California Code of Regulations
Title 13 - Motor Vehicles
Division 2 - Department of the California Highway Patrol
Chapter 4 - Special Equipment
Article 10 - Vehicle Sound Measurement
Section 1046 - Measurement Procedures for New Motor Vehicles

Universal Citation: 13 CA Code of Regs 1046

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024

(a) Heavy Trucks. New motor vehicles with a manufacturer's GVWR of more than 4,537 kg (10,000 lb) subject to 40 CFR, Part 205, shall be tested in accordance with procedures established in that regulation.

(b) Other Heavy Vehicles. New motor vehicles with a manufacturer's GVWR of more than 4,537 kg (10,000 lb) that are not subject to 40 CFR, Part 205, except transit buses equipped with automatic transmissions, shall be tested in accordance with SAE J366, September 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference, or SAE J2805, May 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Transit buses with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of more than 4,537 kg (10,000 lb) equipped with automatic transmissions shall be tested according to SAE J366, September 2011, except for Section 5.1 of that standard which shall be replaced with the following procedure.

(1) Face the vehicle in the direction opposite that to be used for the noise test, position the reference point (Section 4.7) at the mid-point of the end zone within 0.3 m (1.0 ft), place the gear selector in the position normally used for driving, and locate the starting point for the noise test as follows:
(A) Accelerate the vehicle as rapidly as possible by establishing and maintaining wide open throttle until the first transmission shift occurs.

(B) Mark as the designated starting point, the location along the test path where the vehicle reference point is passing when the shift occurs.

(2) Perform the noise test by reversing the vehicle direction, positioning the vehicle so it is at rest with the vehicle reference point at the designated starting point, and operating the vehicle as follows:
(A) Accelerate the vehicle as rapidly as possible by establishing wide open throttle.

(B) Continue acceleration until the entire vehicle has vacated the end zone, recording only runs in which the first transmission shift occurs in the end zone.

(c) Light Vehicles. New motor vehicles with a manufacturer's GVWR of 4,537 kg (10,000 lb) or less shall be tested in accordance with any of the following methods, at the manufacturer's option: SAE J1470, August 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference, except that the provisions of Section 7.5 shall not apply, or SAE J2805, May 2020.

(d) Motorcycles. New motorcycles subject to 40 CFR, Part 205, shall be tested in accordance with procedures established in that regulation. Other new motorcycles shall be tested in accordance with SAE J331, July 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

(e) Snowmobiles. New snowmobiles shall be tested in accordance with SAE J192, March 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference, excluding the sound level tolerances in Section 6.1.

1. Amendment filed 8-24-79; designated effective 10-1-79 (Register 79, No. 34).
2. Editorial correction of subsections (c)(1) and (d)(1) (Register 79, No. 38).
3. Repealer and new section filed 7-1-83; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 83, No. 27).
4. Amendment of subsection (b) filed 11-20-84; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 84, No. 47).
5. Amendment of subsection (c) filed 7-20-93; operative 8-19-93 (Register 93, No. 30).
6. Amendment of subsections (b)-(b)(1) and (c)-(e) and amendment of NOTE filed 10-5-2022; operative 1-1-2023 (Register 2022, No. 40).

Note: Authority cited: Sections 27200 and 38370, Vehicle Code. Reference: Sections 27200, 27201, 27202, 27202.1, 27203, 27204, 27206, 27207 and 38370, Vehicle Code.

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