Western Bay of Plenty car and motorbike enthusiasts with noisy and loud exhausts could face fines of up to $600 and the loss of 25 demerits in a new police blitz.

In an attempt to stamp out the excessive noise made by modified cars and exhausts on motorcycles the Western Bay Road Policing Unit is launching a sting against noisy vehicles, saying 'enough is enough”.

Police will be targetting cars with noisy and modified exhausts.

The year-long campaign, starting this week, comes after police dealt with a series of noise complaints during the peak summer period - something Western Bay of Plenty road policing manager, Senior Sergeant Ian Campion, believes detracts from the region.

Complaints ranged from noisy or defective exhausts, noisy equipment in vehicles like boom boxes and stereos through to operating noisy vehicles in an inconsiderate manner.

'This behaviour affects many people in residential areas and popular beach and/or entertainment areas, and a constant noise issue can result in a loss of trade for restaurants, cafes, hotels and motels,” says Ian.

'The Mount and Papamoa is extremely popular nationwide; you don't want noisy vehicles detracting from what Tauranga and the Western Bay has to offer.”

Ian says it is people's personal choice to modify their vehicles, including fitting 'big bore systems”, but reminds them to remember the national motoring laws.

By law, the noise coming from a motorist's exhaust system must be similar to or less than the noise it made when the vehicle was manufactured.

Two exceptions are where; the noise the exhaust emits is still well below legal noise limits, and an objective noise test proves the noise does not exceed the legal noise limits.

The noise limit for cars is measured at the exhaust while stationary. Police have the power to refer excessively noisy cars for a formal noise test, and Warrant of Fitness inspectors are able to refer noisy cars.

'The problem is that high noise levels of vehicles is a significant public concern particularly in urban areas and results in significant number of complaints to police,” says Ian.

'Really this is about getting people in and around Tauranga, or visitors to Tauranga, to get them to quieten their vehicles down.”

Ian says offenders can expect fines between $50-600, the loss of up to 25 demerits, and can also be subject to an objective noise test by an NZTA accredited certifier.

The test costs around $200 and involves a stationary tail pipe test based on international standards.

If the vehicle passes the test, a certifier will attach a label to the vehicle verifying that it meets the requirements. If the vehicle fails the test the owner cannot legally drive it on the road until the exhaust is repaired.

In 2008 a widely-supported move to lower New Zealand's noise limit from 95 to 90 decibels took effect for all new registrations. The new noise rule combats illegally-modified boy racer cars, but not genuine factory modified performance vehicles.

Most cars imported into New Zealand already meet the stricter 90 decibel limit - including performance vehicles.