How loud is loud, What DB is actually loud?

chadeffect, 135db in a car is pretty easy to do with subwoofers. i use to compete with my car about 9 years ago and only had 1 12" subwoofer and would score 136db any day. these competitions are bass only, and usually people use simple test tones to hit one frequency. there are vehicles now that score well over 170db in these competitions.

look on youtube and you will see plenty of cars hitting over 160db and 170db. you dont sit in the vehicle at these competitions! these cars use multiple alternators and batteries along with thousands of watts. plus they have bulletproof glass and heavily reinforced bracing in the vehicles. the tone bursts they play only last a few seconds, just to register on the meter.