Squatted trucks are banned in NC. What other vehicle modifications are illegal?
A North Carolina law that went into effect in December bans truck and SUV owners from following a popular vehicle modification trend known as the “Carolina Squat.”
The modification installs a suspension lift in the front part of a truck or SUV, while the rear is either untouched or lowered, Austin Carrigan, head of sales for Carolina Custom, told the Charlotte Observer last year.
Under the law, passenger vehicles cannot be operated on highways if “by alteration of the suspension, frame or chassis, the height of the front fender is four or more inches greater than the height of the rear fender.”
The state has also banned other modifications that could be dangerous to other drivers, or to the environment. Here are some of the laws you should know if you plan on making changes to your vehicle.
Mufflers are required
Removing a muffler can increase a vehicle’s horsepower and enhance the sound of its exhaust, according to cartreatments.com.
However, you cannot drive a motor vehicle on the highway unless it has a working muffler that prevents “excessive or unusual noise, annoying smoke and smoke screens,” according to state law.
State law also prohibits the use of “muffler cut-outs” on vehicles driven on the highway. Muffler cut-outs are openings in a vehicle’s exhaust system that allow more sound from the engine to escape, according to Motor Trend.
Lighting and windows
State laws prevent drivers from adding certain colors of lights or extremely dark window tints to their vehicles.
Red and blue lights are only permitted on law enforcement and emergency vehicles, and amber flashing lights are only allowed on maintenance vehicles owned by state or local governments, state law says.
Tinted windows must allow more than 35% of light in, and the tint on a windshield cannot extend more than five inches below the top of the windshield or below the AS1 line of the windshield, whichever is longer, per state law.
According to the statute, these requirements do not apply to:
Excursion passenger vehicles
Motor homes
Ambulances
Property-hauling vehicles (rear window only)
Limousines
Law enforcement vehicles
Vehicles with a medical exception
Other illegal vehicle modifications
According to state law, other illegal vehicle modifications include:
Vehicles that exceed a height of 13 feet 6 inches tall or a length of 40 inches.
License plate frames or covers that “makes a number or letter included in the vehicle’s registration, the state name on the plate, or a number or month on the registration renewal sticker on the plate illegible.”
Light bars, or “bar-shaped lighting devices comprised of multiple lamps.”
Exhaust pipes without emissions control devices.
Observer reporter Jonathan Limehouse contributed to this story.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Squatted trucks are banned in NC. What other vehicle modifications are illegal?."
