is there a law against having no muffler on my 90 7.3L in california?

and will removing it just make my truck a lot louder? will it affect performance?

 

yes there is a law max of 89 Db at 15'. And cops here will check you.

 

And you will be way over 89 Db at 50 feet.

 

any idea on what a banks monster exhaust kit costs?

any other alternatives to buying the kit?

 

i just talked to a buddy of mine and he thinks we need to move the muffler as far forwards as possible, get a flowmaster 40, and just have a little downpipe after the muffler to make it louder than hell.

keep in mind he knows nothing about diesels. will this work?

 

you can move that muffler probably a good 4 feet forward.

 

Well I don’t have a muffler on my idi and it has a factory turbo and it is still quieter then my old 73 4x4 f 100.

 

what about moving the muffler forward and getting an aftermarket one? will that work?

 

Get a 3" see through muffler, also have a local muffler shop build you a 3" exhaust to go with it. It will be loud and run better as well.

You need to start the 3" pipe before the two pipes come together by the tranny.

 

There were some earlier discussions in this forum suggesting that you can get away with eliminating the muffler if you are running a turbo system. Don't remember if any decibel ratings were listed and I haven't had time to try this myself but a search might turn up those threads.

 

unfortunately running a turbo system is not an option at this time.

 

Utah has safety inspections annually. The law states that every vehicle must have a muffler OR noise supression device in operation at all times.

I have argued unsuccessfully with the pinheads that a turbo does in fact supress noise and that I do not want to put on a free flowing muffler that will only make my truck LOUDER....These state employees will not budge, insisting that the law really means you must have a muffler....PERIOD!! California law is much the same in that reguard. I remember some flak a few years ago about turbo's in California and there is now a paragraph specifically stating that turbos are not included in noise supressors. I hear trucks, cars, motorcycles every day that at least 2-3 times louder than my truck, they insist I must have a muffler.

 

Interesting law. Unless it has mandated that only factory mufflers are legal a person could make their own. A person might assume that a 3" pipe running through a chunk of 6" tubing would not only look a lot like a muffler if the ends of the 6" were blocked off but would also be just as effective as the store bought version and therefore would be a "muffler" meeting the requirements of the law.

I'm in favor of noise control but any legislation about noise suppression that assumes your exhaust is quieter just because it forces a person to install a "muffler" has little chance of accomplishing it's intended purpose. Conversely, if they measure the decibels your vehicle produces, and the noise produced by your exhaust is under the legal decibel limit, your vehicle should be street legal whether you have a muffler installed or not. Just my 2 cents on a Tuesday evening.

 

I completly agree. The goofballs that are licensed to do inspections also do a lot of their own interpretation of what is in the handbook. The Dept. Of Motor Vehicles doesn't even know whats IN the handbook, yet they spout regs. like they authored the book. If you can't beat em.....think a little and then beat em anyway.

 

I got a Banks 4" from turbo back and I cut out my muffler. You can definitly hear the turbo spooling up better (and thats cool) and when I lay on the throttle its louder than anything around me. It didn't do much for performence, and I don't have to worry about "the man" out where I am. If you do cut it out, which I recommend, just stay off the gas around the fuz.