Are modified exhaust systems on cars these days louder than Cape Canaveral or is it just me?

[MineralMan]

26. None of my "hobbies" affects you or others in any way.

You like your loud exhaust. That's nice, but it does affect others every time you drive your car.

I live right on a very busy, 4-lane arterial street in a metro area. I am often out on my balcony deck during the day. Aside from large trucks, few vehicles that pass my house have loud after-market exhaust systems. Occasionally, though, someone drives past who does have one on their car or motorcycle. In almost every case, they are also exceeding the 45 mph speed limit on that street. Many also make a point of driving in a gear that keeps their car or bike in its power zone, so the noise is increased.

A rough estimate is that less than 2-3% of vehicles that pass by have such exhaust systems. The rest make more noise from their tires on the tarmac than from their exhaust systems. The noisy vehicles are very noticeable and annoying, in part because they are an extreme minority of the vehicles. Of course, that's part of the attraction for those drivers - attracting attention.

How much to I care? Not much. Our house is well soundproofed, so I only really notice the loud vehicles when I'm out on the deck. As I pointed out above, the increase in performance of those exhaust systems is small. The increase in noise, on the other hand, is large. So, the goal appears to be to be loud and be noticed. Maybe that's worth something to some people. To me, it seems silly and costly. I'm not impressed.