As any S550 Ford Mustang GT owner already knows, these cars can be pretty loud even with a stock exhaust. Throw an aftermarket exhaust in the mix (plus some headers, if one really want to make some noise), and it’s virtually a guarantee that at least one neighbor is going to be triggered. And that’s exactly what happened to a fellow named Aaron Robinson. But instead of simply complaining about it, the angry neighbor went a tad too far.
Robinson awoke one morning to find the exhaust tips of his Ford Mustang GT stuffed with what appears to be expanding foam insulation. He also received a loving note from said neighbor that sounds like a bit of a threat, once we get past the poor grammar, sentence structure, and nonsensical word usage.
“I finally found you!” the note proclaims. “You want our attention, you don’t want our attention. You have 14 days to fix the mufflers or put the stock back on. Don’t egg us on or you will only regret it! We encourage you to call the police, install video, nothing will work.”
The note even goes on to list the local police department’s phone number, in case Robinson doesn’t have a phone book or Google. Luckily, Robinson was able to get most of the gunk out of his exhaust, which is a Borla unit, for those who are curious.
Robinson was quick to post pictures of the vandalism to social media, and it’s since gone viral. And while most people who chime in suggest cutting the exhaust off completely or doing burnouts in front of their house, we’re not so sure those are great ideas. The best thing to do here is probably to notify the authorities, install a security camera, park the pony in the garage, and move on.
We’ve seen plenty of angry neighbor stories related to loud exhaust in the past, but this one certainly takes the cake. Hopefully, the person that did this to Robinson’s beloved Ford Mustang GT will be found soon and brought to justice.
We’ll have more on this story as it develops, be sure to subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Mustang news and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
Comments
as much as id like to make this guy eat his teeth, call the cops.
you have the letter and if you have it on camera or an eye witness he can be charged with criminal mischief and trespassing. now he can pay for your new exhaust and a lawyer and you can get a restraining order. that way if he or a family member tries it again its an automatic trip to jail and the law is on your side.
if this guy is that brazen i wont be surprised if he takes it to the next level. document and report everything so youre protected.
Sounds like vandalism to me. Threats too, just lovely.
To all the noise makers: It is illegal, rude, and a clear public health and safety issue to exceed normal approved vehicle exhaust noise levels.
So why do you do it, in the first place? It is NOT O-K.
Responses like this one, would not happen, if you did not do the “look at me” “listen to me” behavior / action in the first place.
Think about THAT.
Mufflers and resonators make exhaust quieter by placing restrictions in its path. These restrictions force the engine’s exhaust to flow around them, reducing noise emission and robbing horsepower in the process. If someone wants a quiet car, they dont buy a racecar. And if you want a fast car and squeeze as much power out of the engine as you can, usually straight pipes and gutting the catalytic converters are in order. As usual, always check local laws for what is permitted on the streets. All modifications are perfectly legal, but not all are street legal. People that dont have or care about fast cars are quick to assume its all for attention. But its not. Its a hobby, and like drinking, it should be done responsibly.
Thank you for reading my mind!
who said that this exceeded legal noise levels?
so he should follow the law but if you dont like what hes doing its ok to take matters into your own hands and vandalize his property after leaving a threatening letter?
sounds hypocritical
You may be right but regardless of what you think, what the neighbor did was illegal – plain and simple. And if he’s caught, he can be charged with criminal trespass and property vandalism. To use your own words: “So why do you (the neighbor) do it in the first place (trespass and vandalism)? That’s not OK.”
Think about that. If you don’t like the loud exhaust, bring it up to the city, your councilperson, etc. In the meantime, check the laws on your state to see what the legally allowed decibel level for muffler noise is. Oh, wait, I know what it is. If you live in California (which is the only state I know that has an actual allowable limit – max 95db), every other state in the union states that exhaust noise has to be of a reasonable level. In other words, they don’t give any sort of ratings for this so it’s up to the ears of the listener. In other words, this guy is most likely not breaking any laws.
Think about THAT.
Too much exhaust noise is a danger and damage to human ears. I strongly recommend not modifying your Mustang to get more power if the exhaust noise is too great. That owner could had lost his Mustang either way, by the clogged pipes or by a court order to confiscate (and dispose if the judge want it) that Mustang if the neighbors put up a class action against the owner. Your neighbors live longer next to you than any Mustang ownership. And that neighborhood relation will help or harm you!
I prefer quieter cars, such as hybrids and electrics. Buy the Mach-E!
Link to local law regarding noise from vehicles (middletown CT) https://law.justia.com/codes/connecticut/2012/title-14/chapter-246/section-14-80a/
Link to FAQ for Borla exhaust used by vehicle owner, says what peak noise level is – https://www.borla.com/support/faqs/
link to .org site explaining noise levels and affect on hearing damage – https://hearsmart.org/what-problem/decibels-and-damage/
Local law for Middletown does not provide a one-size-fits all decibel level for motor vehicles. Hearing damage can begin at 94 db, but requires a constant level for 1 hour to occur. Similarily, sirens from firetrucks, ambulances, police cruisers are around 109 db which causes hearing damage in under 2 minutes.
The max peak decibel rating of the owners exhaust is 95 db, which passes CA state law.
So we know that the noise from his exhaust does not break local laws, will not cause hearing damage (unless he is goosing it for 1 straight hour = very unlikely), and that the neighbors are more likely to suffer hearing damage from local responders.
What we dont know is how sensitive or easily annoyed the neighbors are, if the owner is a dick behind the steering wheel, and if both parties have tried to work this out with local authorities in the past. So far, the neighbors are the only ones that have broke laws, endangered safety, or escalated the conflict.
As for your comment about the mach-e, maybe in the cities and suburbs. No one in my county has an electric vehicle. You would have to travel at least 2 hours to find a dealership, and the charging infrastructure isnt available here yet. Most of the country is fields, woods, and mountains. Wide open spaces where neighbors are seperated by at least tenths of miles, and noise carries but fades. Middletown CT has a population density of 1,144 people per square mile. Packing people that close together is going to cause friction. im not surprised this interaction occurred and was ever so exaggerated. It must be nice when people have so little and insignificant thing to worry about that they are willing to break the law and endanger others to draw attention to their greivances.
Middletown Ohio, wrong place all together I live in franklin township. The degen that wrote that note and abused my car was too stupid to know his county and City lines…. I’d be pissed if I drove a Prius too
Ya I like loud fast performance cars and if you think its too loud I’ll pass in a second and that will be over. So get over it. Take your lithium batteries and go charge them. Last I checked the sheriff said it’s no louder than the common Harley. Probably from California…
couldn’t agree more, Ron. So desperate for attention.
This and motorcycle gunners are way over the top.
Because I live in the good old
USA and it’s not illegal it’s street legal and I was driving highway. I didn’t buy the loud exhaust for attention either it’s all performance related but you sound like the typical a to b commuter. Thanks this was my car
When a person has no valid response, they often then resort to personal attacks. Your response fits, perfectly – congrats.
Ron, I have yet to see you provide a valid response of your own.
Let’s start with a simple question: does the car in question exceeded any legal noise ordinances?
I’ll cut to the chase: you do not know.
So any conclusions about it being “illegal, rude, and a clear public health and safety issue to exceed normal approved vehicle exhaust noise levels” is pure conjecture on your part. Prove me wrong. Yes, loud, unmuffled vehicles (mostly motorcycles) are not great. But let’s not throw the baby out with the water here.
Ummmm….Well Alex, I’ll lay 10:1 odds it is over legal levels. This article starts off by saying how loud it is. And if you follow the link on that, it takes you to another article that says the car is so noisy, they put in active noise cancellation – for the DRIVER!
Cops and Bylaw officers don’t need a sound meter to lay a charge, FYI.
Hey, I like cool fast cars, OK. Just not having peace and quiet blatantly disturbed by them. Doesn’t need to be loud, to be fast and cool.
As Gary said in his post, be responsible.
makes no difference if it abides by any “laws”. The decibel
rating on a muffler can far exceed any courteous level, much
less need. Abortion is legal, but that doesn’t make it right.
a simple search resulted in this, “95 dbA is the legal limit for vehicle exhaust noise in California. Police officers can “exercise their judgment” in determining if your exhaust noise is over the legal limit. Most factory-installed exhaust systems even on powerful sports cars don’t exceed 75 decibels.” and CA has the strictest rules… the Borla this guy has is listed as street legal so it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks if they think it’s too loud…
Thank you!!! No noise ordinance where I’m from local sheriff even said the township doesn’t have one.
The neighbor must not like getting up early…
That person had no right to vandalize the Mustang or leave a threatening message.
Period!! Completely unacceptable!!
I’m all about fast and loud, we own a car that is pretty loud just stock.
With that said, my friend has done a lot of exhaust mods and engine upgrades to his 2014 Mustang. It is entirely too loud, even he admits that, so he always takes it easy when in his neighborhood, saves getting on it where appropriate.
There are always two sides to the story and the truth can be somewhere in the middle. (Or not)
What drove this guy to such extremes to vandalize the Mustang? Is the Mustang owner hot rodding through the neighborhood and being a jerk all the time disturbing everyone?
OR is the neighbor just a jerk that won’t even have tolerance for someone just driving by? Is he “that guy” who would complain about someone mowing their yard 5 minutes too early in the morning?
Does anyone honestly believe the Mustang owner’s post “just ask, I would have changed it” I personally doubt that part. (jmho)
We are only hearing one side, none of us know those answers.
Again, the path the guy took with the vandalism and threats should be charged…
That guy shouldn’t anything to the car but it looks like like he got the note, that was the complaint, and then after 2 weeks of waiting to see what will happen, that’s when he got the foam. Respect the neighbors, we wouldn’t like their awful loud music all the time or loud arguing. That’s what they hear from us, Even though our music is Borla
ya know, the last story I heard about a neighbor complaining about the exhaust noise from a car, the car owner organized a drive with some friends with even louder exhaust… I think it’s time to do that again!
I’m sure he has more foam ready to go, so you go for it!
So these guys celebrate being assholes? Very revealing.
My son now owns a Mustang and I am afraid of what the neighbors may think. You don’t just go by and then it is over. The crying baby you woke up may not go back to sleep for hours or be cranky the whole rest of the day. The night shift nurse may not be able to go back to sleep and have to work 12 hours like that. The pain riddled cancer patient who finally fell into a light sleep may have to face hours of pain before the next pain med is due. You do not know. The note makes it sound like it is not a close neighbor but someone who followed you home. Maybe they live blocks or miles away at some intersection. Maybe someday you will understand.
It doesn’t matter how loud or if the sound emanating from the mustang’s exhaust exceeded legal limits or not. You don’t take matters into your own hands. You are not the police and you definitely don’t vandalize someone’s property. If someone were to trespass again to vandalize the mustang I hope the perpetrator realizes that getting shot over something like this is not worth it as it would be best to take legal action with police first to lodge the complaint.
The owner is lucky he noticed before driving the car. Clogging the exhaust like that can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. He could’ve died if he hadn’t noticed the clogged exhaust before driving the vehicle.
Back in the day, this would’ve caused a head gasket to blow.
The majority of these car owners are members of the tiny Pennis brigade. They are the same jersey with the lifted truck.. just pathetic!!
Ron you likee to watch other men screw his wife huh
Make it louder!!
I side with the frustrated neighbor. What hours does this person work? What are the driving habits of the owner? A lot of room here for give and take. If I were the neighbor, the lawyer would have knocked on the Mustang owner’s door.
I’ve seen a lot of responses defending the car owner… Not surprising given this is a forum for car fans. But we’ve gotten to a point in this country where people have forgotten that there’s a huge difference between legal/illegal and right/wrong. Just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean it’s right. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
If you’re a guy who likes fast cars and loud pipes, fine. Take it to a track. Make it as fast and loud as you want.
But if you’re a nuisance to your neighbors, you’re in the wrong. Period.
Did the neighbor have the right to vandalize the car? No. But as the old expression goes, two wrongs don’t make a right. The best thing the car owner can do in this situation is take the hit, learn the lesson, and be a little more respectful to his neighbors in the future.
The noise in and around Dallas is awful! Sounds like NASCAR in The Colony.
Ok, loud exhaust, if this is all you have to complain about it is 1st world problems man. Sounds like the neighbor lives a very sad life and has to make themselves feel bigger and stronger just because THEY don’t like it. I bet when they were a kid they kicked sand in the sandbox at smaller kids face because they built a bigger sand castle…jealous bully. I have neighbors that do things I don’t like but hey, I’m not going to be a immature bully, it is what it is. Im sure I do the same and we are all still respectful. I bet that neighbor also stopped reading Dr. Seuss and tossed out their Mr. And Mrs Potato head… trying cancel more culture. Well, Rev on America! Make noise and be proud of the USA!!!
A lot of keyboard warriors saying stuff like “I would make him eat his teeth!” and the like. If someone will go to this length to vandalize your property. He might go to the length to just shoot you as soon as you confront him. It’s a crazy world with a lot of crazy people.
No one has the right to vandalized another persons property, all the person had to di was approach you and discuss it , contact the law , you have paper with threats , as far as noise ordinances people were talking about ….mmmm how about those obnoxious Harleys Davidson Cycles that are loud and annoying
mustang v8 ,when it goes electric how are they going to make a exust sound ,i would like a anwer thank you . ron