Approval for adjusting suspension ..

[dkGSR]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25790506-29277,00.html

Not sure if it affects anybody in VIC though :thumbsup:
I thought maybe some of you in NSW would like to know.

 

[EVO-00X]

No biggy boys. The ride height is measured as per the DOTARS vehicle data sheets. The data sheets can be easily obtained and faxed to you from DOTARS by quoting the Approval number written on your compliance plate. The sheet will tell you what the minimum heights must be front and rear (see pics)

To give you an idea, my coupe with 215/40/17 and coil over suspension is the minimum required height as per the DOTARS Vehicle Data Sheet and is still quite low. To be 50mm out is a massive difference!

My only concern is whether the Police are clued up to how it is to be measured correctly !!???!! as they can access these data sheets from their in-car computer system.

Usually this kind of law will filter into the other states

What we need to do is get someone with a GSR and an EVO to get the Approval No. from the compliance plate, then call up Dotars to get the Data Sheet for the car... then post it up


Below is the data sheet #9631 for CC coupes I had to refer to whilst engineering my car to make sure the ride height was spot on.

 

[thirteen]

From August 1, car owners will be limited to raising or lowering their suspension by no more than five centimetres, and all modifications will need approval from Roads and Traffic Authority engineers.

next story in the news will be:
chopped-springs Gemini owners commit mass suicide. lol

My only concern is whether the Police are clued up to how it is to be measured correctly !!?

police measurement of ride height is very technical.
They run their hands over your tyres and see if they don't touch the wheel arches! lol

 

[Marc]

I dunno bout you guys but cause im always skeptical of new things, ive got a bad feeling about this.....

 

[Liberoz]

So Rob would I be able to get one of these sheets supplied by Dotars for a Cd5w ect?? even if it wasn't released here??

 

[JayRome]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25790506-29277,00.html

Not sure if it affects anybody in VIC though :thumbsup:
I thought maybe some of you in NSW would like to know.

nah shouldn't effect us.... they will cannery your ass either way...

 

[Liberoz]

nah shouldn't effect us.... they will cannery your ass either way...

Its the same everywhere........ I think it all depends on the discretion of the Officer you get had stupidly obvious track day mods ie dropped on ass,
pod uncovered(but with diversion shield) engine bay definitely doesn't look stock far from it interior stripped out door number and ive been given the let go :thumbsup:

It was a completely random pull over, was coming back from petrol station after filling up before a track day :unsure: I'm sure your attitude, what you say,
and the actual circumstances make a huge difference to the outcome I have been done also for a pod :thumbsdown: so its always a gamble, an engineers cert and epa test certificate normally sorts out any interpretations of the law.

 

[EVO-00X]

So Rob would I be able to get one of these sheets supplied by Dotars for a Cd5w ect?? even if it wasn't released here??

Jon, if you can find someone with one complied in Australia then grab the number off the compliance plate and chase it up with DOTARS. Actually might be good for you to grab both, the stock data sheet and the Libero sheet and compare.

We really should have a data sheet for all our cars on file, VR4's, GSR's etc in the tech section. Its the stock specs held on record by DOTARS and something the motoring authorities and Police refer to.

It would be kinda nice if guys with different models take the initiative to request this type of info and post it up for the benefit of everybody rather than wait around for somebody else to do it :thumbsup: Arming yourself with some general knowledge and paperwork to back your mods up goes a long way if ever pulled over by the Police and threatened with a defect notice.

 

[TMAK]

They run their hands over your tyres and see if they don't touch the wheel arches! lol

lol that bad for me coz my rear arches are flat haha!!

ages ago this fat guy i know got cannaried for his lancer being too low. but it was stock haha!!

 

[ENGINR]

As you know Rob - Engineer's certificate all the way and it's "What's that Officer? My vehicle is defective? I DON'T THINK SO!!"

 

[SIVART]

my evo wont have that plate at all, can I make one up

 

[EVO-00X]

lol... no.... Arent imported EVO's complied for use on the road? There's gotta be a number on one of the plates somewhere you'd think? Can you get some decent close up pics of your mod plate and any other plate in the engine bay of your car dude? If I see the number I'll chase up the data sheet for it.

 

[Marc]

Hey rob would you mind looking up a data sheet for me please?

 

[D3bb4]

how the hell are you meant to prove *WHEN* your car was lowered? that's bullshit!

100mm ground clearance is the ADR, seems like revenue raising to me.

 

[EVO-00X]

Hey rob would you mind looking up a data sheet for me please?

Your datasheet is the coupe one I posted earlier Mark :w00t: All CC coupes have the same - its not individual car specific.

Na Debbie, you might be a bit mixed up in your interpretation. The 100mm rule was only part of it and has been around for a long time - an 'easy check' for the Police over the years. But there was always more to it. Now that the Police are becoming more knowledgable with better access to technology and training, they can refer to the original data sheets that have always existed since all our cars were complied for use in Australia. Unfortunately for the car modding scene, the Police have access to them via their in-car computers and can compare your car on the spot against them.

Things like ride height, wheel track, even your wheel & tyre placard info are all in the data sheets (so if you have a fake wheel/tyre placard you will be pulled up on it). There are ADR's and the Code of Practice for Light Vehicle Modifications you can work to that allow some modifications too, say for e.g. you can go 25mm wider wheel track up front and back to stock wheel track... but now the Police will know exactly what the stock wheel track actually is by referring to the sheets.

Its not that difficult to work within the rules and sometimes a compromise needs to be made. For a modified production vehicle an engineer cant deviate from what is written in the ADR's in black and white. Things such as minimum height for the vehicle in the datasheet, 1" wider wheel width than maximum allowed on the stock car and 1" wider wheel track cant be ruled against. ADR's are the governing law so to speak and the guidelines are what you can work to in accordance to them (guidelines will always refer to the governing ADR).

I used to think why cant Police focus on more 'Police-like duties' like tracking down thieves, solving murders etc... but I suppose we're a lot easier a target to catch and a lot less paperwork :thumbsdown:

 

[Marc]

Your datasheet is the coupe one I posted earlier Mark :w00t: All CC coupes have the same - its not individual car specific.

*cough*hyundai excel*cough*

 

[Dean]

Having said all that Rob,
I once had a cop ask me how low my car was,
I said its 90mm, (which it isnt)
and he said, oh thats fine.
So it just depends who you get

 

[Marc]

Having said all that Rob,
I once had a cop ask me how low my car was,
I said its 90mm, (which it isnt)
and he said, oh thats fine.
So it just depends who you get

EXACTLY!!!

Your car could have 30km on it brand new, but the cops can still defect you, wether your car is stock or if they are right or wrong, its the hassle of having to clear it and go thru the b/s.

 

[evopwr]

i wrote the cunt a letter. this shit is just getting rediculous.

 

[EVO-00X]

More on the subject and new law in NSW from 31st July 2009: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registrat...aising-and-lowering-vehicles_17-july-2009.pdf

The 50mm restriction is both +/- 50mm to the stock ride height. You cant go above 50mm stock height and you cant go below 50mm stock height (and you must still have 100mm+ ground clearance).

Here's an extract from that document which confirms the +/- 15mm overall diameter wheel/tyre combination we've been talking about... PLUS, it takes into account the new +/- 50mm rule. So in basic terms you can use a set of bigger mags +/- 15mm overall diameter wheel/tyre combination if using stock suspension ONLY!!! BUT, as soon as you lower your car in conjunction with bigger mags its now deemed as a MAJOR MODIFICATION and needs engineer approval.

MINOR CHANGES TO WHEELS
Altering a vehicles ride height by changing the outside diameter of the wheel and tyre combination by
no more than 15 mm over the largest (for raising) or below the smallest (for lowering) combination
specified by the vehicles manufacturer is considered to be a minor modification and does not require
certification. Refer to VSI No. 9 for more information on using alternative wheels and tyres.
Where such a change is made in combination with another alteration which further increases or reduces
the ride height, the modification is considered to be major and is subject to the certification
requirements outlined below.

At the end of the day you must be within +/- 15mm of stock wheel overall diameter (easy), +/- 50mm in ride height of the stock ride height (if together with a set of bigger diameter mags now needs engineer approval), and have a ground clearance of at least 100mm+.

It sucks to be in NSW without an un-engineered car right now and we can blame it on all those c*nts who chop their springs and who drive around in lowriders with hydraulic suspension :fuuuuu: Pray that this new law doesnt hit the other states boys...