Since I'm in the market for an exhaust right now, this peaked my interest. This week is dick-off week at work, so I spent some time searching the City of Columbus' Administrative Code. Now I am in no way trying to say I know what I'm talking about or anything, and I'm especially not trying to pose as a lawyer!
I just read through basically every law in Columbus regarding motor vehicles. I'll drop some links to what I found below. LJ, please don't take this as me trying to prove you wrong. I'm just trying to help educate all of us. (Besides, I think you are partially correct... just for the wrong reasons)
There are no specific decibel levels listed that I can find. It's kind of left up to the discretion of the cop that pulls you over... that could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the cop. The laws are definitely written to screw you if they want. It basically says if your exhaust is louder than it was when it came from the factory, they can ticket you. If you make
ANY modifications they can call it illegal and give you a ticket.
Also, I made a quick call to the CPD downtown and they said every community surrounding Columbus have their laws setup about the same way. (he specifically named Dublin, Westerville, Worthington, Gahanna, Obetz, and Reynoldsburg) He also said that unless you exhaust is ungodly loud, or you give them a reason to
look for something to write a ticket for... you should be bothered.
Some links I thought you guys might find interesting:
Code regarding exhausts I summarized this above.
Code prohibiting loud stereo systems Summary: If they can hear it from 50 feet away... you're screwed. I think it's a $100 fine, too.
Code prohibiting blue neon I think if you used any color other than Blue and maybe Red... you should be able to get away with it.
Code regarding stickers on our windows. This says no stickers ANYWHERE except on bottom corners of front windshield, up to 4" tall by 6" wide. NONE on sides or back windows.
Horn honking is illegal. I just added this because it is funny. You aren't allowed to honk your horn unless someone is in danger.
