Legal, sealed, Outlaw.

[Team_DC-Derrick]

why even bother metering if you are going to bitch so much? i dont even do competitions and can care less what i meter, i just metered a few times to show people how loud it was..

[HHR Ed]

i mean i cant take it,,, LOL

so... We are all into the Car stereo hobbie, and there are some seriously stupid rules and made up shit that makes me laugh.

for starters. the whole deal on what is considered "LEGAL" for SPL runs. give me a fuckin break. your legal score is the Loudest Metered score your vehicle can produce with the mic in front of the b-piller... (I'm sure some ASSHOLE) was at a Stereo Comp and made that rule up so the neighbors wouldnt complain because metering with the doors open and windows down is WAAAAAAY LOUDER, and then though that would be a BRILLIANT way to determine "LEGAL" for an SPL run.

i think its retarded! i'm just wondering what everyone else thinks about this one in particularly,

i know i didnt build my system to roll around with my windows up beating it to the ground....

You have to look at the roots of SPL competition.

No its not a dB Dragi is God thing

No its not some guy that just thought it would be cool

No, not every car meters higher with doors open.

It goes back to competitions starting in the 80s. The Good Vibes Car show was the First SPL competition. Car's were not metered. They simply played music and the judge walked across the parking lot and the car he heard the furthest was the winner.

-This was all 10 years before dB Drags, and still before IASCA.

Then guys started bringing meters into it, and the judge sat on the passenger side and leaned the meter on the dash near the windshield. They clased all doors and windows because cars were louder with doors closed and there was not interference from other cars.

Once IASCA and USAC were formed, better metering equipment and a standardization of metering techniques were put into place. They used the general location of the handheld meter from those early competitions and then they measured it out.

This became the Industry Standard for all manufacturers, competitors and competition organizations to go by. This was the method to measure when attempting a World record even in USAC on the B and K meter and in any country and all judges adhered to it, hence the term "Legal"

When dB Drag Racing formed in about 1995-1996, it was born out of IASCA. And dB Drag adopted the same industry standardization of the "Legal" metering technique.

Back then there was no question, no confusion when you discussed your SPL numbers.

USAC did have a separate category called "Outlaw" which allowed competitors to go against this standardized method to see if their car was louder in a different method. They also started "port Wars" in which the meter was placed in the port of the enclosure and scores became rediculously high.

This "legal" method is still recognized in the industry as the standard way to meter, but recently small organizations with new methods and personal metering preferences have started to go against this.

Now those that do not understand have hit the internet and spread confusion about the metering process.

[Rogers]

personally... i dont care much about being sealed up either... thats just a form of the sport... just like any other sport it has its own rules to make it more challenging.... i myself prefer to be metered MECA style at the headrest... i want to know how loud it is to the listener.....

[Hotdog]

personally... i dont care much about being sealed up either... thats just a form of the sport... just like any other sport it has its own rules to make it more challenging.... i myself prefer to be metered MECA style at the headrest... i want to know how loud it is to the listener.....

I agree and the classification system in Meca put's you head to head with people in same power class. DBdrag is crazy in Super Street No wall there is no limitation on power, subs , batteries as long as it is below the front drivers window line.

[skittlesRgood]

so what it sounds like is a CRYBABY RULE made.... for a bunch of CRYBABIES.

honestly... you sound like a crybaby. if you like a style of competing thats one thing. but bitching about a standard thats been around longer than you've been competing is like a child saying "i know everything"

but there must be a standard. just like how we have the CAE rating, sensitivity, etc. imagine if one speaker company measured spl at 1m and another at 3". would that be fair? hell no. you measure everything the same way. its called the scientific method.

there we go Ed. give these kids a history lesson.

oh but wait, i know whats going on. this guy is just trying to stir up shit again to promote his new organization. we have just been trolled.

[Ric Thornton]

MECA also does "drive by spl" this is with the meter placed 6ft away from the vehicle. you have to have all doors closed, but windows can be down, and you have to play music.

alot of heads turn during this, infact.... at the 2009 MECA world finals Eric Alexander made the whole crowd cheer as he posted a 130+dB 6ft from the car (a very hard task to do)

MECA also meters at the headrest (as others stated in this thread) which is where your head is when you are driving. This used to be called "reality spl" as its realistically where your head is. They used to meter with the sensor in the floorboard (as NSPL does now in it's hardcore division).

The only place MECA uses the "legal" setup is in the Radical X class. Mainly due to the fact that MOST X class vehicles are playing higher frequencies and are MOSTLY burp vehicles.

Of course there are a few exceptions to this.

and for the record... the Boswell's DDBEAST actually scores within a tenth of a dB different from the "legal" spot to the headrest.

[Hotdog]

I seen Team_DC-Derrick post a 132db score in a car that was 15ft away, the mic was in the other car's Dash... now that was sweet.

[Eric B]

I like MidwestSPL's format. The mic goes to the standard position on the dash but you can open windows and doors. To me, its extra ways to get your car loud to its highest SPL, so what does a window or door going to hurt. If everyone is allowed to do the same, its just as fair per say as sealed up, but like Ed said, some systems are louder sealed up. So IMO you should be given the choice.

But really what I do like is MidwestSPLs Xtreme class which is kind of like MECA's drive by, only its 13" outside the bottom middle part of the passenger side window, 30 sec average on music. And the music itself is strictly enforced, there must be a fluctuation in the bass note every 4 seconds. Helps kill out people that use music with solid test tones. All in a all, a fun organization to compete in.

[LT.Smoke]

I prefer to know how loud a system is where I listen to it at...at the headrest. I don't drive around with my head in the windshield or in the kick panel. Which is why I only compete in MECA.

i am the same way..Its really the only way to know how much carnage you are unleashing on your body

[sub2weeker]

naturally i do prefer my SPLeague format. that is why i created it and the rules. perhaps you should check em out.

the Astrovan everyone knows is loud due to the design of the dash. but the music and all bass notes sound louder, and meter Louder when the subs are not restricted.

as for me Crying... I was simply stating i cant take it anymore. the "legal" term is nonsense. it was when Usaci used it because of outside interference.... (but the termlab is now in use... Peak max frequency only..) therefore there is no way outside interference can become a factor anymore. and i use to compete in the 80s as well. I remember all that, Great times, thats what got me so involved. now its just burp boxes and test tones for spl...Although my system is a pure musical system, it just happens to be loud.

And as for the puting the MIC in front of your port... That is just a stupid comment, Figures you would revert to cheating.

and it appears that EVOLUTION has taken place since Life began... so i guess you guys that prefer SEALED on the dash can stay in the PAST, I'm taking this sport into a new ERA and bringing the fun back to it.

if FAIR is what your looking for you shouldnt be competeting....Even Playing fields are manipulated more than anything out there. for example...

1.) Bodybuilding = Steroids (they use steroids to heal and recuperate faster, but still must lift like a beast to be the beast)

2.) Baseball = Steroids (records are set because people want to test their true potential, and people cry saying its not legal)

3.) Football = Steroids (You cant compete with a more aggressive player that is stronger so you make a rule to downgrade the players ability)

4.) MMA = Brock lesnar (bigger stronger faster)

Look The whole Legal, Outlaw camparison is this... We are involved in CAR AUDIO... if your car sounds good sealed than meter it that way. if you want your doors open than meter it. but when i go to a thread and someone says "was that Legal on the dash" in an attempt to down play how loud that vehicle truly is i cant stand that shit. (What kinda Competitor does that) a scared Crybaby one thats who.

i guess this isnt loud than.....