How's your exhaust ?
Discussion
I feel that its impossible to implement... Esprit had a far better post on the NZPC forums that I'll link to below. Basically, I think its something else that Labour will pledge to do and then chop it as soon as a coalition partner comes along.
Esprit's Post:
"Exhausts will be tested at WOF time for noise, all garages will need to have a dB meter.... and presumably a two-story anechoic chamber to accurately test the cars in.
Cops will be able to pull you over and test you at the roadside.... failure to pass this roadside test will result in a $250 fine and ten demerit points on your driver's license. Given that it's IMPOSSIBLE to accurately measure exhaust noise in anything but an anechoic chamber and that readings are significantly coloured by the surroundings, I daresay this makes most of us law-abiding citizens a target for more revenue gathering."
Save you the trouble of repeating yourself George
Esprit's Post:
"Exhausts will be tested at WOF time for noise, all garages will need to have a dB meter.... and presumably a two-story anechoic chamber to accurately test the cars in.
Cops will be able to pull you over and test you at the roadside.... failure to pass this roadside test will result in a $250 fine and ten demerit points on your driver's license. Given that it's IMPOSSIBLE to accurately measure exhaust noise in anything but an anechoic chamber and that readings are significantly coloured by the surroundings, I daresay this makes most of us law-abiding citizens a target for more revenue gathering."
Save you the trouble of repeating yourself George
It'll blow over... any number of excuses could be postulated by an individual as to why their vehicle may have failed a dBA test, particularly with regards to what Esprit mentioned in his previous post. To put it into context, 90 dBA is roughly akin to a shouted conversation (so, theoretically speaking, if the officer in question can hear you remonstrating over the sound of your exhaust he hasn't got a leg to stand on 
).
>> Edited by Murdock on Saturday 6th August 05:46
). >> Edited by Murdock on Saturday 6th August 05:46
Kiwi XTR2 said:Well 90dB is quite generous really. Consider that 160 dB instantly pierces your ear drums and 0dB is the threshold of hearing (the faintest sound a human can hear). A walkman at its loudest level emits 100dB of sound. What I would like to know though is what frequencies they will be recording from and to because our ears have evolved to intensify with sounds from 1kHz to 5kHz, you could have a noise exceeding 5kHz at 90dB and yet it could be virtually inaudible (Remembering that 1 dB is 1watt/m^2). Typically these high frequency noises are caused in a moving gas by unstable flow at the exhaust tip etc.
So, how does everyone feel about a 90 dB noise limit for all WOF's ? 
Anyone would think that there was an election in the next few weeks !
Other than that minor issue I fully support extensive noise restrictions on cars and hope they get more stringent for new model cars being imported.
My vote is not swung however, I value long term economic prosperity and ‘efficient’ job creation over knee jerk policy to rid us of student loans clearly aimed at winning an election.
If the law will be applied sensibly to get rid of all the knackered old hatchbacks with 6 inch exhausts pulling 8,000 rpm up and down my street at 3 in the morning, I'm all for it.
If it's a Stalin-esque general clampdown on anything with any sort of 'sports' exhaust, then no.
I haven't been in the country long enough to know which it's likely to be
If it's a Stalin-esque general clampdown on anything with any sort of 'sports' exhaust, then no.
I haven't been in the country long enough to know which it's likely to be
something else to bare in mind, throttle position when testing.My modified bike would read under 100db at the noise test at any point in its rev range, up to 13000rpm.However it would do this on about 5% throttle as there was no load o the engine.On the pit straight it would read 105-110db on full throttle.The same goes for any reasonable state of tune engine, car or bike.
My old Lotus sunbeam was the same, 5000rpm it was quiet as a mouse stationary, full throttle and twin 48's sounded like concorde
My old Lotus sunbeam was the same, 5000rpm it was quiet as a mouse stationary, full throttle and twin 48's sounded like concorde
It sounds like a very difficult law to enforce, but I think there definitely needs to be a way to enforce it. My window looks down on the Octagon in Dunedin, and EVERY night until very late I hear every boy racer showing how small his (you know what) is. Its extremely tiring, and I am a car nut. There is absolutely no need for the noise levels that most of these cars put out (and you know 99% have never even heard of a track).
gtivr4 said:
It sounds like a very difficult law to enforce, but I think there definitely needs to be a way to enforce it. My window looks down on the Octagon in Dunedin, and EVERY night until very late I hear every boy racer showing how small his (you know what) is. Its extremely tiring, and I am a car nut. There is absolutely no need for the noise levels that most of these cars put out (and you know 99% have never even heard of a track).
overlooking the octagon.....you didnt have anything to do with that fire the other day did you?
know what you mean about the boyracers, mostly they can't drive for s**t and think that flooring it through groups of people is a show of good car control.
90db is unmanagable, It would fail too many factory vehicles. Theres plenty of HSVs or Harleys around that would be miles over that.
I dont really see the need for exhaust limits. Sure theres plenty of (generally younger) people around with rediculously large exhausts which sound horrible but how can you reduce that without penalising law abiding citizens who have a louder exhaust for a valid reason. I agree the current system probably needs changed but I cant think of a better alternative
I dont really see the need for exhaust limits. Sure theres plenty of (generally younger) people around with rediculously large exhausts which sound horrible but how can you reduce that without penalising law abiding citizens who have a louder exhaust for a valid reason. I agree the current system probably needs changed but I cant think of a better alternative
I agree... since the new laws came in about exhausts a year or two ago,.... it's helped cure SOME of the problem, but every night you still see crappy old jap shyteboxes with baked bean can exhausts that could clearly be pink-stickered at ANY time should the constabulary choose to do so... but they generally don't... the exhaust law tends to be used more as a convenient way to ping you for "something" when there's little else concrete for them to stick you with.... Paul is right, there are a WHOLE lot of cars that would break a 90dB limit... every goddamn Ferrari V8 for starters as well as every Lamborghini and most HSVs.... if you introduce a standard level for exhausts, you also have to introduce a standard method of testing.... if it's using a noise meter as they say then it must be performed in an anechoic chamber to be effective at all.... a car that reads smack bang on 90dB in an open field may read two or three times that much if tested by the roadside with kerbs and buildings nearby... it's all very well to say it's good that they're introducing a quantifiable number to stick to, but to implement this properly they must also implement a completely unbiased, standardised way of testing that.... since I don't see them building anechoic testing chambers at every single WOF station, then it'll never be practicable or fair.
Esprit said:
. . . to implement this properly they must also implement a completely unbiased, standardised way of testing . . . it'll never be practicable or fair.
You've got to be kidding !!!
"People who respect the law and enjoy sausages should not watch either being made"
Esprit said:Anechoic chambers are cool, but not half as much fun as Reverberence chambers.
. . . it must be performed in an anechoic chamber to be effective at all . . .
The finger-snap that rings for 25 seconds
Esprit said:
if you introduce a standard level for exhausts, you also have to introduce a standard method of testing.... if it's using a noise meter as they say then it must be performed in an anechoic chamber to be effective at all....
This isn't quite correct. The noise tests they do overseas for new cars are done in open air, never in an anechioc chamber. There are two tests: drive-by and stationary. The drive-by needs an airfield type environment while the stationary test uses a relatively small flat area (with no kerbs or anything within 3m of the extremities of the vehicle). The two types of tests give very different results with the stationary noise levels being much higher than the drive by.
I don't know where the 90dB figure came from (As far as I know, they havent decided on a level at all yet)
The official EU measured noise levels for the Ferrari 550 are 73.6 dB for drive by and 85 dB for stationary. Then again, the 550 isn't exactly the loudest one out there... I would imagine that the V8 models would be above 90 dB.
alfa33 .... granted... but the fact remains, there still needs to be SOME sort of standardised test method.... I mean if there are ANY buildings nearby (within 20m or so) this is going to DRASTICALLY affect the noise readings... and then it also depends on what those buildings are made of... concrete, wood, metal, etc....
I just think what they're proposing would be impossible to implement fairly.
Another thing that gets me is the fact that I'll bet a penny to a pound that trucks, buses, trains etc will ALL be exempt from these laws... these would all be WAY over a 90dB limit... ever sat next to a bus pulling off from the lights? it's deafening!
I just fail to see how they'll make this work
I just think what they're proposing would be impossible to implement fairly.
Another thing that gets me is the fact that I'll bet a penny to a pound that trucks, buses, trains etc will ALL be exempt from these laws... these would all be WAY over a 90dB limit... ever sat next to a bus pulling off from the lights? it's deafening!
I just fail to see how they'll make this work
Esprit said:
alfa33 .... granted... but the fact remains, there still needs to be SOME sort of standardised test method.... I mean if there are ANY buildings nearby (within 20m or so) this is going to DRASTICALLY affect the noise readings... and then it also depends on what those buildings are made of... concrete, wood, metal, etc....
I just think what they're proposing would be impossible to implement fairly.
Quite right. They still have an uphill struggle to make it work!
Been reading with interest as I am currently involved in a dispute with a neighbour over their exhaust. Situation is that he has an early Evo, with massive exhaust and blow off valves. He lives in the section behind us, and surrounded by other houses. He leaves for work at 5.40AM and sits warming up his car with gentle revving, until driving off sounding like Darth Vader with bad asthma.
He wakes up everyone in the street, especially us, as his driveway slopes down close to our bedroom window, and you can hear his car puffing and blowing for about a further 2-3 minutes as he heads.
We've been speaking to the BiB as someone is going to go round there and smash the car up if nothing is done. Originally they tried green stickering him, but he would just go to the local VTNZ and they would re-WOF him as their interpretation is that the exhaust isn't 'significantly louder' than would be expected for that vehicle.
The problem is that the current rule (which isn't new, it came into force in 1976 btw) is completely subjective. The law states: "every vehicle must have an exhaust system and silencer which is effective and in good working order." To help vehicle inspectors they are guideed that the exhaust should not be "noticeably and significantly louder" than it would have been when it was fitted with its original exhaust system. All completely subjective and if your vehicle tester is a car nut, and he's quite likely to be one, cars get passed.
The good news, though, is that the cops just found out that the shared driveway was recently adopted by the local council as an official road - so he can apply the Road Transport Act, which has a clause for 'driving in an inconsiderate manner'. Waking up the neighbourhood is pretty inconsiderate. $ 600 ticket for Weds morning as the BiB has 6 different complaint. Cops quite happy to write out a similar ticket every morning until he stops. Funnily enough we've now had 2 mornings of peace...
He wakes up everyone in the street, especially us, as his driveway slopes down close to our bedroom window, and you can hear his car puffing and blowing for about a further 2-3 minutes as he heads.
We've been speaking to the BiB as someone is going to go round there and smash the car up if nothing is done. Originally they tried green stickering him, but he would just go to the local VTNZ and they would re-WOF him as their interpretation is that the exhaust isn't 'significantly louder' than would be expected for that vehicle.
The problem is that the current rule (which isn't new, it came into force in 1976 btw) is completely subjective. The law states: "every vehicle must have an exhaust system and silencer which is effective and in good working order." To help vehicle inspectors they are guideed that the exhaust should not be "noticeably and significantly louder" than it would have been when it was fitted with its original exhaust system. All completely subjective and if your vehicle tester is a car nut, and he's quite likely to be one, cars get passed.
The good news, though, is that the cops just found out that the shared driveway was recently adopted by the local council as an official road - so he can apply the Road Transport Act, which has a clause for 'driving in an inconsiderate manner'. Waking up the neighbourhood is pretty inconsiderate. $ 600 ticket for Weds morning as the BiB has 6 different complaint. Cops quite happy to write out a similar ticket every morning until he stops. Funnily enough we've now had 2 mornings of peace...
zaphod said:
To help vehicle inspectors they are guideed that the exhaust should not be "noticeably and significantly louder" than it would have been when it was fitted with its original exhaust system.
Brilliant!
At least that puts to rest my fears if I ever get around to bringing my toy back home...
I think the factory (road legal!) exhaust I have is around 110db ;-)
I'll just make sure I have my own complete driveway to the road, and maybe no neighbours for a mile or two...
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