[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by crios

I just smog’d my car in CA last month, passed.

The sound is not LOUD, it's simply deeper. It's a growl, not a bark.

As for visual inspections, they check if you have done anything to the filter area, not the tail.

You cannot even see anything in my pipes, they are so dark with oil!

Most of the conversations I’ve had with CA residents having problems with the noise issue resulted from them getting noise tickets which required them to got to a smog check station to have the car “certified” before going to court. From what I have been told, if you get one of these summonses, testing is required according to the CA specs, which use a sound meter behind the vehicle a specified distance and on an angle to the side. The car is then revved to prescribed RPM levels while in neutral and the sound level is measured in dB. Usually, once you pass the test, the ticket is dropped.

I know you guys have some draconian laws about modifying cars, so I’m not at all surprised they check sound levels.