Noise complaint group at NJMP

[Knestis]

That might be "right" but it's ultimately a losing proposition.

I'll be the first to say it in this forum, although Greg beat me to it elsewhere: There is precisely NO reason why our racing cars shouldn't be a lot quieter than they are. Not that this would make all of the complainers go away, but we aren't doing everything we can to be good neighbors.

K

[JoshS]

That might be "right" but it's ultimately a losing proposition.

I'll be the first to say it in this forum, although Greg beat me to it elsewhere: There is precisely NO reason why our racing cars shouldn't be a lot quieter than they are. Not that this would make all of the complainers go away, but we aren't doing everything we can to be good neighbors.

K

Totally agree Kirk. The only real issue with noise rules compared to the other sorts of rules we already build to is that compliance can only be measured ON THE TRACK, which is an expensive way to do it. Not to mention the weather variations.

Still, I'd be all for tighter noise restrictions. I watched the videos on the site complaining about NJMP and I'm very sympathetic. That track needs noise restrictions or its going to be shut down.

[Z3_GoCar]

From this article:
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/artic...torsports+Park

"Racetracks are exempt from state noise ordinances, but the city established a rule that said noise from the park can't exceed 80 decibels for 20 continuous minutes. Separate noise studies conducted by the park and the city's zoning officer Wayne Caregnato say the park has been in compliance with the law.


But Griffin argues the park is not excluded from the city's public nuisance ordinance, and thus must reduce the noise. Griffin said the plaintiffs hired a noise professional that shows different results than the city's and park's studies.


Griffin said the group doesn't have an exact decibel-level they think would be acceptable, but said the number is likely closer to 40 decibels."

Looks like they want the track to be quieter than a public road

[dickita15]

Having been thru the task of permitting a track I could not agree more that we would be better off if we ran at a lower sound level. It does not hurt the quality of racing one bit and make survival of our sport much easier. NHMS forces us to run at 100 dB so we went with that limit for our new track.
When you start running numbers on sound it is amazing how far it travels. By the way background measurements of sound levels in rural Palmer were 42dB. Sound barriers are problematic because to be effective they must be very close to the sound source compromising safety.
When I built a new exhaust for my Rx7 about six years ago I tried to see how quiet I could go. With presilencers the car never was over 89dB, now that the system in older it has come in as high as 93 at some events. For another data point when the Busch cars ran at Lime Rock a few years ago we measured then at 120dB.
There is no reason we could not be racing at 85 or 90dB. I would rather pay for mufflers and testing that to have to tow an additional 5 hours to race.

[JLawton]

The fiirst race we went to in 2008, everyone we talked to in the area was very excited about the track and what it would do for the local community. Millville is not exactely thriving economically.........

[Greg Amy]

The "community" as a whole supports the track, Jeff. It's just a few local-to-the-track folks that are upset about the noise. Problem is, those locals tend to be pretty noisy themselves about the issue, get in peoples' faces, and cause action. "Squeaky wheel" and all that.

The Sandbox has some links to the woman driving the issue, and she's no idiot. Don't expect any changes short-term but also don't expect this issue to go away any time soon...

[quadzjr]

In her example it seems to me that it is the GT cars on track. the sound of a 500+ hp v8 is pertty distinguishable.

[BruceG]

The "community" as a whole supports the track, Jeff. It's just a few local-to-the-track folks that are upset about the noise. Problem is, those locals tend to be pretty noisy themselves about the issue, get in peoples' faces, and cause action. "Squeaky wheel" and all that.

The Sandbox has some links to the woman driving the issue, and she's no idiot. Don't expect any changes short-term but also don't expect this issue to go away any time soon...

I sent a respecful email to their website, Greg....suggesting that they might want to talk to Lime Rock and NHMS about how they deal with the problem with their respective neighbors.After
all, LRP is surrounded by towns with lots of rich folks and has been around since 1957. Also, they ran Trans AM and Can AM
at LRP in the 60's(TransAm at Loudon,too)....DB hell for those that hate the noise.

[Ron Earp]

Adopting lower noise limits makes a lot of sense. We'd all be much better off and enjoy a slight boost to our image.

What could be extremely troubling is different tracks adopting vastly different noise limits. Trying to hit 100dB here, 80dB there, and 90dB over there will be a lot of work. Sure, you could go for the lowest common denominator but one of your competitors will end up tuning the exhaust for each track and picking up a minor advantage over those that done. But a low, club wide noise limit for the entire SCCA would knock some cars out of racing.

General Aviation faces similar threats to small airports all across the country. As mentioned, organized efforts like this one, even by a handful of people, can have disastrous effects. Disastrous depending on which side of the fence you're on.

[John Herman]

SAE J1169 is one objective procedure used in the automotive exhaust industry to validate an exhaust system for road use. States like California were having a HUGE battle with the sport compact car crowd on "excessive noise" on modified cars. Lots of tickets were being written on subjective opinions. SEMA worked with the police and SAE, and this objective test was developed. The California law was written such that a car was legal if it recorded a reading of less than 95 dBA when tested to the procedure. Exhaust manufactures can now easily certify their systems for California. I know a few East coast states have now adopted the California law as well. The basic test is a microphone is placed at 0.5 m at 45 degrees to the tailpipe and the engine is held at 3/4 of the engine speed at rated horsepower. The result must be below 95 dBA. It's a very simple test to run, and could easily be modified to fit various classes. For example, what's the 3/4 rated speed of a GT car? Don't know, but the rule for GT cars may be <95 dBA at 5000 rpm. Some testing would be required to correlate this test to track side testing, but I think it could be done and would allow competitors to quiet their cars without track testing. Also, since cars are tested individually, the effect of other cars racing in a pack is eliminated. Finally, noise does NOT equal horsepower and so I agree with others that a more proactive approach needs to be taken on this noise issue before more tracks are shut down.

[dyoungre]

"But a low, club wide noise limit for the entire SCCA would knock some cars out of racing."

This comment befuddles me. How does the addition of a muffler completely void the function of a car? Lap records may not be set for a few years, but completely knocking cars out of racing because a muffler needs to be retrofit? I don't buy it.

[StephF]

Having been thru the task of permitting a track I could not agree more that we would be better off if we ran at a lower sound level. It does not hurt the quality of racing one bit and make survival of our sport much easier. NHMS forces us to run at 100 dB so we went with that limit for our new track.
When you start running numbers on sound it is amazing how far it travels. By the way background measurements of sound levels in rural Palmer were 42dB. Sound barriers are problematic because to be effective they must be very close to the sound source compromising safety.
When I built a new exhaust for my Rx7 about six years ago I tried to see how quiet I could go. With presilencers the car never was over 89dB, now that the system in older it has come in as high as 93 at some events. For another data point when the Busch cars ran at Lime Rock a few years ago we measured then at 120dB.
There is no reason we could not be racing at 85 or 90dB. I would rather pay for mufflers and testing that to have to tow an additional 5 hours to race.

^^ This.

[seckerich]

Both my EP RX7 and my ITS car never post higher than 88-89 db and the power is just fine.