Attention E-town Racers with Muffler Eliminators
 

03/14/06 - Raceway Park has always had a muffler requirement for Saturday racing. In the past there has been some lenience to racers with muffler eliminators who met the db requirements. However Raceway Park will now strictly enforce the "Mufflers required" rule for Saturday including all or the ones we race in. We have come to agreement with Raceway Park that all Corvettes must meet the muffler required rule by our third race of the season, April 1, 2006. Any driver coming to the track on and after April 1, 2006 without mufflers or with muffler eliminators will not pass tech inspection and will not be allowed on the track. This ruling applies to all Corvette Challenge classes including Pro 8 Shootout and Pro 10.0. Raceway Park phone is 732.446.7800. If there is any question about the legality of your exhaust, please contact Paul Bailey at Raceway Park and ask. We thank you for your cooperation with meeting this requirement.


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No worries here, I have a full exhaust.

That's a good thing, with all the hot air you put out. :rofl: :lol:

They have never paid attention to my side pipes before. Should I be concerned? I am hestitant to call attention to them. Some may view them as not being mufflers even though they have plenty of baffling and meet the db level. Another argument is that the factory optioned side pipes, although not the 4" chrome Hooker ones many of us use.

Opinions?

I would call the track and talk to Paul just to eliminate any confusion.

This comes a no shock, noise will continue to be a problem.

Yet the import cars can still have loud exhausts.

They still have the same db rules to follow.

What the hell is a muffler eliminator? Something in lieu of a muffler? Like a turbo?

Am I reading this correctly? EVERYONE needs a muffler regardless of db level? So, even though my car without mufflers may actually be quieter than a muffled vehicle, I still have to put mufflers on? And the deadline of April 1st seems reasonable to everyone? 3 weeks to get this done is fair? I'm not sure if anyone realizes or gives a damn but I can't exactly pull into Pep Boys and ask for a muffler to be put on.

This is wrong. This should have been communicated by Raceway Park BEFORE drivers signed up for classes. I could have had all winter to decide if I wanted to do this and get the exhaust fabricated. VERY poorly done. I'm very disappointed. I wonder if Raceway Park is willing to help me pay for a custom exhaust that I would have to build to comply with their new rules. Not happy about this at all.

Mark you should be okay but please do talk to Paul to be sure. What he said to me is it has to be baffled. I don't know how to prove it is or is not baffled or how he would either.

Paul, you are correct and I may have been presumptious in say "everyone". Don't kill the messenger. We all know Saturday is a muffled day, I hope. I am working the best I can with the hand delt. We were not even going to be allowed this week. Please give Paul a call and if you like, I can call for or with you.

RP has been beating this drum for a couple years actually... most people have complied some have not yet. It's not really 3 weeks notice..... closer to three years :) Paul Z.. Give Paul at RP (aka WP) a call & he can go over all the exact details with you. :thumbs:

Joe, what I'm saying is that I was in compliance with RP rules until today. Turbocharged cars were not required to have mufflers as long as they met the db levels which my car did. If Paul tells me that I now need mufflers even though I have a turbocharged car, that IS giving me 3 weeks notice.

I do NOT expect that rules be bent or broken on my car's account and I don't think anyone else should expect that either. I'd happily comply with the rules had the word come down late last year or BEFORE the season started. I can't just pull into Leo's shop and say "I need a custom exhaust fabricated in the next 3 weeks." That's incosiderate and just isn't going to happen.

Why can't you just get some Cherry Bombs at AutoZone for $9.99 & call it a day?

sorry :D


Im sure the two of you will be able to work something out :)

Thanks Edgar.

I certainly intend to call. Like Paul, I'm pissed that we appear to be getting caught in a semantics war. I am below the 90 db level. I always have and will continue to respect the noise abatement rules. I have been going to E-town for 4 years with this car and never once has anyone even singled me out to be tested there. My compliance with the db limit and the testing was done on my own. Yeah, I'm on the loud side, but apparently not loud enough to get anyone's attention. And I repeat, I am under the db level. Let's not overlook that my car is registered and while I don't often take it out, it can be driven on the street.

Technically I don't have mufflers. I have 4" tubes that have been outfitted with custom baffles and fiberglass. Homemade mufflers, if you will. What I don't agree with is the position the track appears to be adopting; that meeting the db level is secondary to having mufflers. What do they care how the limit is met as long as it is met by a means that is both safe and not capable of being altered in the pits after passing a test. Certainly turbo wastegate and exhaust configurations that meet the db limit should be allowed. They shouldn't care if I run petrified elephant trunks for exhaust pipes as long as they meet the db level.

Like Paul, Pep Boys doesn't stock what I need. In fact, besides a $2,000 investment in the original exhaust that I can kiss goodbye, I can't easily adapt a conventional set of headers and under car mufflers. Sure, dropping the car at Kooks for a custom set of headers fitted to the car by late August might be an option.

If they tell me I need mufflers then it's been nice knowing you all. If they want to give me **** about being 3 db below the limit then it's been nice knowing you all.

Paul, I would think turbo car would not be expected to comply with this rule if it meets the db rule.

Let’s give WP a call and have him do his job and make the correct business decision for both RP and the racers.

FWTW:
One of our CCDV racers had a chambered exhaust on his '79. He was not going to be able to race because they didn't "appear" to be mufflers. No db level was taken at that time even though he was sure the system would have passed. He was allowed to race last week but will have to have proper looking "mufflers" on for the next event. Mufflers have been ordered and will be in place for the next race. Guess if it doesn't look like a duck but walks and quacks like a duck it still isn't a duck!!! :D

This may sound naieve and in reality my car has a full exhaust, but what difference does it make really if the db level is ok. I understand Etown is trying to peacefully coexist with its neighbors but it seems to me the focus should be on noise and not on the method in which a racer chooses to meet a standard.

If anybody is interested I can fab up a couple of muffler simulators that slip over the exhaust pipe and will help you meet the muffler requirement.

http://www.advantagelink.net/catalog.../MFE-70231.jpghttp://www.advantagelink.net/catalog.../MFE-70231.jpg

:iagree:

Might be an ordinance to comply with using the term muffled.

I don't understand. If the noise level in below the required db allowance, what is the difference if the car has mufflers or not. My car has mufflers and it is much louder than Paul Z's. What is ET going to do when the Nationals are run on a Saturday?
This is BS. Why press the issue now. I agree with Paul, why weren't we told in the off season this was going to be put into effect by April 1st?
In my opinion, if members of our group are not going to be allowed to race, we should react as a group and support them. I for one will demand my entry fees be refunded. :toetap: