NZ Police to track exhaust noise levels

Anyone else in New Zealand see this on the news tonight?
http://onenews.nzoom.com/news_detail/0,1227,76381-1-7,00.html :mad:

Even though this article says the "limit" is 81 decibels, they said on the news that they won't do anything unless the noise, which they are going to test at 3000 rpm, is over 85 decibels.

Just as a matter of interest - What is the legal exhaust noise limit in Oz?


Chris :ylsuper

Well they have been trying to figure a way to get at the boy racers and now they are slowly and surely.

The kids have no one to blame but their selves on this shit.

at least it will get those shotters with the holes in the exhaust, off the road:flash:

so just tune the car to be really quiet.... up to just over 3000 rpm..... and mega-mega-loud after that :p :silly:

stupid damn cops and council. they'll do anything it seems to get performance cars off the road.

Think of all the V8 hot rodders going ropable right about now! This is not just an attack at us import guys but the whole performance car community.

Originally posted by moondog
so just tune the car to be really quiet.... up to just over 3000 rpm..... and mega-mega-loud after that :p :silly:


External wastegates ...... my car is quiet to about 4500 rpm.

argh!! the bastards!! can we measure the "pig squeal"???

i guess I'll be cruising around between 2000 and 3000 rpm where my car burbles nicely. only gets really loud when I open it up.

Nice Darkness :)

I was going to look to change over to a custom system but now I think I will stick with the Trust system because it is quiet.

Originally posted by Razorgtst
Nice Darkness :)

I was going to look to change over to a custom system but now I think I will stick with the Trust system because it is quiet. But Vince look at all those policewomen you could get attention from with a loud exhaust! :p :hehehe:

Originally posted by FTO Girl
But Vince look at all those policewomen you could get attention from with a loud exhaust! :p :hehehe:

hahahaha. i don't think Vince needs a loud exhaust to get the attention of them.

http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/3c4369d103f28dd6273fc0a87f99073f/Product/View/Q1362

bugger I thought I'd nip out and buy one.

Having read the news article I have some additional thoughts (mass groans from everyone) based on my interaction and observation of the police ;)

36 of them nationwide. Thats a fraction of bugger all. Not every patrol car will carry them. They will mostly be in problem areas (eg Quay st). If you get pulled over by a police car I recon most police would be pretty good and warn...unless you are being a prick, then they will pull out their dB meter and pink stickers. If they don't have a dB meter on board, they are unlikeley to call for one unless there is another in the immediate area eg within a km or 2 (they do that with road spikes, breath testers, weapons etc)

we could always band together to get one for a clubwide test. do a nice experiment to wether it is a farce or not.

86db!! Hell I'm over that at idle..... :( . I guess this means we'll never see another Harley (or similar) on the road again, let's see them try and inforce noise restrictions on the mongrel mob, black power and such...good luck guys!! I guess too, that we will never see another rotary on the roads either....so it's not a total loss.....

How close are they testing this 86db... i know in the states the cops have to be AT LEAST 50ft from the car when they take a reading.... is it the same here in nz?

From the news clip I saw, it looked like they were sticking right up the exhaust pipe!! 86db aint that loud (about the same as a heated discussion with Vince!! just joking dude) so it does cause me some worry. I dont consider my exhaust over loud but did get a mention on my last wof about it so could well be pink stickered at the next piggy point!
My question is if they do defect you for the exhaust, does it mean a full compliance test or just the "offending" item being rectified??
If it means full re-compliancing, how does this relate to the new law on older imports?
I could be a little paranoid here but it seems to me that having a big bore exhaust on yr pre-94 car could see it permanently removed from the roads!!! Please tell me it aint so!!
Fusion Boy

well from what i read... the cops have to stand behind the vehicle and off to the side... whether how close or how far away from the vehicle they have to be will depend on the measurement they record...
I would suspect its just the offending part... maybe if you have a loud exhaust system... just put a resonator on it ... that should lower the db level..

Wow, thats crazy, we bave dB tests here too, just not for exhausts, we have um for stereo systems. Lol, all the damn rednecks playin their music.

haha yeah the ones in kentucky are the ones that look like they came straight from the movie deliverance too!!! lol

Oh how right you are Twuble. To make it worse, I dress in dress slacks and a long sleeved button up shirt, or somthing along that lines alot. And these nasty, over-all clad bastards stare at me like I'm some kind of freak. Atleast here in Bowling Green there is a crowd of people who arn't your run of the mill red necks. Lol wait, half of those people arn't fro KY so it doesn't count for them:D

I do beleive Jeff Foxworth best explains those type of ppl "Y'eatn yet? Naw jdu? Naw, y'ont to? Aight!" hehehehe

Yea, good old Jeff, he always says it best.
"Y'all git on outta hea!"

haha yeah!!!
You might be a redneck if your grandmother comes outa da toilette saying "ya'll coem lookie this befour i flush it!"

Originally posted by FTO Girl
But Vince look at all those policewomen you could get attention from with a loud exhaust! :p :hehehe:

Good point Andy :)

hehehe postwhores are popping up all over today. This thread is flooded by Gonthrax and Twuble !

little postwhore juniors :p :lol2:

they are just like ants popping up every where!!:D

Makes you really wonder just how they will go about it. I know if they try and call me on it I will protest it !

would be a nice one to call them on in court!!!

sounds like heaps of loop holes!!

i was wondering if they have stopped trying to prevent crime?? or are they just trying to hassle car enthusiasts??

Hey! I'll not be envolved in this Vince! I just have alot to say..... Or somthing like that. Atleast when I screw up a post I edit it, I don't post agian saying I was wrong.... Wait yes I do, never mind :(

meh im rather worried too :( as my exhaust is rather loud.
wouldnt really know how loud but louder than most (one of the loudest down here in the wellington club)
:(

tho grahames point of only being 36 nationwide makes me feel slightly better.

i dont really wanna make it quieter :(

think ill talk to my local MP,
surely harleys are louder :P no one complains about them!
oh and then theres the next door neighbour that starts his lawn mower at 8am on a sunday

hrrm
ohh and the idiot up the road that runs the shirt outa his motox bike with no friggin baffle

who then complains about rays car goin up the st
homo

ok ive posted enuff
tootles

Man this bites! What are they going to do next???
Im sorry son but the reflection from your chrome mags are distracting other drivers..... :finger4:

doesn't Banks the Wanks have a Harley??? :D :rolleyes:

Ummm, I also think he has a broomstick! :D

his other names harry potter?!?!?!

did anyone hear that he used to be a boy racer in his old falcon in invercargal? like driving up and down the local cattle run? :)

I still can't believe they are going to do this. they are stretching the legality of this anti-boy racer shit.

Hey guys get this... the actual legal limit WRITTEN IN THE BYLAW is 91 db!!! Get a copy of the bylaws from the city council and check it out... if a cop grabs you since the laws havnt been rewritten as such there isnt much they can do about it!! all they have done is posed a new limit in the city areas which if it came to going to court... wouldnt stand up.
seems kinda odd dont ya think?

Power to the people!!!:dogpile:

:dogpile: :dogpile: :dogpile: :dogpile: :dogpile: :dogpile: :dogpile: yes the poeple... of course the people! and ALL FOR THE PEOPLE!!!
did i mention the people?

thank you twuble for going to the "twuble" of researching that wee gem for us. hehehe I can't see there's any way they could do you for over 85db if the bylaw says 91:bloated:

oh moon dog you crak me up! :toothless:
but yeah... i think they are just pressign their boundaries here a little bit!

You know what is next don't you? Stereos! I know back in the states in many of the local towns there are bylaws that state if the police officer can hear your stereo from inside his car then he has the right to confinscate your car and issue a $1,000 fine for excessive noise!

Ok here's the deal: from memory the NZ law on Motor Vehicle noise levels specifies tests to be carried out to ISO/R 362 standards.

Bwwwwaaaaahhhhhaaaaahhhhaaaahhhaaaahhhaaa

For details on the ISO/R 362 download this by right clicking and save as... (http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29grb/grbinfdoc/session34/grb34-inf10.doc)

It is a working document on the next version of ISO/R 362. I really doubt the average policeman can don a boffin's white lab coat, pocket protector and calculator and successfully (in such a way it can be legally accepted) carry out a test to ISO/R 362 standards.

Thinking very deeply about it, if the police were totally impartial and tested every vehicle on the roads - I can see the following:

o John Banks' Harley with a pink sticker
o The end of the Rally of NZ (they drive on the roads between stages) We will be the laughing stock of the motorsports world.
o A new police / motorcycle gang war (after all have you ever heard a quiet Harley?)
o Just about every single bus in Auckland pink stickered
o Any truck that uses exhaust brakes (I'm sure the police will test every truck that goes down the Bombay hills - and pink sticker the entire nations HT fleet, killing exports of logs, food, hmmm just about everything! Shit stock up on food, this police action is going to starve us!)

And thats just the start of my musings.

For sure I doubt the DSE handheld units would even be considered as a noise measuring instrument.

In the meantime, I'm going hunting for the NZ leglislation that covers motor vehicle noise. Once I have a few more details, I'll put up a webpage that people can use to email tricky questions to MP's, Government Ministers, Local Government, and Police.

Originally posted by Razorgtst
You know what is next don't you? Stereos! I know back in the states in many of the local towns there are bylaws that state if the police officer can hear your stereo from inside his car then he has the right to confinscate your car and issue a $1,000 fine for excessive noise!

That is quite true, I don't have a stereo system so I donno what the dB limit is. Actualy, now that I think about it, I don't think there is one, theres is a foot distance(50 or 75 I think) were if the officer stands there and he can still hear your stereo, he'll sight you.

Next anti police device for ya car.................

A Decibel meter detecter!!!!!!:alien: goes up on the dash next to the radar detecter

Ant:newburn:

Great stuff Graham dude! The only way to beat this sort of crap is through legal channels. Big ups for all the research! Did a "westy" test on my baby this am and at 3000rpm in neutral, I figure I be staring around a big pink sticker before too long. Used the chainsaw I keep in the boot for impromptue bbq's as a tester ,the skyline got drowned out at a bout half throttle on the McCullough!! Using some very high tech calculations....I came up with about 95db plus or minus a can of ale.
As you say Vince, stereos will defineatly be next as the "Nanna" brigade have been on that case for some time. I believe a sound system was even blamed for one wally driving into the path of a train a few years back....god im raving on, must be the drugs I'm taking at the moment.
Cheers all
F-B:licker:

All for one..... and one for all! :dogpile:

i think the next thing after that will be reflective paint jobs... bucket seats... performance steering wheels... aftermarket mags.....

What are these bastards gonna do when tehre is nothing bu stock pulsars, minis, civics, and echos on the road?!?! THEY'LL BE OUT OF A JOB!!!! :licker:

Lets hope they don't pull out that sticker shit that happens down south.

You know the under 25 sticker, that'll just cause so many hassles.

i think we should have intelligence stickers on cars!! then all the pigs would have "UNDER 25 IQ" written on all their cars!! hahahhahaha

So does any one know someone who has been issued a citation because of this? Or is the law even in affect yet?

dunno yet... from what ive read... a few people down the way have!

Originally posted by Razorgtst
You know what is next don't you? Stereos! I know back in the states in many of the local towns there are bylaws that state if the police officer can hear your stereo from inside his car then he has the right to confinscate your car and issue a $1,000 fine for excessive noise!

May be in Kentucky, heh. But I've heard so freakin loud seteroes in Bos and Miami that was freakin amazing. You could freakin hear the music in the whole tunnel...haha. Cops doesnt really seemed to bother with it. Though cops are pretty cool in Miami. I speed all the time there and they never do a thing.

If you get a ticket under this new ruling, or eventhe past ruling, go and get free legal aid and take it to court.

I have an Alpine RTA that measures db. If you guys in Auck want a day to use it let me know and I can orgise for Vince or someone to pick it up (its at RX-7 heavan, or should still be anyway) for the day.

I wander how we would get on with the SEV. The blower may be over the db limit. I hope so anyway. Getting a ticket for a loud blower would be funny.

External wastegate venting to the atmosphere, grr now that will be over 80db :finger:

Hell there are alot of blowoff valves that I bet are way louder than that, thats why I got rid of mine, people would stand up at bus stands! LOL

have a look thru the (mind-numbingly dull) testing procedure described in the ISO document GraemeWi posted. (a) unlikely they could comply with that anywhere anytime at the roadside; (b) the meter has to be checked against a calibrated "thingie" both before and after the test. If it's 0.5db out - test is invalid. If it's not checked before and after a test, and you get a ticket or defect notice, I reckon you ought to be able to mount a pretty good challenge.

I spent some time today at the library - lucky the Henderson Library keep exciting stuff like leglislation. I couldn't find the Traffic Regulations 1976 on the shelf so asked a librarian. Without breaking eye contact with me, the librarian reached under the counter and produced a dog-earred copy. Only in west Auckland.

Anyway: heres the beef. Someone with a better understanding of law may like to work out what it actually means.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

976/227 Traffic Regulations 1976


29.Noise - (1) No person shall operate any vehicle which creates noise which, having regard to all the circumstances, is excessive. In determining whether any noise is excessive, regard may be had, in addition to all other relevant matters, to the manner of operation of the vehicle, the condition of the vehicle, the time of the day when the noise is created, the locality where the noise is created, and the likelihood of annoyance to any person.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subclause (1) of this regulation, after a date to be fixed by the Minister by notice in the Gazette, no person shall introduce, manufacture, or sell for first registration in New Zealand a motor vehicle the noise output of which when tested by a method approved by the Secretary, exceeds the levels specified in the first Schedule to these regulations.

(3) For the purposes of subclause (2) of this regulation, the Method for the Measurement of Noise Emitted by Motor Vehicles published the British Standards Institution, British Standard 3425, or I.S.O. Recommendation R 362, Measurement of Noise Emitted by Vehicles, shall be deemed to be the approved method of test.

(4) Where a motor vehicle to which subclause (2) of this regulation applies is modified, in a way that could affect the noise output of the vehicle, subsequent to being introduced, manufactured, or sold for first registration in New Zealand, a traffic officer or any officer authorised or the purposes of section 143 of the Act may require that vehicle to be tested for noise output and direct that the motor vehicle shall not be operated until it complies with the levels set out in the First Schedule to these regulations.

(5) Except in the case of motor vehicles described in subclauses (3) and (4) of regulation 69 hereof, or in a traffic emergency, no person shall use a warning device on any motor vehicle between 11 pm. at night and 7 am. in the morning in any 50 kilometres an hour speed limit area.

(6) No person shall at any time use a warning device on any motor vehicle otherwise than as a reasonable traffic warning, or make any "necessary or unreasonably loud, harsh, or shrill noise by means of warning device on a motor vehicle.

Cf. S.R. 1956/217, regs 22B, 43 (2), (6) ; S.R. 1973/316, reg. 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Traffic Regulations 1976,
Amendment No. 12

Reg. 9 SCHEDULE

NEW FIRST SCHEDULE TO PRINCIPAL REGULATIONS

"FIRST SCHEDULE

Maximum NOISE OUTPUT OF NEW VEHICLES

1. In this Schedule,

(a) The term 'gross vehicle weight', in relation to a motor vehicle means the weight specified as the gross vehicle weight of the vehicle by the manufacturer thereof.

(b) The term 'power output' in relation to an engine, means the net power produced by the engine, measured in accord international Standard I.S.O. 1585.

2.When measured in accordance with test methods laid down in British Standard 3425 or in I.S.O. Recommendation 362, the maximum permitted noise level shall be --

Vehicle Type Noise Level dBA

Moped. . 77

Motor cycle having an engine capacity of 125 cm3 or less: 82

Motor cycle having an engine capacity of more than 125 cm3: 86

Motor vehicle (being a motorcar, van, or light truck) having a gross vehicle weight of 3500 kg or less: 81

Motor vehicle having a gross vehicle weight of more than 3500 kg and having an engine with a power output of 150 kW or less: 86

Motor vehicle having a gross vehicle weight of more than 3500 kg and having an engine with a power output of more than 150 kW: 88

BAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA.....ahem....*cough*......BAAAAA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA......all this brings to mind to of my fav songs to belt out when the men in blue are around - F**K The Police - NWA and COP KILLER - Body Count (the censors didn't like the album - so they banned it....)....