Loud Exhaust On Snowmobiles... Is there a place for this anymore?

OK... I'll start up a nice "HOT" topic that, IMO, needs to be discussed more... especially as we see more and more lands getting closed to sled access.

Non-Snomobiler impressions of snowmobiles are being directed by some people that primarily show loud exhausts in videos etc to ruin the public image, of snowmbile riders and their machines. Non sledders/offroaders outnumber sledders/offroaders by a Gargantuan margin.

"They'll have to pry it out of my cold dead hands" ??? Well, "they" just might

And "they" wont just be granola crunchin greenies... I've met plenty of card carrying, large carbon footprint, ultra conservatives that could give a rats azz about sledding and find them to be very irritating... so lets not make this into a Conservative Vs. Liberal thing.

Loud exhaust does not equal "PERFORMANCE"... It just makes you feel that your sled is making more power... compared to a Well Designed quiet exhaust. You can design a quite exhaust, be it 2 or 4 stroke, to make just as much power or more than a straight exhaust...It just costs a bit more.

"Screw the Greenies... I'll run as loud of exhaust as I want to!!" is actually "Screwing" ourselves as snomobilers....

I like the sound of a nice loud engine running in good tune...Weather that is John Forces funny car or a good running MX bike.

But we live in a shrinking world today

What sounds "Sweet" to you can sound really BAD to others.

Look at it this way... if you were sitting in your living room, with your best buddies, watching the Superbowl on your new surround sound equipped 50" plasma TV... beer is flowing / steaks on the grille...... and in the middle of the second quarter....the neighbor kid and 6 of his buddies decide to "tune" their chainsaw-engine powered Go-Peds for the next 2 hours, on and off ...with straight pipes..... Would you sit down and say... "Heck, junior has the right to run what he has....I'll just turn the volume up a bit"

OR

You are fishing a great little trout spot... and 6 loud dirt bikes decide to ride there while you fish...

OR....

You are hunting and somebody keeps ripping buy in their modded turbo RZR for a while and scares off that prize 12 pointer....What would happen?

Others may say "Well that analogy doesn't apply to me....I only ride EXTREME backcountry and there are no other people around"... Is that ACTUALLY true??? Do you live and ride in the Yukon hinterlands?? Can no one else hear you... when you unload in the lot, or take the fire/logging road to get to your favorite spot??? If you really can say yes to this... then you are in the 0.05% of the snombilers out there.

"Loud pipes save lives"... That dog just don't hunt anymore... that excuse has far too many negative consequences to it.

IMO, Loud cans/stingers or straight Turbo exhausts are bad for the public image of sleds...
Those that ride with loud pipes are causing more damage than just "pizzing off a hippie". They are taking away from the future of snowmobiling in the backcountry....

Radar guns, speed limits on trails with Police watching....boy, that sounds good!

Bad public image of snowmobiles...even from people that are NOT 'greenies' starts a chain reaction from other people that don't care if motorized access is closed.

It is sad to say... but the PUBLIC OPINION will decide weather or not we have sledding access in the future.

We don't need any new people that want to take away sledding access.

Manufacturers that make loud exhaust products are actually hurting, IMO, their own long-term ability to make a living off of snowmobiles...if sledding areas keep getting closed at the rate they are = big problem.

If you are a Manufacturer of exhausts for sleds, or turbo systems...and chiming in here.... please tell us what you make and the sound level it produces.

No need to flame from me.....Couldn't have said it better!!!! Another great post!!!

Ok.... I see your point..... but.. I'll throw a spin on things...


Why is it ok for Harley riders to have bikes that are so darn loud they can be heard from MILES away, when 1/2 way across my town on the hwy?

Why are they allowed to be loud?

Most high performance machines are loud for a reason...... less restriction.

However, if you do some research.... vehicles with a shorter / no "muffler" exhaust off of a TURBO are actually fairly quiet, in comparison to their supercharged or N/A counterparts.

110dBa shouldn't be considered "rediculous". I know that a concert hall is a LOT louder than that. Shoot, a BAR is louder than that.

I love the sound of my two-stroke!!! I love NHRA! Our home theatre can shake the windows.

BUT.....

I can tell you - I am opposed to LOUD sleds, motorcycles, etc. The sound of our machines is the greenies largest weapon against us. And they are DESPERATE to get us off "their mountains". They talk of "sound barriers" surrounding Wilderness areas - barriers of silence, if you will. Seems ridiculous right?? Well Obama was just awarded the Noble Peace Prize. Anything is possible!!

(sorry - I know you said no politics, but I just had to make my point)

I gotta say that I frickin' HATE Harley noise. Used to drive me nuts that they get to 'pop-pop-pop-pop-pop" around town while the Feds were always crawling all over my Pro-street Duster checking for DOT exhaust and the like. I agree on the noise with the toys....although I must admit that I am an offender. The XP with Dyno pipe and MBRP can is actually at least as quiet as stock at low RPMs....so when I ride around home or even when I am around the sled staging areas, I stay OFF the throttle as not to offend. Same with my quad.....I have an obnoxious pipe on it (yes...it picked up 5 RWHP) so when around camp or around my neighborhood, I stay off the throttle.

The thing is...
2 strokes need restriction in the exhaust to perform better. so anyone thinking that the loudness creates more jam is mistaken.
I am running a stock exhaust right now, and I tell you, it actually is kinda nice to not have to wear ear plugs while riding.

Why is it ok for Harley riders to have bikes that are so darn loud they can be heard from MILES away, when 1/2 way across my town on the hwy?

Click to expand...

I see your point and respect it.

I live in a big Harley town.... people get pretty big tix left and right for loud pipes here on their scoots... as they should IMO.

BUT....Harleys dont have endangered riding grounds like sledders do... and there are a whole lot more of them than sledders....

Lets keep this on track about snomobile exhaust and not "It just not fair"...

Mag said:

When people arent allowed to polute the air I have to breathe with cigarettes and 300 lb chicks have a dress code I'll worry about how my sled sounds.

Click to expand...

this is exactly the kind of ignorance the greenies are using to close down the land we ride. please, dont EVER speak in public representing our sport.

when you no longer have land to ride your sled...have fun smoking cigarettes with your fat girlfriend.

I thought about buying a exhaust can for my 2008 M-8 but instead of spending $275.00 on a ex-can I have decided to spend the dough on an AVALANCHE BEACON instead >>>>.

I have an mbrp can on my 900, yes it is loud but I believe it runs better than stock because of less back pressure. When I was around another 900 with stock exhaust his had a bog, but also been around another 900 with slp can that ran good. I'd like to think it has more hp but believe it just runs better. I could never admit it until I let a friend ride it and it is LOUD. With that said the next sled will be stock or a lot quieter exhaust because the 900 is just to loud.

Let Cool heads Prevail!

C'mon..... lets not turn OURSELVES into the problem....

Insults dont get us anywhere...

I know both Modsledr and Mag to be very smart people.... Lets not get all worked up.

Mag.... people like Brent (Modsledr) have been fighting the good fight for Sleds for a while... SAWS is a better organization because of people like him.... Washington is a hotbed of controversy for the right to access for sleds and this stuff weighs heavy on his mind. I think he has a bit of hair trigger these days.... especially in light of a wise cracker comment like the smoking fat women... allbeit in good humor.... he probably missed it.

Brent, how bout some other words on this topic... I know you have them!!

You too Mag!

Loud pipes help close riding areas.

Personally I'd sign a industry wide petition to send to all exhaust manufacturers asking them to cease production of them.

I believe that stand-up riders could cause riding areas to be closed because stand-up riders are more likely to break branches off of trees so lets ban risers on handlebars and then we should voluntarily go back to 3/4 inch lugs on our tracks to keep sleds on the trails and off of the powder. Yeah I know I'm being sarcastic but if anyone believes that making sleds whisper quiet will pacify the greenies you are sadly mistaken. You could make a sled that runs on carbon dioxide, emits oxygen at "0" decibels and erases it's own tracks and they would still be trying to close riding areas. I guess this means that those of us who chose to ride older sleds that do not meet the latest decibel standards should voluntarily give up riding for the good of the sport.

onlyrotax said:

I believe that stand-up riders could cause riding areas to be closed because stand-up riders are more likely to break branches off of trees so lets ban risers on handlebars and then we should voluntarily go back to 3/4 inch lugs on our tracks to keep sleds on the trails and off of the powder. Yeah I know I'm being sarcastic but if anyone believes that making sleds whisper quiet will pacify the greenies you are sadly mistaken. You could make a sled that runs on carbon dioxide, emits oxygen at "0" decibels and erases it's own tracks and they would still be trying to shut us down.

Click to expand...

You can't argue that noise is a big nail in the sledder's coffin. Heck I even find it annoying when a sled blasts by with crazy-stupid decibels. When it can be heard in the valleys, or across the valley... you have a problem "pacifying" the locals. The general public chimes in and agrees with the granolas.

If it is something that is unnecessary and easily preventable, I say it is a good idea.

onlyrotax, you make a good point but it is only true to a certain extent. Yes, the hardcore greenies will never be satisfied until EVERYTHING motorized is out of the backcountry. But they don't make the rules, they generate a lot of press and lobby for their position but the vast majority of people are more towards the center and they are the ones that vote (at least until the last election) and therefore actually make the rules. It is these people that we need to worry about, and these people are usually willing to accomodate other interests, hobbies, sports etc... as long as it doesn't come at a great inconvienence or annoyance to themselves and this is where the noise issue comes in. Several places near my home are set-up for snowmachines in one area and other backcountry activities in another. Given that I backcountry ski as well as ride a sled I frequent these areas a lot. I can spend an entire day backcountry skiing and watching the sleds highmark across the valley and none of my tree hugging ski partners will ever say a negative thing....until the one dude with the loud can lays into the throttle and the sound resonates through the whole place. Now all of a sudden the sledders have highlighted themselves and every skier out there instantly has a negative opinion, when minutes before they didn't really care. Hell some of the sleds are so loud that it pisses me off even when I am out riding my sled. I love this sport and fully understand the thrill of a mod sled and more horsepower, but we are literally supplying the 'other side' with the rope that they are going to use to hang us. Most people are willing to let snowmobilers do our thing, but all you need is the one guy with the obnoxious pipe and all of a sudden all those people are now advocates of 'non-motorized access' and all sorts of other restrictions. As usual its a very small percentage causing an issue that will affect us all in the end. We had better police ourselves or someone else is going to do it for us. And yes I also think its crap that every Friday and Saturday night I can hear the Harley guy accelerating down the highway which is 3 miles away, but that's another battle and comparing us to them will not help us in any way.

Yeah its always nice to keep exhaust to a minimal level yet still make great power, BUT I am totally opposed to ANY more laws telling me what I can and can't do.
These land "grabs" are not about "noise" or "green" they are the best way to just give the federal goverment more control over OUR lands. States should start taking back our forrest areas and start kicking the feds out. It is fast coming to the point that we the people will have to start taking back OUR lands.

Keep PUBLIC lands PUBLIC !!! they are there for the people !!

I have a stupid question.
A couple years ago I was watching this show on the learning channel.
It was about this very subject.
Over in brittan they had a very large and well funded group that is BIG into street rods. They demanded their right to have earth shakingly loud car exhausts so their cars could breath better.
The locals all demanded the cars be banned from the roads because they were obnoxious.

The car guys all got together and came up with a solution that cured both problems.
They could literally run 3" straight pipe with no exhaust can and the car ran whisper quite.

How?

counter harmonics.
They designed a system that introduced a counter harmonic into the pipe that would act in such a way as to counter the exhause harmonic and cancel em out. The car was litterally whisper quite. The whole thing was the size of a pack of cigarettes.
I did a little searching to see if I could find it and I couldn't.
I will try again from work (have a MUCH faster connection).

The down side to the above was the kiddies got ahold of em and started putting adjusters on the controls that would change the tone of the exhaust and they could make their little rice burners sound like a diesel if they wanted.

Mag said:

You can't really be that stupid!

C'mon really....no.... really you can't be.

My sled is quiet you dolt!


Side note: Do you think quiet exhaust will make the greenies stop in their quest? Noise is what they are using now, what's next "blue smoke" "ice worm's" "yeti's" they will find something to bytch about.

Click to expand...

LMAO...no worries Eric, name calling stopped bothering me in elementary school.

Mag...I was responding to what you wrote...I didn't write it, you did.

As for whether or not a loud sled is the final nail in the coffin...of course not. THe point is that it's one more piece of ammo the greenies use against us. Pretty easy to rally the local non-sledders against us when our machines can be heard for miles.

This is EXACTLY how they recruit new members...by pointing their fingers at us every chance they get. Noise, smoke, litter, trespassing...these are all things that can be easily avoided so they cant be used against us.

I too feel like the insanely loud pipes are hurting us but really, it doesn't matter how whisper quiet our machines are we will still be attacked by the extreme greenies who want the trees and squirrels for themselves, not to be intruded upon by anyone else' favorite way to recreate and see the countryside.

I was in one of my favorite riding areas a while back (not a groomed area but back country) eating lunch with all my riding buddies with ALL the machines turned off for over an hour.
4 "Skinny Skiers" came down the hill and scowled at the whole group just for being there and leaving tracks in "Their" snow.
Noise had nothing to do with their pre-conceived opinion of our sport.

My sled has the quieter version of "The Thing" can and is only mildly louder and throatier than stock.
I LOVE the way it sounds and is by no means obnoxious,
I'm an old guy who still loves to get out and play on high horsepower machines and I have an appreciation for a well tuned racy sound from my motor whether it's my Chevelle or my sled.
My wife's sled sounds like a sewing machine...Good for her, but not for me.

Keep them quiet in the staging areas and while passing the skiers...idle speed is quiet and won't make us all look like a pack of crazed lunatics out to destroy the tiny woodland creatures.

Use your heads for Christ sake.