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Engine Specific Info and Questions => IDI Engine => Topic started by: boosted_diesel_84 on June 22, 2007, 08:42:36 pm
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your just cruising around late one night in your TD VW, not doing anything wrong, obeying all laws, and then bam! a cop comes out of nowhere and follows you so close you cant even see his headlights for about 2 miles, then pulls you over and says "your car is making excessive exhaust smoke and is excessivly loud". this happined to me last night, and my response to this wonderful enforcer of the law was, its a DIESEL!! but according to him, me going 35 mph in 5th gear at little throttle, not lugging or anything, with my pump turned DOWN as far as it can go and still run decent, creates to much smoke, i wanted to kick him in the teeth! he recomended as if my car was old and should be scrapped that if i plan to keep this "car" i should have a tune-up done, once again, i wanted to kick him in the teeth! then he went on to say my exhaust which is not even 1 year old must be defective and have a leak- which is does not! i tried explaining that its a diesel and they smoke under normal operating conditions, but he said no they dont, and i tried showing that the motor is accually louder than the exhaust and that is what he is hearing, but hes still convinced its a leak and defective. i was so f*cking pissed at this time, because this cop was such a jackass, but i restrained myself from going off on him, because i knew where id end up if i did, but i wanted to so bad!! he ended up letting me off with a warning and said that if i get pulled over again for the same reason, i will receive a ticket, but i will fight it all the way, because its bulls*it! what kind of knowledge and training does that dumbass have on diesel engines and their smoke output! none, i hate the system! or at least the cops in my town, where every freaking hillbilly in his 4x4 chevy, has dual straight pipes louder than hell, but gets away with it, but my little TD jetta that is ALL STOCK gets harrassed! sorry for my rantings i just needed to blow off some steam with people that understand where i am coming from :x
today in the day light i drove it had my friend watch as i tried to make it smoke, and there was only a visible amount when i took off, thats it, so i know this cop is in fact a complete ***!
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Wow that really sucks. Lots of people know very little about diesels. When the think of a diesel, they see a bigass big rig spewing clouds of black smoke...
The thing I hear most often is "your car needs a valve job".
WTF!!
The only people that truly understand my diesel addiction are other diesel enthusiasts and my close friends. Everyone else just thinks I'm nuts for even thinking of modding it.
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where every freaking hillbilly in his 4x4 chevy, has dual straight pipes louder than hell, but gets away with it, but my little TD jetta that is ALL STOCK gets harrassed!
you're right, it's silly, you did the right thing by not arguing with the gentleman.
I would think your inspection sticker should get you out of any ticket
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If a car follows me that closely I have a tendancy of "smoking" it. LOL. Good thing you didn't do that.
It's lame that you would be harassed for a loud exhaust (which as you say it isn't) when any motorcycle is louder.
He must have been really bored.
For the record, most cops don't like giving tickets. There is a pile of paper work that they have to do if they issue a ticket so if you are nice and it's a minor offence you can usually get away with a warning :wink: Traffic enforcement police are a different story though
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Got pulled over by a State trooper last year. I was going about 70mph up I-95. Pulled me over out of a whole group of cars. So I pull over and shut it off. He comes up and say's " So I see you shut it down, I guess you know why I pulled you over"
"ahhhh...nope."
"Turn it back on"
"OK"
rattle rattle etc etc..
"Got youself a hole in the exhaust huh?"
"nope...RRROOOOMMM!...." big cloud of smoke.....
"Oh...didn't see it was a diesel, have a nice night"
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Got pulled over by a Statw trooper last year. I was going about 70mph up I-95. Pulled me over out of a whole group of cars. So I pull over and shut it off. He comes up and say's " So I see you shut it down, I guess you know why I pulled you over"
"ahhhh...nope."
"Turn it back on"
"OK"
rattle rattle etc etc..
"Got youself a hole in the exhaust huh?"
"nope...RRROOOOMMM!...." big cloud of smoke.....
"Oh...didn't see it was a diesel, have a nice night"
give that state trooper a medal
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Got pulled over by a Statw trooper last year. I was going about 70mph up I-95. Pulled me over out of a whole group of cars. So I pull over and shut it off. He comes up and say's " So I see you shut it down, I guess you know why I pulled you over"
"ahhhh...nope."
"Turn it back on"
"OK"
rattle rattle etc etc..
"Got youself a hole in the exhaust huh?"
"nope...RRROOOOMMM!...." big cloud of smoke.....
"Oh...didn't see it was a diesel, have a nice night"
Haha that's a really cool story :lol:
Around here cops don't harass guys with diesels since they are VERY common. They know how to tell the difference.
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i don't see what ticket they could give you anyway? for having a car that from the factory is too noisey? when i got pulled over in my rabbit i fought it (as i do any of my tickets) and the cops said he heard me coming from far away, and my rabbit is 100% stock. but i got pulled over for speeding haha, which the cop was nice enough to reduce from 40 in a 25 to 30 in a 25. i really don't see where its a cops place to harp on you about maintenance when ur car was obviously not too loud and it posed no obvious danger to any one on the road. although i am surprised that your car smokes while ur not lugging on it... none of my diesels smoke while cruising.
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You need to move to the UK.
You can do what the f**k you want more or less, the Police don't have the time to do much else other than peperwork.
Drive like a dick in front of them and your in trouble, but by the by you get very little hassle here
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mr Brick, i agree we do got it lucky, i know some vdub guys in Belgium and they always moan about the rules and regs there.
i got pulled a month ago, i also have a scoobie impreza wagon (family hack) on it i have ever so slightly non legal font on the number plates, like only just slightly ilegal, i got pulled by a local cop, and she really had a moan at me. i moved house in Oct 06 and hadnt updated my my licence address, not a massive issue here, but she tore me another ass.
she made me replace both number plates, then i had to take the car to a MOT station for them to sign a form which i then had to produce at a local station along with the rest of my details. She was a right Batch :x
the funny thing was her name: Pc Moody, how I laughed. :lol:
i took a picture of the ticket i will upload it tomorrow. :lol: :lol:
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as promised
http://www.hillshy.co.uk/images/DSC00060.JPG
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but was she good looking
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Na, pitbull chewing on a wasp springs to mind :lol:
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When cops tailgate me I like to test my engine braking. "Sorry officer, I thought I saw a squirrel about to dart into the road."
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cops aren't mechanics, judges, juries or executioners...
They might win at the side of the road, but in cases like this where mechanical knowledge is concerned, they've got no knowledge, evidence, or any means to prove otherwise.
... when someone says "your car is broken" all I can say is "thanks" because that does 2 things.
Shuts them up
and
lets me get on my way.
No sense educating the eternally ignorant.
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True Dat - they are like door bouncers-club door folk. their both just looking for the slighest reason to kickoff at you, so best not to give em reason to!
my sister just married a policeman and the dude just cannot switch outa cop mode, sure not all are like that. He's 100% cop 24/7. Lucky her!
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I have a tale to relate. The car that I just purchased had a vehicle inspection recently, Why you ask, because the owner told the cop when pulled over his dash lites were not working that's why he couldn't see how fast he was going. So the cop gave him an inspection ticket. The result was he took it in to a shop and all sorts of little problems were found lights, brakes, and other things including it smoked. So they failed the car on all these things. All had to be repaired including the smoking by rebuilding the injection pump the net cost of this little affair was close to $2600 I have the bills to prove it. So be careful about what you say to a cop blaming mechanical issues with your car for getting a ticket. It would have been cheaper for this fellow to take the ticket and shut up. Cheers Dan
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True Dat - they are like door bouncers-club door folk. their both just looking for the slighest reason to kickoff at you, so best not to give em reason to!
my sister just married a policeman and the dude just cannot switch outa cop mode, sure not all are like that. He's 100% cop 24/7. Lucky her!
well it's a power trip thing, plus the fact that they take an oath to serve and protect 24/7. if they see an injustice, they have to report it or do something about it. i kinda feel sorry for that guy though... i have a cop friend and he's a really good guy.
oh and bigblockchev - if that kid knew anything about diesels he could have had it all fixed himself (including brakes, which are a piece of cake...) and the dashlight bulb isn't more than a half hour job for the first timer. (unless they break something :lol: :roll: )
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well I got a story that will make you laugh! It was about 5 years ago I was coming home from work in my 81 diesel n/a rabbit hummin along about 70mph in a 55mph. a sheriff pulled me over and as he approached my window he noticed my car was idiling.He ask if it was a diesel ? i said yes. sheriff says , i had one of these rabbits once! and it only ever got up to 55mph. there must be something wrong with my radar gun! you have a nice day! as he is walking back to his cruiser!
Ahh the luck i had that day but i sure was laughing the rest of the way home
what are the chances of an officer ever owning one of these cars and i keep thinking of how bad his must of ran to only do 55mph
well thanks Duane
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I find that when any of several irritation factors are present the chances of getting a ticket instead of a warning are greatly increased. to wit
-attitude
-tinted front windows
-soupcan exhaust
-1400W subwoofer turned up to earthquake level
-aggressive driving
-booze or other stuff
-shoppingcart spoiler
-blacked out or darkened signals or headlights
-looking young
-poorly maintained vehicle
-squealing tires
All of these scream out to The Man " hey pull me over". Whether they have any real effect on the safety of the drivers, they are none the less going to call attention to your self. Diesel owners are not immune from scrutiny either so if any of the above factors are additionally present expect trouble. I'm not saying that this is right just that it is so. Don't give the cops any reason to pull you over. This kid got stuck bigtime because of speeding, an injudicious comment and attitude. If he had kept his mouth shut and not shown attitude the outcome would likely have been different Stay off the radar if you can. Cheers Dan
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harley riders get away with open pipes,so why cant i...thats my response to the fuzz
yea the engine is louder than the exhaust,stupid cops
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Hope you have deep pockets if you ever visit Vancouver the "stupid cops" have db meters and issue lots of noise tickets to Harley and other riders with non stock ie no baffles, exhaust systems. In other parts of North America cops carry tint meters to check your front windows. Technology is catching up with us in everything. We also have rudimentry emissions testing for diesels here as well so far they only check for Opacity , but it is done on a dyno so it is more than just an idle test. Sooner or later most of the physically measurable irritation factors will be scrutinized. In my enjoyment of life I prefer stealth to get me through with a minimum of stress. Cheers and drive safe Dan
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I have never seen or heard of a local cop pulling over a Harley for noise violation. I pulled out of work one night right behind 6 guys that are all running straight pipes on their Harleys. There was a cop sitting in the parking lot right across the street, and I saw him so I didn't do anything crazy. Guess who got pulled over for loud exhaust? Hint, it wasn't someone driving a Harley. In Ontario the Highway Traffic Act allows cops to ticket you if "in their judgment" the exhaust sound is too loud. How can you appeal a cop's "judgment"? I took the car to the cop shop the next day without any changes and got a clean bill of health. Different cop of course, he said he liked the sound.
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The history of the sound db meters in Vancouver goes back to the days when there were a large number of bikers who seemed to enjoy sitting at Starbucks in the West end. They would have their beverage then roar off to the next coffee stop round the corner. The landscape of the West end is such that there are almost nothing but skyscraper apartment buildings so the sound would reverberate off the buildings in a deafaning roar. When this happened at 3 Am the residents got righteously indignant. Since there are something over 100,000 of them in what has been described as the most densely populated square mile on earth, a lot of political pressure was brought to bear on the police. They responded by bringing forth the sound meters and ticketing anyone whose machine exceeded the specified limits. This actually took the subjective element out of noise ticketing since as you point out you cannot argue with a cop's judgment of what is too loud but if the meter says it is OK then you don't get a noise ticket. So which would we prefer subjective judgment or objective. By technology or by ear. I expect we will be seeing more technology employed by police to backup the evidence that they collect, just look at the squad car video cameras used in many places in the US. This has been in place for several years. Cheers Dan
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I have a little story, I was in Wisconsin last winter when it actually snowed like a foot so I was havin' a little fun handbraking even though it wasn't fishtailing because I there were stop signs on the two corners I went around and the snow was to deep. All of the sudden I get a glimps of red and blue though the snow on my back window. I stop and the cop says "I noticed you were sliding, why were you doing that?" I says well its kinda fun :lol: he says not to do it any more 'cause " I'll be watchin' you" :roll: Then he wanted to search my car and I says, do I have to let you? he said no so I didn't let him. hahaha. He didn't even give me a ticket.
Another time I was drivin' a audi and I passed an unmarked cop at about 78mph in a 55mph zone, I saw the lights in his back window when I was beside him but I kept going and he never stopped me!! weird huh? sorry for the ramble