Is your VW a cop magnet?

[cmitchell]

My Jetta has been pulled over just once in 9 years ... warning for a burned out tail light. Of course I've never had a ticket in 36 years of driving ... not that I've not deserved one a time or two.

 

[PoochiePD]

I've never had a cop even mention my exhaust or turbo noise. My stock KP39 had some great choppy turbo noise, much like a stock VNT15. The 17/22/52 I had before my current turbo sucked as far as exhaust noise. I LIKE the choppiness! Even the bigger 20/56 I have now isn't choppy--but the power kind of makes up for it ;-)

Even with all I've done to my car, the window tint has caused me the most trouble.

 

[85_305]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMB5YxA7EhE

less the 15psi if that ( boost gauge not shown). this video was for debugging another issue, but does have some nice turbo noises.

***? Wrong thread? lol

Same here with my '09 Sportwagen TDI. I could have a Turret on the Roof with a 50 cal. Machine gun and 4 Taliban, and drive through a Tim Hortons Donut Shop parking lot and nothing would happen!!!!!!

Easy now! Nobody south of NY (minus 1-2 in the Erie PA area) will know of Timmies Thats the Norths best kept secret!

 

[JasonCzerak]

***? Wrong thread? lol
/QUOTE]

You guys think you have a loud turbo. just putting these little motors in check.

 

[85_305]

Oh gotcha. I dont know man... my powerstroke with dual 6" stacks was pretty loud... Then again, my hx40 pushing 42lbs of boost with an open intake and exhaust used to scream like a banshee too. Tough call.

 

[JasonCzerak]

VNT's are loud. 6 blade compressor wheels are a little noisy too.

I have a 66/73/13ss, AFE pro dry S and a 5" turbo back, with out the FTE resonator was just insane. With the resonator the exhaust is drowned out by the compressor side under WOT with virtually zero cab drone.

I no longer get a second look at by police and that's nice! However it's kinda funny to watch guys in trucks in the middle lane when you roll into the throttle right by the window in the left lane after that car in front moves over, their heads snap to the left so fast it's gota hurt a little. I've been told you can hear my turbo spooling up over 4 blocks away just accelerating from 0-35 at a slow grandma pace.

 

[FlashT]

I'd have to say that my car attracts very little attention from the police. The exhaust has a glasspack which is only loud when I get into higher rpm's. I've never been pulled over in it, even when I drove past the local police station with the engine redlined in 3rd. They just sort of stared at me blankly as I flew by. Probably thought it was some little ole' lady late for a hair appointment.

 

[Chris B]

I've been pulled over locally in my red 2-door Golf, but not ticketed. Age helps. They expect a kid driving a car like that, and are a bit surprised when they see me. I'll take it.

Same thing with my Buell...got pulled over by a State boy running a "special enforcement" one day. He passed me the other direction as I was going a little more than 10 over and JUST getting ready to pass a slowpoke in front of me by making the jump to Ludicrous Speed.

He was an unmarked car, and I really wasn't "speeding" by genuine definition, but next thing I now I looked back and there he was with his lights on.

I'm sure he thought I'd be some squid on a crotch rocket, but between all my gear (all the time) and proper paperwork and being 40, he was real cool and just told me to "take it easy, there are a lot of crazy people on the road". Just got a warning.

 

[Pelikan State]

Drove right into a speed trap yesterday...

And nothing happened.

There's a tall, steep, bridge about 10 mi. from here with a podunkville town if there ever was one at the bottom.

Speed limit on the 4 lane, divided highway coming off the (steep downhill) of the bridge - 45.

I was going north of 52 when I saw him. It was night and his grey-black patrol was just sticking up over the embankment. I wasn't supposed to see him at all, but I think that I keep a closer lookout than the average driver.

Either I slowed down in time or he couldn't be bothered.

Perhaps its because I know where all the traps are around here, but I've never had a problem so far and it hasn't been from lack of trying.

Car is white with tinted (legal maximum) windows, otherwise stock.

 

[85_305]

VNT's are loud. 6 blade compressor wheels are a little noisy too.

I have a 66/73/13ss, AFE pro dry S and a 5" turbo back, with out the FTE resonator was just insane. With the resonator the exhaust is drowned out by the compressor side under WOT with virtually zero cab drone.

I no longer get a second look at by police and that's nice! However it's kinda funny to watch guys in trucks in the middle lane when you roll into the throttle right by the window in the left lane after that car in front moves over, their heads snap to the left so fast it's gota hurt a little. I've been told you can hear my turbo spooling up over 4 blocks away just accelerating from 0-35 at a slow grandma pace.

Ya my exhaust on the cummins was very diesely, with a nice touch of turbo, just putting around. Once the cummins went wot ALL you would hear was the turbo screaming away. The powerstrokes are ALWAYS noisy though :lol:

it's funny going thru a tunnel in the cummins though; the turbo would echo all the way down the tunnel. LOTS of stares doing that..

 

[JasonCzerak]

Ya my exhaust on the cummins was very diesely, with a nice touch of turbo, just putting around. Once the cummins went wot ALL you would hear was the turbo screaming away. The powerstrokes are ALWAYS noisy though :lol:

it's funny going thru a tunnel in the cummins though; the turbo would echo all the way down the tunnel. LOTS of stares doing that..

Now that I got the Golf for a DD, I may pull that resonator out. I kinda missing setting of car alarms and scaring old ladies.

 

[V-Rod]

Ya my exhaust on the cummins was very diesely, with a nice touch of turbo, just putting around. Once the cummins went wot ALL you would hear was the turbo screaming away. The powerstrokes are ALWAYS noisy though :lol:

it's funny going thru a tunnel in the cummins though; the turbo would echo all the way down the tunnel. LOTS of stares doing that..

I had straight 5 in exhaust coming off twin turbos. On my 06 cummins. Nothing like going threw a tunnel with 60 psi of boost.

I sold those turbos to a cop

 

[That Guy]

Same here with my '09 Sportwagen TDI. I could have a Turret on the Roof with a 50 cal. Machine gun and 4 Taliban, and drive through a Tim Hortons Donut Shop parking lot and nothing would happen!!!!!!

There are a couple of traffic zealots working here. I know...I worked for the City Police for 8 years. (civilian job, not a cop)

Most hate traffic duty...because they are like most of us...relatively normal. (They drive more aggressively than most, and don't care for tickets any more than us....plus they are of the same opinion that it's mostly just a money grab for the government.)
But there is a very small minority that live for doing speed traps....and yes...those types do seem to be a few bricks short of a full load.

btw...it's illegal here to have your front sides, and windshield tinted in any way. The others can be as dark as you want.

 

[kjclow]

My wife claimed the beetle was a cop magnet, especially after her $600+ speeding ticket in Virginia. Thats been almost ten years ago and she still won't drive there. She also had several warnings in the beetle. On the interstate around Charlotte, you have to about 15 over the posted limit to get noticed. I was on a three lane raod the other day with a posted limit of 45. The pickup with trailer in front was doing between 35 and 40. When he spotted the speed trap, he slowed down to under 30! The half dozen cars behind him must have been as dumbfounded as I was.

Nothing wrong with Timmy's but I prefer Dunkin.

Oops, forgot the rest of the story. No problems at all with the JSW. I was pulled over in my 05 Corolla for going 71 in a 65, but the real reason was that the plates still said they belonged to a Chevy Avalanche. Cop was a little concerned about that difference.

 

[ultranaut]

I've received one speeding ticket in the year since I bought my Golf TDI. It was before sunrise, I was on the freeway cruising to work. Traffic was extremely sparse, I came up on a pack of cars going just under 60. The freeway was wide open ahead of them. I set pace with the pack for a bit until I realized they were all just too scared to pass the cop leading the pack. You can see where this is going...

So, I made sure my cruise control was set at 64, changed into the passing lane, and sailed on up there. The cop did not like this.
I got pulled over doing 64mph on a freeway. In a 60mph zone.
She told me I was going "over 75mph" and "driving dangerously". I have my speed alarm set to go off at 70 and my cruise control set at 64, I know exactly how fast I'm going and that I didn't come anywhere near 70. Basically, I got a speeding ticket for not being afraid enough of cops.

 

[85_305]

Now that I got the Golf for a DD, I may pull that resonator out. I kinda missing setting of car alarms and scaring old ladies.

I think I've only set of 2, maybe 3 alarms with my tdi Granted, I dont usually haul ass thru town either

I had straight 5 in exhaust coming off twin turbos. On my 06 cummins. Nothing like going threw a tunnel with 60 psi of boost.

I sold those turbos to a cop

What kind of turbos? Mmmmm... 60lbs of booost :drool:

Nothing wrong with Timmy's but I prefer Dunkin.

Your on crack if you think Dunkin is better than Tims. But I must admit, if there is nothing else available, Dunkin is a very close second.

 

[nate379]

The only ticket I have gotten was one of those deals. I was doing 65mph in a 65mph zone.

Well officer pulled me over and claimed he clocked me doing over 80mph. Said I was doing close to 85, then slowed down to 80 and then went I "saw" him on the ramp I slowed to ~70mph.

I had my cruise set at 65mph and I never saw him till he was behind me with his lights on. Also had my GPS on so 65mph speed was correct and verifyable. I pulled up the screen with max speed and my MAX in over 15,000 miles logged on it was something around 70mph. I didn't say anything to officer since I would have admitted to speeding at some point, but it wasn't close to the 80-85 mph he was claiming.

He "gives me a break" and wrote the ticket as a "failure to comply with traffic device" (IE the speed limit sign). 2pts $50.

Well it was bogus so I went to court. The officer lied his ass off in court and told the judge that I was doing 65mph in a 45mph construction zone. And even make up locations of 45mph signs. There was in fact a construction zone, but it only started about 2 miles ahead of where I was pulled over, and he had clocked the speeds almost 3 miles from where I was pulled over (so ~5 miles before construction zone)

I told the judge the truth and said to him with tact that the cop was completely wrong.

He asked the cop to explain and cop says that his memory of incident was fuzzy and maybe he was confused. Well in the end I still had to pay the ticket because I could not provide "with proof" locations of the construction zone. I didn't realize it was going to come into play otherwise I would have taken photos, grid points, made a map, etc.

I've received one speeding ticket in the year since I bought my Golf TDI. It was before sunrise, I was on the freeway cruising to work. Traffic was extremely sparse, I came up on a pack of cars going just under 60. The freeway was wide open ahead of them. I set pace with the pack for a bit until I realized they were all just too scared to pass the cop leading the pack. You can see where this is going...

So, I made sure my cruise control was set at 64, changed into the passing lane, and sailed on up there. The cop did not like this.
I got pulled over doing 64mph on a freeway. In a 60mph zone.
She told me I was going "over 75mph" and "driving dangerously". I have my speed alarm set to go off at 70 and my cruise control set at 64, I know exactly how fast I'm going and that I didn't come anywhere near 70. Basically, I got a speeding ticket for not being afraid enough of cops.

 

[gforce1108]

Well in the end I still had to pay the ticket because I could not provide "with proof" locations of the construction zone. I didn't realize it was going to come into play otherwise I would have taken photos, grid points, made a map, etc.

That sucks - so you had to attempt to prove that you were innocent instead of them proving you were guilty?

 

[JasonCzerak]

That sucks - so you had to attempt to prove that you were innocent instead of them proving you were guilty?

You just figuring that out? you're guilty on every traffic violation until proven innocent.

 

[nate379]

Yup. The thing too is that the zone changed everyday as they were paving the road so it was pretty easy for the officer to make sign locations and not worry about being proven wrong.

 

[JasonCzerak]

should of asked for proof from the officer of the construction location. That burden shouldn't be on you

 

[ultranaut]

I didn't realize it was going to come into play otherwise I would have taken photos, grid points, made a map, etc.

First time I challenged a ticket I brought maps and all that. The judge didn't care. He made it abundantly clear that the court is not there for justice. I very clearly proved that it was physically impossible for me to have achieved the speed the lying cop had alleged. The judge said something about how whatever a cop writes in his report is automatically the truth, thus I must be a liar. It was quite the eye-opener. You never imagine America is just as corrupt as everywhere else until you have to interact with our justice system.

 

[nate379]

Yes, pretty much same deal for me. Judge came out with robe half on and big sandwich in hand. I was thinking, what the hell, is this guy Boss Hog?

 

[Jetta SS]

I found the same justice the only time I challenged a ticket whereas I wasn't going quite as fast as the ticket read. My argument was I was cited without any speed check. In court the officer said he was certified at speed estimation and he could just look and know how fast I was going.

They're wasting a lot of taxpayer money on radar detectors for sure.

 

[Tarbe]

In 140,000 miles of TDI driving, I have zero police actions (knocking on wood).

 

[Klystron]

I worked in law enforcement (police officer - traffic) for about 5 years before medically retiring from being hit by a car so I can shed a bit of thought from the "other side of the radar gun".

VW's don't attract cops when they are stock but certain aftermarket modifications makes them fit "vehicle profiles" which is legal (not talking about racial or driver profiling). Several groups have done statistical analysis of likelihood of drivers having warrants, drugs, no insurance with certain types of vehicle modifications and found correlations.

One of the top ones is blacked out head and tail lights. 7 out of the cars I stopped for blacked out/smoked lights the driver had warrants or drugs. I don't know why but it seems to go with the personality of the driver.

The others are lowering cars that are not normally seen as something that would be a lowered show car IE a sportwagen.

Just google vehicle profiling and you find a big list.

As far as getting stopped in allot of situations you guys described, I have no doubt the vast majority of you were in the right. The reason for all recent excessive "BS" tickets is because of state of the economy for most cities and states.

The politicians don't want to raise taxes or they will get voted out so they look for other ways to get money like the red light camera fiasco here in Houston. The mayor kept saying it was all about safety till the voters got it on the ballot to pull the cameras. Then the mayor was on TV saying if you vote to turn these off the millions they generate will have to come from some place else, but not a word about safety anymore.

When options like that don't work they put HEAVY pressure on the police chief who is appointed by the city council to have his officers "step up patrol" to combat the traffic safety issues. Translation is write a hell of allot of tickets to feed the city coffers or else we will find another chief.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[That Guy]

That's exactly what I've seen here.

And is it just me or do civic politicians tend to like flashy fluff...over the more mundane but required items?

Here in town any new Civic buildings/projects are required to put something like 5% of the total cost towards art.

And they are more interested in the new Art Gallery, festivals, and a giant new stadium...than in reducing taxes, creating efficiencies, fixing the sidewalks and roads, paying for the new light rail transit, paying for a new data center, etc.

I have nothing against the fluffy stuff....but to my thinking the necessities should be the priority...then the fluff.

Seems to me that they they wouldn't need more money if they spent the money we already give them in a more responsible and efficient way.

I really dislike politicians and politics.

Always looking to immortalize themselves, and buy our votes with our money.

 

[Victor Huge]

I heavily, heavily dislike politicians. It always amuses me that you never see them planting trees or watching cricket games in a family's home until it's voting time; then they spread like a vicious sneeze in the wind, plastering their smiling faces all over newspapers rescuing kittens from trees and hugging children with rare disorders, basically doing things they would never be caught doing if their jobs were not on the line and essentially kissing the ass of the common folk just for a few extra votes.

...anyways, that's off topic. I've never been hassled by police except for when I deserved it. Most are good guys just doing their jobs but the psychology of humans is set in a way that the bad will always outweigh the good. Likely a survival mechanism. With that said, for some people i suspect the job just gets to them and there is only so many rude drivers they can deal with in a polite fashion before it gets under their skin.

So yeah...
I know two cops, and they're both divorced.

 

[Jnitrofish]

I have been stopped twice. First by the sherriff for speeding in my own neighborhood (45 in 30) which was accurate. The second time I got stopped by DPS for no front plate.

More interesting though is the time I had just got my current tdi in florida, and on the way back to texas in louisiana the next day the state troopers were out in force on I10. When they saw me they chassed me down and boxed me in and just drove down the road with me trapped doing 60 mph on I10. Few minutes later they let me out and went back to set up their trap. Don't know what the hell that was about.

 

[JasonCzerak]

...

More interesting though is the time I had just got my current tdi in florida, and on the way back to texas in louisiana the next day the state troopers were out in force on I10. When they saw me they chassed me down and boxed me in and just drove down the road with me trapped doing 60 mph on I10. Few minutes later they let me out and went back to set up their trap. Don't know what the hell that was about.

That's insane.