I was stopped for my 355 being too loud!!

I was driving down on Hwy 84 heading back from Woodside and got followed by a cop, who was heading Woodside and immediately turned around to get behind me. As many of us experienced, driving such noticeable vehicle often attracts attention of friends in law enforcement business. So, I tried not to break any laws and kept driving at a speed limit of "25". After being followed for more than 5 minutes, finally I was told to stop. Following is our dialogue.

Me: "Is there a problem, officer?"

Cop: "Your car is too loud."

Me: "Really?" (knowing it is because of my kida muffler)

Cop: "Yes... Do you know it is ilegal to be that loud? What kind of muffler do you have, Tubi?"

Me: "No, I did not know it was ilegal to be loud. And the muffler is made by Kida, the Japanese made. It is legally imported and purchased in the US"

Cop: "I have heard the sounds of many Ferraris but your car is much louder than 430."

Me: "430? Really? It can't be..." (knowing it is louder than 430)

Cop: "Have you had another Ferrari before? How do you compare it to the sound of your 355?"

Me: "Before this, I had 308 QV with Tubi. But, I think they are about the same...."

Cop: "Did you make any modifications to your car to make it this LOUD?? "

Me: "No, Just this custom muffler and nothing else." (knowing my car has test pipes)

Cop: " Well, I cannot believe it. It is REALLY LOUD! Can you please rev it a few times?"

Me: "Sure officer.... reving, reving... Is this too loud" (I just gently and lightly reved)

Cop: "Well... it is loud... Okay you can go."

I glanced at his and another cop looking at my car and chatting as I was driving off at 25 mph and quitely.

Yes, the kida exhaust has definitely made my 355 the loudest 355 and I love it. I certainly do not rev the car in my garage or in my neighborhood as a courtesy. But, when I am out in the open spaces such as mountains or on winding roads. I just cannot help it. It is so addicting! I wish I could post the video/sound clip for you to listen to know what I am talking about. I tried it on YoiuTube but did not work. Maybe I try it again.

Have you had any similar experiences?

 

dude was diggin on your car!! you should be flattered! thats all. cops are more likely to be passionate car lovers than most other professions...

 

Considering that the guy knew about Tubi's and could compare to 430's, there's probably something to this .

 

Great story.

The other day I was sitting on a patio and an undercover cop pulled up beside my parked car. He ran the plates, got a good look at my 430 and took off. I'm glad he did run the plates though. Just common sense and being proactive about your job IMHO. If my car was ever stolen, a cop like that would get it back before I knew it was gone!

 

i got pulled over about 4 weeks ago on 208N in north jersey. cop saw the 288GTo badging and had never seen one. he actually apologized for pulling me over, said he just loved the classic ferraris, he thought it was a 308, and when he saw the GTO badge he immediately flipped on the lights. funny part was, for some rason, i get nervous around cops when they have ever pulled me over which is like never, (honestly!).
dude asks about the car, etc. i took a camera photo of him next to it, and told him he could sit in it.
he said no he didnt want to do that. he was really cool. he said he goes to th ebear mtn car show a lot and he gave me his email address. i was going to send the dude the cell phone camera shot, but of course i lost the card like a doof.

i thought it was really cool except for the first 3 minutes where i was wondering how much my insurance premiums were going to skyrocket for whatever goof i just did.

those guys love driving and are probably better drivers than most of us could ever wish to be. they are trained to go fast, corner and brake hard....and then draw a guN!!

 

And that training is in a POS verses a good car. Car chases would probably not last as long if they were in decent handling cars with some real power.

 

Sounds like he was admiring your car. He knows about Tubi's, how they sound, how the 430 sounds.

 

How about the cops who have all that training and drive a Ferrari off duty??

 

Come on.....I don't know of a cop that actually DRIVEs his Ferrari!!





I have not had this experence in my Ferrari but I once did in another car, the officer's son was doing up a car that was the same as the one I was driving, he was very polite and immediately said there was no problem and if I didn't mind could he look around the car, later he asked if he could take some photo's to show his son, I followed him round and round the car answering as many of his questions as I could. Definatly one of the coolest police officers I have ever met...

 

I would be really pissed if anyone pulls me over just to look over the car. I don't mind if someone asks me about the Ferrari while I'm parked somewhere but to pull me over when I'm driving... that's a serious abuse of the badge and the entire law enforcement system. I would have a heart-attack first and then report him/her.

Luckily, I only drive a 328!

Ace

 

I was pulled over last spring by a County officer going in the opposite direction. Did the quick U turn. I pulled over. He came up to the window and said he thought I was going rather fast (wasn't). Didn't say he clocked me but said I had no front plate. I did have it but obviously not mounted. Then he said my rear plate had a clear cover on it (it did) and that was illegal (news to me). Then he said my exhaust was too loud (said he could hear it idling with his windows rolled up. Fortunately for me he only wrote up a warning ticket.

Did he really need to do all that just to look at my car up close? Geez. Sorry to Robbie as he already has heard this story from me!

Maybe he didn't write me a ticket since I'm an old fart!

 

I don't think he was admiring your car. I think he was just wanting to be an ******. If you had a hot blonde in the car, you may have gotten a ticket.

 

Great story Nero.

I got pulled once by a CHP who clocked me at 10 over, and no plates. Checked the car/engine out, and wrote me up for no plates, front or back. Didn't say anything about the Cap3 or the Hyperflows, and he was on a bike in a tunnel when he paced me. I had to get new plates, and try to convince another leo to sign me off with just the back one on. Not happenin', at least in SF. Luckily, CA DMV also includes DMV employees in their "fix-it" ticket sign-offs, so the lazy chick at the San Rafael DMV didn't even come outside to see if I had ANY plates on the car. I still consider myself extremely lucky for not getting a speeding ticket, or impounded (he could if he wanted too, didn't say it but I know it's true). He was a really nice guy, and it was my own fault for not putting the plates on the car. Then there are all the other stories of how I got out of speeding tickets, but that's for me to know and you to never find out. Long story short, cops are humans, and just like everyone else some are d/cks and some are really cool, but I can't imagine doing that job full time and not turning into a somewhat ornery person, especially on the job.

 

I am pretty sure, from the look of his face and attitude, that he was not admiring my car. Yes, he seemed to know about the Ferraris but he wanted to give me a hard time about the loud sound. He really should have listened to the screaming sound when I was driving through the woods on the Skyline Drive. In our no-so pleasant conversation, he also asked me where I put my Kida exhaust on. I just told him it was done by my mechanic in Campbell. Them he asked me about his name. So, I said "Juan" is the name. He kind looked puzzled and replied "A Chinese mechanic working on Ferraris? " I thought it was funny.

 

Why would he assume Juan is Chinese? I know several Juan's who are Spanish. Odd for a policeman since they are "supposed" to have an open mind.

 

Maybe he was thinking of Won instead of Juan.

 

The cop looked like the Chinese-American. Maybe that's why he thought Juan was a Chinese.

 

Yoshi-sama,
Congratulations on the 355!!

 

lol...i didn't think of that

 

Grand Prix Motors?

I was out in my white 348 on Saturday. Had brunch at Alice's around 11am.

Glad I didn't run into that guy...

Kai

 

Thanks! The car is great. When I drove the mountain winding road yesterday, that made me realize the car's performance and potential.

 

You are as bad as my obnoxious Harley driving neighbor with the aftermarket pipes, waking up the 14 month old every morning as he scoots on by!

 

Hey, when leaving the house in the morning, I push the car to get the car in and out of the garage just like the Von Trap Family tries to escape from the German army. Of ocurse, they get caught and end up in singing at the concert. I felt exactly the same way by being pulled over by the cop.

 

I know you're trying to be all sarcastic and ironic, but if you cannot see that pulling someone over with no probable cause is an absolute abuse of your power, you need to find another career. This kind of behaviour is why people dislike police. We don't often see the 'hero', but we get to see the tax collector and bully on a regular basis.

 

I generally enjoy the banter with the Police. Although they definitely like to keep an eye on us. In the last two years I have seen more cops driving the F-car than a lifetime in the Civic. The only ticket I ever received was from Highway Patrol and I deserved it The idea of being pulled over so my car can be admired is just wrong.