Aftermarket exhaust in VA
 

hey,
I just moved to VA and was wondering if Aftermarket exhaust is legal here.
I have been hearing different answers so if anyone is from VA here, please let me know how you guys do it.
Thanks!

yes....

wouldnt it be better to ask in the local section?

It is legal, but cops in VA are assholes so it will only attract attention to yourself. :(

...especially if you drive a yellow convertable...and Asian. :(

From what I've been told by some police officers is that it is illegal to do ANY modifications to your vehicle. In others words if you didn't buy it from the factory that way then it is illegal.

From the VA code, the "exhaust system shall be of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment":

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.ex...0+cod+46.2-1049

There might be some wiggle room on how close an aftermarket exhaust is to 'standard factory equipment' depending on where you are in the state and the demeanor of the officer if you get pulled over, but you could get dinged for it.

That said, a lot of folks run them and I haven't heard of anybody getting hassled too much...

Basically the law is vague.

It has to be to cover shops like Midas Muffler. After all the exhausts the install are not OEM. They are designed just to be like OEM but there isn't really a distinction in terms of what the parameters are. For example, does "like OEM" simply mean having a resonator and two mufflers or does it imply some kind of noise level or piping diameter.

Of course it doesn't really matter because if the officer wants to give you a fix-it ticket he or she is going to regardless of whether the law is vague or not. If you try to take it to court (no matter how justified you may be in your argument), no body is going to spend time looking up the letter of the law and making a determination on whether or not your particular exhaust meets the criteria of "designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment"

Lots of people in VA have modified exhausts and a fix-it ticket isn't the end of the world and more of an annoyance (having to swap exhausts to get it checked and then swap them back) unless you're driving recklessly and get pinched on other things....

any modification to the oem exhuast is illegal, i think. but it is up to the cops. i have been pulled over many times and have not gotten ticketed for the eshaust. But then again i have been pulled over and ticketed by the same cop twice. I even had cop mention my tint and exhaust were illegal but only give me a ticket for my tint. so as you can see, it is all up the cop

its illegal to modify the stock exhaust.. the only way its NOT illegal is if the upgraded exhaust came from a dealer as a dealer part... kinda like the Scion tc and their Scion sc kits and exhaust and rims ect ect...

It is legal, but cops in VA are assholes so it will only attract attention to yourself. :(

...especially if you drive a yellow convertable...and VIHN :(