Sound checks

[sledr4life]

I am heading out to the Hahn's Peak area in a couple of weeks and was told to watch out for the forest service doing sound checks.

Put your stock exhaust back on if you have a can, because if you fail your sled will be impounded and wont be released until you can provide the stock exhaust.

How much truth is there to this? Several in our group have cans and don't have the stock set up anymore.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated

m...

 

[BallsDeep_5280]

Never ridden Hahn's Peak, but this sounds "over the top" to me. Checking for noise levels... outside in an uncontrolled environment... with test results that could greatly vary depending on temp, wind, percip, and who knows what other atmospheric conditions.

Your best bet may be to contact the USFS and ask them about noise restrictions. I've only ever seen rangers patrolling the lots and trails on the Steamboat Powdercats permitted area of Buff Pass, and they were only looking for registrations and people poaching the permitted areas.

 

[AndrettiDog]

I know that Colorado State Parks has backed off of sounds tests a little. There isn't a real good science to verifying the sound your sled puts off. There have been debates on how far back to test sound, what RPM's, what surface (snow, concrete, etc). Anyway, I can tell you from talking to a few people at Colorado State Parks that the effort isn't to get the guy with the HPS can. It's to get the guys with the full stinger exhaust and sleds that are just way above the limit. Now, I'm not sure about the USFS though.

I can't imagine that anyone is impounding sleds for sound violations. I would just expect that they might ticket you.

 

[OuraySledder]

Depends on the local ranger district. They all kind of make their own rules these days. A few years back the Colorado Snowmobile Assoc supported the new noise legislation. That is about the time I divested myself of that group after being very involved. They have a new way to measure that is supposedly do-able on site. I have not seen or heard of them enforcing it but be aware that there are a number of bullies with firearms and badges that look for anything.

Impound my sled... over my dead body. That simply is NOT happening, especially in a remote parking lot in the woods.

I had a very bad experiece with the wood cops last season. Didn't think much of them questioning us until they were ready to cuff, tase or shoot us for not playing along with their bully tactics. I will never again stop speak to one of them. It only leads to trouble.

 

[WileyCoyote]

decibel level

I heard it's a $100 fine. They tested a friends dirt bike, different decibel requirement for sleds. I think you have to hold 4000 rpms, don't know what they do if you have a 3800rpm engagement

 

[mightymoko]

State and federal land managers are poised to enforce an 88-decibel maximum — below the 100-plus-decibel roar of snowmobiles in the past — with tickets topping $100 for violators
Fines only they will not impound

Read more: Colorado snowmobile-noise fines in the offing - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/ci_19840293#ixzz2oGnOfP7w

 

[BackCountryBob]

The Mile Hi Snowmobile Club has a state provided decible meter that we have offered to test your sled. The test cannot be conducted on a hard surface-packed powder/ice/gravel parking lot or in an area where there is ambient noise levels less than 10 dB below the measured sound levels. Google: Colorado Department of Natural Resources Dvn of Wildlife,etc, Legislative statutes 33-14-101 and 25-12-110 and SAE J1287 and SAE J2567.

RPM: 4,000 +/- 250 for 4 seconds. My clutch engages at 3,800 and I made an issue of the rpm range. If you load you clutch your engine will be louder!

The Rangers have been instructed to give a warning before writing the $100 ticket. They are mostly interested in the parking lot posers with loud pipes.

As a Colorado State Safety Instructor, my HPS can registered 91db so I went back to stock 2 yrs ago and found that my sled had much better mid-range and my ears don't ring as much.

So-be prepared with a copy of the official testing proceedures -SAE J2567 as most testing is conducted incorrectly.

BCB

 

[WileyCoyote]

test

Has anyone been tested with a Silber turbo(800 polaris)?

 

[milehighassassin]

Wow, no more than 10 decibels of ambient sound? They won't be able to test on Vail Pass, not with the interstate right there.

You can basically pass or have a means to have any test thrown out by revving your sled as your buddies sled is being tested, right? How can they get ambient levels down to 10 decibels if there are 10 other sleds just idling nearby?

 

[cateye5312]

After these rules passed in Colorado I actually called Colorado State Parks and asked to have my sleds tested because I had a couple with after market cans on them. We're lucky in Grand Junction to have some State Parks employees who are enthusiastic sledders and they regularly patrol the Grand and Black Mesa via sled.

Anyway, one of the employees actually came to my house, we pulled all my sleds out into a snowy field and tested them one by one. He had just got his equipment so it was a learning exercise for both of us. We read the rules and then applied them to the situation. All my sleds passed. Can't recall the manufacturers now because that was a couple of years ago and both sleds are gone but I think one had an SLP can and the other had one made in Canada. Both were a point or two below the 89 decibel limit. IMO most cans are going to pass. As mentioned above they are looking for the guys with the stingers.

The machine has to be at a certain height and distance from the sled, soft surface underneath and no background noise reflection (i.e. no big enclosed trailers sitting behind you). I know over the last couple of years they have only been issuing warnings.

 

[BackCountryBob]

Wow, no more than 10 decibels of ambient sound? They won't be able to test on Vail Pass, not with the interstate right there.

You can basically pass or have a means to have any test thrown out by revving your sled as your buddies sled is being tested, right? How can they get ambient levels down to 10 decibels if there are 10 other sleds just idling nearby?

They measure your sled-then measure the ambient noise. If the ambient noise is less than 10 dB below the tested dB of your sled, then your test is invalid . You = 90, ambient noise = 79 = 11dB differance = valid test results. You = 90, ambient noise = 81 = 9dB differance = invalid test.
They test you 3 times and the average the test dBs must = 88.

BCB