hey guys i just got my cutout welded on yesterday, love the sound...but i was just wondering if it is over the legal limit for sound level? thanks for any info.

 

It should be over just about any state's limit IMO.

 

My guess is cutout would be too loud.

You can get a decibel meter at Radio Shack for ~$40 or $60.

With a 3 inch catback pipe and a flowmaster muffler, I pass my autocross club's sound level. It is 25 feet away, on a part of the course where you are likely to be under full acceleration, and 91 dB. My car was no cat, but didn't sound any quieter to me when I had the cat put back in.

Just an aside: The car was too loud for comfort, though! I put stainless steel sink strainers on threaded rods, and shoved those into the 3" tail pipes. Definitely quieter, but not quiet! We lost an autocross site last year due to noise, so I want to be sure to not be too noisy.

I'm probably going to put a (gasp!) stock muffler back on, but put a cutout on, too. Hopefully I can figure out some way to open it electrically or with a lever or something.