I am active duty military, leaving for Germany in a couple of months, and I am taking my 13 GT with me. However, after reviewing the vehicle inspection laws, it looks as if my beloved Borla S-types will not pass ze Germans vehicle inspection for noise level. This is a quote from the guide I found online for military regarding exhaust, "Motorcycles and POV exhaust levels cannot exceed 95 decibels." I'm not sure of the S-types exact decibel level, (I've only googled it), but I really think its over that. I know I could put the stockers back on and pass, but that would rather not because they are SUPER LAME. Does anybody know if the GT500 mufflers would pass this test? They are pretty affordable and sound really good IMO. Thanks!

 

Can you call Borla and ask?

 

I was actually just looking at their site for some info I may have missed, but I will probably shoot them an email.

 

Call and check, but you should be okay. Borla is typically 50 state legal, minus the Ataks. In CA, the legal limit is 95db. Stock R8s and Lambos are louder than that!

 

Do you guys know how they do the decibel limit in the states? I was reading some German regulations, and was able to take away the limit is at 75% of the RPM range.

 

95 db is pretty loud, is that a idle limit or at max revs?

How do they test?

Might not have the issue you think you do.

 

I've been searching high and low for some info on how exactly they test, but no luck. I've mentioned it to some coworkers before, but nobody I know has had a car similar over there. I'm pretty sure its at 75% of the rpms though.

 

Contact borla personally by phone, and ask one of their engineers. They have some of the best customer service. They'll know the db levels.

 

There should be someone over there you can contact to find out.

I would think that the test would be either at idle or at a reasonable steady state speed, as if it were going down the road.

 

Here's the thing...

The German's love American Muscle cars. However, they are SUPER strict when it comes to their traffic laws. You have to get your car inspected once a year before registration after initially getting it inspected when you register your car for the first time. When I first moved here to Germany in Jan of last year I'm pretty sure that I had the first '13 model GT in the area. The vehicle inspector asked me a ton of questions about my car, looked around a bit, checked the headlights level, shook the suspension on the rack, then walked under the car, came back out and asked if my exhaust was stock. Once you get your car inspected and registered you can change your exhaust back to the Borlas. I'm pretty sure I'm the only GT around here NOT running aftermarket exhaust and no one gets tickets for it. It's few and far between when you see the cops and as long as you aren't WOT when you go by then you will be fine. A buddy of mine has BBK LT's, O/R X pipe, and Magnaflows without getting tickets and his exhaust makes children cry. LOL. Make sure you have M+S tires at a minimum from October through Easter it's the law and you will definitely need them as it snows in Bavaria till mid April.

If you have more questions let me know. Where are you going when you get here?

Prost!

 

^^This +100. I'm in the AF and spent 3 years in Germany. What Steve is saying is exactly right. Cops won't mess with you for a loud exhaust. You HAVE to either have winter tires or all seasons for the winter months as described above. A guy I worked with had his car smashed into while at a stop light when during the winter with the roads covered in snow. He still had summer tires on his car and even though the lady smashed into him he still had to pay a hefty fine for having summer tires during the winter. Polizei ticketed him on the spot!

 

I actually thought about doing throwing the stockers on for inspection, but wasn't exactly sure how the police situation was about it. If that will work, that's what I will do. I still have the All-Season Pirellis on the 'Stang, so even if I drive it in the winter, I should be legal. I plan on picking up a winter beater after I get settled in.

@Steve, I will be getting to Ramstein around the end of April, depending on how much leave I take

 

There are plenty of winter beaters out there to be had. I didn't bother. Are you getting stationed at Ramstein? That's a great area. I'm way over in Vilseck. Hopefully it has stopped snowing by then. LOL.

 

When I was stationed at aviano, Italy I used to spend more time in Germany than Italy lol. Loved Germany, very clean and beautiful.

 

Are you in the AF? When I was in Germany I was stationed at Ramstein. I was there from 06-09. Hopefully I will be going back in the next year.

 

Are you asking me? If so then yes. I was there in 03-05. Ill hit 12 years in June.

 

I would just put the stockers on and change back after inspection. At Kapaun they can be pretty strict.
If you never been here your going to love the autobahn!

 

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com#...&forcesecure=1

This has the decibel lev of several exhausts. Very good reviews as well!

 

Bringing this back from the dead, but it's too funny not too. I went ahead and shipped the car with the Borlas on it, and shipped my stock mufflers in my household goods. I finally got my car about a month ago (on the last hour of the last day they could deliver it without paying me for a rental car). I took it to inspection the next day and the German inspectors immediately went and requested the decibel meter. I failed by 2.1 decibels! It was so close they had to run it twice. To their credit however, they only ran the test at 3k RPM, when they are supposed to run it at half of the range. The guy handed me back my keys and failure slip and said, "Sounds good!". LOL I threw the stockers on the next day, and passed with flying colors. Just a little PITA.

 

Dang, when my Boss came in they didn't even run the dec meter. Where are you stationed?