I have a lingering fear that's going to happen to me, but so far you're the first I've heard to have that problem. Were you "romping on it" when he stopped you?
Not really. That's another issue. He was pissed because I didn't take off my tint like he asked. He said he saw and heard me speeding but couldn't catch up to me because he was at a red light?
My wife is from Simi and I told her about this. She concurs on how Simi police are a$$holes.
She told me to tell you to watch out for them as they like to hide behind the Golden Nugget on Tapo and Cochrane. Apparently they have nothing better to do.
Haha, if he thinks the Scat Packs exhaust is too loud then what will he say about my Hellcat's stock exhaust? He's most likely jealous of your car. You can inform him that your car comes from the factory like that. If you really need to you can go to any exhaust shop and ask them to look at your exhaust to confirm it is stock. Then have them write you up something that proves its stock exhaust.
I am in central California, and I had this happen to me back in the 90's.
I was in my 1973 Charger(440 big block) Cop said he what chasing me for a while...
Long story short, six tickets(one for modified exhaust) I when to court and had all six throw out.
Now I had my ducks in a row before I went, but the cop was just being an ass.
Oh yea, the 440 had stock exhaust manifolds, 2.5 pipes, with new Thrush mufflers....no blown glass packs, no headers.
Your factory exhaust does not violate the California Vehicle Code in any way, shape, or form. If the Officer cites you for it, it WILL be thrown out in court. It's unfortunate that this Officer is making a big deal about your exhaust note but on the other hand, Simi Valley is a safe place to live because they have such a proactive police force. Funny thing is when I drove through Simi in my 70 Chevy Pickup with full length headers and shorty Flowmaster exhaust (sounds like the end of the world) the police never messed with me...
Last time I opened it up going from 10mph to 50 mph
There was a cop nearby, he didn't see me but came after me agressivly. At that point I was doing a quiet 47. He just followed me home. You have to remember that the boys are Looking for any reason to get you on the side of the road to find something else to arrest you for.
I'm more afraid of my window tint then my exhaust. I just put the windows down when I see an officer near. I did get an exhaust ticket a few years back on my Harley.
When you find some time, stop into Simi Chrysler, or Shaver Dodge in T-O and have the service department give you a statement stating the car is factory and smog equipped in all 50 states.
I think Crown in Ventura would hook up up as well.
Next time Mr. Mistaken Bacon pulls you over for "Loud Exhaust", hand him the statement.
I would be proactive and talk to his supervisor. Let him know about his tactics and attempt at trying to intimidate you. Let the supervisor know your car is stock.
Slid, I'm sure there is a decibel limit which would make the exhaust illegal. I'm also sure that Dodge did enough research to keep it below that level and that the officers hearing doesn't accurately measure how loud the exhaust is in decibels. That being the case, he didn't write a ticket so forget him.
I had a cop pull me over a few weeks ago for my exhaust. Only thing about the situation, was that he pulled me over because he wanted to know what I was running! I told him it was stock, then he proceeded to tell me about his 2013 SRT and how much he hates the stock exhaust on it. We talked for a little while and then as I left, he told me to stomp on it again! Great guy...
My guess is he wasn't sure about your exhaust after you told him it was stock and didn't have enough courage to admit that he may be wrong so he made up that "I'll be watching you" crap to try and save a little face. Really, don't these guys have real criminals to chase?
Even if they have a DBa meter it has to be professionally callibrated within certain time frames. A lot of municipilaties don't have this in their budget.
It's like if a cop stopped you for speeding and said you looked like you were going 70 in a 55. Determining this without proper equipment is leaving the officer to make subjective claims.
Or if you're on a busy freeway your car doesn't stick out and sound loud. If you are on a rural road after midnight it's going to sound a lot louder in perspective when in reality it is still the same volume.
Humans are faulty in determining consistancie because we are subject to perspective. Like when you walk into a bright room from a dark room it's going to appear brighter then it actually is.
FWIW My scat pack like most cars is loudest at cold start and will peak 89DBa which is 1DBa shy of the federal regulation. This is tested on 100% stock 2015 scat pack with a type 2 OSHA certified decibel meter.
I'm no sound control advocate but I've received my share of noisy exhaust tickets on other vehicles. All of which I have never paid anything for and never been found guilty.