Car Modification Laws in Montreal / Quebec and What Do The Police Look For?

Rekkless

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A Big G'day to everyone on here.

It has been a very long time since my last post. But I have finally moved to Montreal from Australia. So yes, I have traded the beaches and everlasting sun for the Canadian Wilderness and Snow. And so far I'm loving it. Montreal is truly one of the greatest places I have ever been to.

Anyway I have been here since December and weathered what wasn't a too bad a winter (granted I've never seen snow or been below 4 degrees celsius in my life) and now summer is arriving I am looking at buying a car.

I have a 2018 WRX STi in mind as they really seem like the single perfect Canadian enthusiast car.


But like all cars I've owned in Australia I will want to tinker and modify it to my liking. So what modifications exactly do the Police look for in Quebec? Or what kind of cars do they look for? Keep in mind what is Illegal and what you will get pulled over are two very different things.

As an example I've noticed while Jay Walking in Quebec is illegal it appears to be a way of life here in Montreal. So while I have read that exhausts can't modified in any way shape or form how much exactly are they "Patroled" by police.



While I don't plan on going nuts with the car a typical modification list will be - Full 3" Exhaust, Intake, Tune, Blow Off Valve, Carbon Lip at the front, Lowered Springs (or Coil Overs), Wider wheels (not hellaflush just improved stance) and maybe the Subispeed Tinted LED tail lights.

How legal or much would one get by with this modification list?


I'm sure you know what most of the modifications look like. The two I'm unsure of is the Exhaust system - I don't plan on going too loud, just enough to give a good Subi Rumble and to make the most out of the Stock turbo.

As for the Tinted Tail Lights - I'm going going to tint the factory lights I want to get High Powered Subispeed LED tail lights that come factory tinted that are prefectly bright and safe.


Anyway apart from modifications listed. What do Quebec Police look for? What are their pet hates, what kind of mods or what kind of car am I going to be guaranteed to be pulled over for? From what I understand mostly it is Exhausts and Window Tint are the top two tickets and also lift kits for Trucks (not an issue).

Can anyone give me a heads up on what to expect from our Provincial Police force in how they deal with enthusiast grade cars.
 
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Window and light tints are gonna get some attention from the popo but if you go with an STi it's already loud from the factory so you shouldn't get too much greavance for an exhaust... as soon as you're obviously not stock be prepared to get pulled over for an 'inspection' anyway, porkers just love cracking down on modded cars lately...

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i drive a 20 year old jacked up jeep with the tires sticking out for the past 4 years and never had a problem, while some people will get pulled over and sent to inspection for coilovers on their 2015 car. depends where you're from, what mood the cop is in that day, if there's an "opération policière" underway and they spot your car, etc.

for the exhaust you need oem stuff, anything that's aftermarket won't pass, tail light tint is illegal, window tint 30% (70% visible), etc.

ideally they want you to go to the saaq and get the mods approved before installing, but they'll fail you only for having coilovers.
 
They hate tints, exhaust and too low cars.

Subaru dealers won't be of much help if you have a problem with a modded car under warranty.
 
Can anyone tell me the penalty, fine and process if you get "defected" (what we call it in Australia when you get fined for illegal mods). For example if I get a fine for an aftermarket Exhaust what am I looking at fine wise and do I have to remove the exhaust?
 
They hate tints, exhaust and too low cars.

Subaru dealers won't be of much help if you have a problem with a modded car under warranty.

Yeah, I can imagine so. What are the laws like here in regards to a warranty claim. For example in Australia a manufacturer has to honor a warranty if the modification doesn't relate directly to the claimed part. For example if you have a CAT BACK exhaust they can't deny your warranty claim to fix the power window.
 
Comme ca a été dit, pour mettre toute les chances de ton coté pour éviter de te faire chier par la police faut pas avoir : char trop droppé , vitre trop teinté, strech de pneu, camber, exhaust trop bruyant et ou un ''tuyau de poele''.
 
Comme ca a été dit, pour mettre toute les chances de ton coté pour éviter de te faire chier par la police faut pas avoir : char trop droppé , vitre trop teinté, strech de pneu, camber, exhaust trop bruyant et ou un ''tuyau de poele''.

Tu écrit en Français à un dude qui vient tout juste d'arriver de l'Australie...
 
:laugh::laugh: le dude vient d'arriver et deja ya un mini francais/english fight sur son thread.

To be honest, if its for a daily, just mod it mildly, oem stuff and not too low. You won't be too bothered by the cops.
 
Drove for 10 years a modified srt-4 with all the baby mods you listed as well as a lot of real performance enhancing things and never got bothered by the police. Just keep the rev's low and drive as if you were a 60 year old beige camry driver when near cops.
 
For the money you're planning to spend on that STI, you could get a car that is much better and will give you less problems.

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Comme ca a été dit, pour mettre toute les chances de ton coté pour éviter de te faire chier par la police faut pas avoir : char trop droppé , vitre trop teinté, strech de pneu, camber, exhaust trop bruyant et ou un ''tuyau de poele''.

Merci pour l'information. En d'autres termes, utilisez le bon sens et vous devriez être d'accord.

For the money you're planning to spend on that STI, you could get a car that is much better and will give you less problems.

In all honesty, a 1LE Camaro was on the top of my list, but I probably need a car I can use all year round. I took a 2SS for a drive other day and fell in love and the 2018 1LE with rebates is around the price of a top of the line STi so it is doable. But I just figured it would be a very bad choice since it is snowing here 5 months out of the year.

Seems like australians are all over subbies ... Im on alot of aussi youtube channels and they all go choo choo over subbies !

Honestly what's not to like? AWD with loads of grip, that Subi Boxer rumble, 4 doors, all the technology of a BMW or Mercedes, in the 2018 STi - those Recaros :bigup: 6 piston brakes. Sure the EJ isn't the worlds greatest motor but it isn't bad and IMO they look good.


But hey I'm open to suggestions, what would any of you guys recommend?
 
Ok doesn't translate to "d'Accord", it still is OK in french :p

About the fines, already had one 8 years ago on my specV, you are looking at about 150$ for en exhaust fine.

The real issue is if you get sent to inspection, they'll look at every mod you have and if they don't agree with it, you won't be allowed to drive the car untill you remove them. So keep your stock parts close by.

About their level of pickyness, well, in montreal cops are usually busy with a lot of stuff, they don't have much time to waste with that kind of crap. But once you get out of the city, well it can change a lot from a city to another. But I drove catless illegal exhaust, coilovers, lowering springs, wrong size tires, squeaking brakes and only got pulled over once in 10 years for an exhaust fine.
 
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