mode whenever I see them.

Your location shows Cali so as an FYI its the same in Cali now. However, I found if you don't flaunt it you won't have any issues. You have to wonder though...doesn't that policeman have anything better to do? Was it a cruiser or a motorcycle policeman?

 

[coz0502]

So if I'm there as a tourist with my Canadian Quebec plates, I can rev it all over the place ?

No, just the opposite. The cops don't want us local hooligans ruining your vacation with our loud cars. They want to RUIN your vacation by given you tickets, that you hopefully will just pay since you're a tourist. Your idea will net you 2 tickets!!

 

[coz0502]

I drive my dead stock GT in Sport mode all the time, outside of Tampa. I marvel at how loud it is for a stock Ford exhaust, after the stock '89, '94, '99 and '15 systems I have owned over the years. But it's not nearly as loud as a dozen or so other Coyotes running up and down Highway 60 without cats. Day-um! Now, those are loud. And they seem to get by with it, at least in this part of Hillsborough County.

I wonder if you've seen me , I have Roush H pipe and axel backs but am still running stock headers and cats. It's very loud.

I see in your signature you're in Valrico. Where about? I use to live in Brentwood Hills (Lumsden & Mt. Carmel) I'm in Apollo Beach area now, not far from Big Bend and 301 but I still get into the Brandon area a couple times a week.

 

[ICU812]

Judus Priest you are showing your age.

They were 10 albums in, by then. but ya I guess even that album is very old now.
Could've used (cue up John lord)

Nobody gonna take my car
I'm gonna race it to the ground
Nobody gonna beat my car
It's gonna break the speed of sound
Oooh it's a killing machine
It's got everything
Like a driving power big fat tires
And everything
I love it and I need it
I bleed it
Yeah it's a wild hurricane
Alright hold tight
I'm a highway star

 

[GT_MTL]

No, just the opposite. The cops don't want us local hooligans ruining your vacation with our loud cars. They want to RUIN your vacation by given you tickets, that you hopefully will just pay since you're a tourist. Your idea will net you 2 tickets!!

But what kind of vacation is this wtihout loud cars ;) ?
Anyways, current plan for this summer is to go the the Dragon's Tail with my HD (loud and with modified exhaust .... ) . We'll see how it goes !!!!

 

[ICU812]

Your location shows Cali so as an FYI its the same in Cali now. However, I found if you don't flaunt it you won't have any issues. You have to wonder though...doesn't that policeman have anything better to do? Was it a cruiser or a motorcycle policeman?

The policeman, most likely was bored, But if you are going to bother risking your life today to pull someone over, might as well make it worth it, and even if you fight the tickets, it not be hard for a judge to read Mustang gt500 loud exhaust. and already have a bias. Now is that fair, no, but life isn't fair.

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

So is everyone happy to just elide past where the OP stated he's modified the exhaust?



So am I missing some way to reconcile "replaced the resonators (Ed: explicitly to change the sound)" with "still stock"?

I replaced the resonators so that my GT350 sounds extremely similar to the GT350R. The cop that stopped me wouldn't have known the difference if I was in a stock GT350R or a stock GT350 for that matter which is why I made the post. Its not like he saw me and was like "wow yeah thats a GT350 and not a GT350R, it shouldn't sound like that" The only thing he knew was that I was in a Mustang.

My car wasn't even fully warmed up and I didn't even go hard on the throttle to go from a start. I was stuck in traffic. Also car is louder than normal when the engine is cold.

More so, the law that I was pulled up explicitly states highway use. I wasn't on the highway and was not pulled over by a state trooper. I couldn't find anything in the laws of the jurisdiction that I was in (Apopka, FL) that said I was in the wrong.

(a) No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor vehicle or any other noise-abatement device of a motor vehicle operated or to be operated upon the highways of this state in such a manner that the noise emitted by the motor vehicle is above that emitted by the vehicle as originally manufactured.

(b) No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon the highways of the state with an exhaust system or noise-abatement device so modified.

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

From the owner's manual:
Note: The Track Exhaust Mode setting is only for use at tracks and not for use on public roadways. Use of this setting results in increased exterior noise, which may not meet state and local laws and regulations. It is the obligation of the driver to operate the vehicle in a manner that complies with state and local requirements. Only use the Track Exhaust Mode setting at a competition track or an off-road course where elevated exterior vehicle noise is acceptable.

I wasn't in track mode. I only drive in the default mode, and I flip the exhaust to sport mode. There is no track exhaust setting in my GT350, there is only normal and sport mode for the exhaust

There is no warning about the sport exhaust mode in my owners manual. I see warnings about the track drive mode though, but nothing about switching the exhaust to sport.

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

Where are you in Florida? I'm in Miami and have catted longtubes with resonator deletes on mine and cops kinda love the sound of my car down here.

I'm in Central Florida/Orlando area.

 

[Chef jpd]

Derail.......

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[RPDBlueMoon]

Your location shows Cali so as an FYI its the same in Cali now. However, I found if you don't flaunt it you won't have any issues. You have to wonder though...doesn't that policeman have anything better to do? Was it a cruiser or a motorcycle policeman?

Yes. I moved out last year but haven't bothered to change my location. I remember the exhaust law happening in 2018/2019 time frame. I read that it actually had to be modified or something because it heavily affected motorcycles and they had no option to protest the ticket.

Pretty sure the only reason why I didn't get a ticket was because he saw my veteran plates. He stopped someone before me and within minutes after I drove off I saw him stop someone else. That was 3 consecutive stops in a span of an hour so I assumed he was just finding "reasons" to stop people. He was in a cruiser.

 

[hws52]

Sucks, but:
1) Your exhaust is not stock, you changed a oem component
2) Ford explicity states that the wide open setting is for Track Use

Bottom line is you may be able to beat the "loud" ticket if they don't have a level componant, but the parts change might get you.

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