Mike, don't be mad...
 

I did a bad thing, sort of.

I no longer own an F150. The Lightning is gone.

I had it for just over a year. I liked it very much. Very much! When I loaded the tunes my first though was, stock really sucked! The max performance tune was AWSOME! I never made it to the track, but had a blast when I drove it.

I bought it used. The previous owner had put some money into it. It had a performance exhaust (JDM/Kooks headers/cat back).It was loud. I could take it but my girl had a issue with it. I thought that eventually I would go with a Magnaflow cat back. Then she started to complain about they way I drove the truck, they way I made it go "vrooom" really loud. It was kind of hurting my feelings. Then I went for my inspection sticker. I went to the place that I've been going to for several years. A place that I've purchased several vehicles from. I brought all of my vehicles there for service, including company vehicles. They never had an issue with anything I did with the '98 F150. They failed the Lightning because the exhaust was too loud and the window tint was too dark. Talk about hurt feelings. The service advisor told me that they will fail anything that doesn't have a stock exhaust. That's not what MA law says but that's what they do. I feel like this guy threw me under the bus. I was pissed.

The remedy was to replace the exhaust with a stock exhaust. Fifteen hundred bucks. Stock? I didn't want a stock exhaust. Apparently once the truck has been run through the state computer it's an open case that will follow the VIN.

I don't have time right now to go through the hassel that I'd have to go through to get this straightened out, AND I've been with my girl for a while now and believed that making a concession would be a good thing to do.

I'm sad that the Lightning is gone. I'm pissed that I live in Massachusetts. I plan to have something fast, but I'm going to build it myself and probably trailer it to a track.

I still need some tuning though. I still have a Ford truck. I replaced the Lightning with an '06 Expedition. It's going to be much more practicle, which I hear is a good thing;) . It's slow though!

Mike, I'll be giving you a call soon. I did a search and you said to someone that the Expys are tough to tune. Still the case?

Keep your head up.....
 

Hey man.........Cant help where we reside, besides you got 3 of the last 5 Super Bowls there and a descent looking squad on the feild this year (regardless of what I saw last night). Always look on the brite side!
Gordon
(Transplanted New Englander):beers:

Hi Tom,

Well, I *AM* mad - I'm mad *for* you, as what was done is patently illegal. I wish you had called me, as we *might* have been able to steer you in a direciotn that could have helped yoru cause, perhaps.

You see, SEMA is fighting every state that is trying to enact/enforce such a statute, because it's a meaningless standard - no trooper of officer can tell on the spot if an exhaust system is stock or not, there is no Db level standard on each and every individual vehicle, and even if there were, no way to enforce it as they have no equipment or know-how to do so.

A number of states tried this and are being defeated (meaning that summons issued by law enforcement are beign defeated in court) thanks to SEMA - it was tried here in Virginia, and defeated thanks to SEMA.

I hate to see things like this, as not only it is downright illegal/unenforceable IMHO, it's pure political BS - and your dealership should have known better. They, IMHO, had no business whatsoever pulling that crap.

I can tell you that my Lightning, just like my Cobra, is louder than stock, and I will NEVER allow ANYONE to tell me I have to return my exhaust to stock. It's not like it's straight pipes, it has longtubes and hi-flow cats and is not overbearing by any means - and still SNIFFS clean and throws no codes, and it's a low-11 second truck.

So yes, I AM mad about this - but I'm mad FOR you, not *at* you! :)

At any rate, of course we'll tune your Expedition for you, we tune them as well as most FoMoCo vehicles - just give me a call any time.

And whatever you do - NEVER give that same dealership a dime of your business - and I would drop by SEMA.org and check up on their activities in this regard, just for giggles - I doubt there is anything that can be done by now since you have disposed of the vehicle, but perhaps you can stick something in that dealerships face to wake them up and prevent them from pulling that crap on anyone else - I sure hope you didn't buy your replacement vehicle from those clowns! :)

I wish you all the best, Tom - as always! :)

Thanks Mike.

I know that I could have done more. I just don't have the time right now, and frankly I haven't got the patience. Work is busy as he!!, I've got several home improvement projects going on and I'm trying to maintain a relationship with my girl. She played a big part in the decision I made. The issues with the Lightning had a "compounding" effect, if you know what I mean. If I had choosen to fight to keep the Lightning I would have lost in one way or another.

I know what the dealership did. The night they gave me the big R sticker I came home, found and printed the Massachusetts law (as well as federal tint standard and some info on pending legislation on SEMA) and went right back to the dealership. Like I said eariler, this dealership had always done good by me. I couldn't reason with this guy. All I wanted to do is leave with a valid sticker. All I got was a run around about covering this, or that persons butt.

I made an attempt to get things straightened out but every move I made, made more work for me.

I assure you that this dealership that threw me under the bus will not get any more of my buisness. I bought the Expy from a different dealer.

I'm trying to look at this positively. I've got the bug. I want something fast. I want to do some wrenching. When I get this house fixed up I would like to start a project. In the interum, I need to get a tad more pep for the Expy.

Look at it this way, fresh starts are a good thing too. Maybe you will end up with something that you like even more!!!!!!