Changes To Vehicle Modifcation Regulations

[ossie_21]

WA adopted a new system late last year or early this year in regards to vehicle modifications, which for enthusiasts like us makes it a bit more work to keep everything ok. The car must still comply with 3 things - The Australian Design Rules (ADR), Road Traffic Regulations 2002 & now the National Code of Practice for Light Vehicle Modifications. (NCOP)

http://www.dotars.gov.au/roads/safety/bulletin/vsb_ncop.aspx

I got a yellow sticker on my car & have made 2 trips to the pits. First time I got a list of things that needed to be rectified, so the car went in & got work done that needed to be. Second time there I passed with no problems at all, and submitted my form listing all my modifcations needing approval in principle for. I was given a 3-week sticker extension while I waited for them to review it.

Today, I finally get a reply from the DPI, which is a modifcation refusal notice. This means that as of 4pm today my car isn't allowed to be driven on the road. Now I need to refer to the NCOP, and make sure it's complies before I can re-submit the application. (Which by the way will mean another 3 weeks of waiting)

The letter I got says "The modifications contained in your application are not within guidelines for normal approval for road registered vehicles, subsequently approval cannot be granted to your request". Now when I called up to speak to the tech section, he told me what I had done wrong when filling out my form, and a couple of reasons my car won't comply (which was an emphasis on my steering wheel...of all things).

When filling out my form (12 pages) there was a few questions I had no idea on the answers for, so wrote down unknown because any normal person would think wtf like I did. Things like what the original manufacturers wheel track is, and what the modified track is, how much change there is to wheel offsets/onsets, exact height changes with suspension, etc....... So basically to be able to fill this form out, you will need to have your car engineered so all the figures are correct & everything is shown to be correct.

So basically for me now I can't drive my car, because I have to re-apply for permits. I might still be able to go to the pits again and pay another inspection fee & get my car cleared (again), and get another 3 weeks extension while I wait. It just really sucks now because now I can't start work on time until I get given more time and my weekend & personal plans are now f**ked because of it.

So pretty much it would be good advice to everyone to apply beforehand before modifying your car in anyway, because your application could be turned down.If like me the mods are already done it might make it harder, especially now as I'm going to have to pay to get my car engineered & some more things possibly changed. And even now as I type this up, I don't even know if I'll be able to get everything approved, or if I've got a car I've spent a lot of money modfiying that will prove to be a very expensive race car....

Something to think about!!

Edited October 12, 2007 by ossie_21

[djr81]

Couple of golden rules when dealing with the dpi.

1. Never ever submit a form that is not fully filled out. If they see stuff unfinished they have no basis to accept your application - because they just don't know - how could they? Also if it is non compliant state by how much it is non compliant by - sometimes they will give you a break. Just not often.

2. Never ever ask them a question if you already don't know the answer. They will probably just make shit up that makes your life harder.

Oh and that link appears broken.

[Denver]

more information too, what exactly did they say no to and why

[Daniel R32]

Dam. . sorry to hear mate

[ossie_21]

more information too, what exactly did they say no to and why

That's one of the thing that pisses me off, he wouldn't really tell me! He just kept saying "refer to the national code of practice & you'll have to work it out for yourself what will comply & what won't". Seriously. He just said work it out for yourself. So now all I have to do is read a few hundred specifically worded pages to see if I'm wasting my time or not. Apparently my car was complied with an airbag steering wheel, and because it only came from Japan with that one I have it's therefore illegal to change it. Fair enough if that's how it is & I'll change it back if I have to, but that's all he told me. I said "Ok, what else" "Refer to blah blah....." So I didn't get a straight answer about what was fine & what wasn't acceptable, which helps me 4/5ths of f**k all right now.

He said my wheels/tyres are probably fine too, but because I don't know the wheel track & similar things that have absolutely no relevance to me & probably all of you too, you really have to get your car engineered to find stuff like that out to make sure its complete as Richard said.

Link is fixed now btw

[infamous_t]

Bloody red tape, sorry to here about the stress mate... it'll come good eventually

[dan_the_man]

Sorry to hear about your troubles mate Sucks having a yellow

[GWP021]

wow that sucks my car is lighlty modified and i got busted being a little over exuberant out dwellingup way so a yellow for me

took it in guy walked round the car checked under the hood tore the sticker off and said cya later

now the fuzz said i needed permits for every modification from stock the dpi said i quote "a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing" and that i didnt need any permits at all

go figure

[Nizmo]

Have to love bureaucracy!!

We didn't choose to be bureaucrats,

No, that's what almighty Jah made us,

We treat people like swine,

And make 'em stand in line,

Even if nobody paid us!

They say the world looks down on the bureaucrats,

They say we're anal, compulsive and weird,

But when push comes to shove,

You gotta do what you love,

Even if it's not a good idea.

[NISZILA]

I know there is heaps to go through, but if it helps, the stock wheels are 16x6.5+40. From memory they come with 205 tread.

One less thing to look for

[342Four]

was looking through all those dotars pdfs - damn there is a lot!!!!

i was looking at doing a rear disk conversion and a bigger disk on the front coupled with a bigger master cylinder on the excel - but it looks like too much trouble if i get 'caught' - looks like i'll just have to go to slotted disks and bendix ultimates

[sam5709]

was looking through all those dotars pdfs - damn there is a lot!!!!

i was looking at doing a rear disk conversion and a bigger disk on the front coupled with a bigger master cylinder on the excel - but it looks like too much trouble if i get 'caught' - looks like i'll just have to go to slotted disks and bendix ultimates

off topic but be careful what brand of slotted rotors you get, bendix ultimate and some brands of slotted rotors dont mix, the ultimates eats the rotors quickly

+ plus ultimates are dusty as f**k LOL

[IMPORTD]

manufacturers wheel track can be found at RAWS when you enter your vin... little bit of research

[ossie_21]

Thanks for that, I knew there was somewhere you can find it but just wasn't sure where, but found it now & that will help me out a bit more

Now, I mentioned in the main post he said my steering wheel was illegal as it was complied with an airbag, but however after about 4 minutes of research, it is ADR 69 where you can't replace an airbag steering wheel with an aftermarket one without it. ADR 69 applies to vehicles manufactured from July 1995. My car is April 1995, and needs to comply with ADR 10, which doesn't have the same limitations, so picking me up on that is a mistake on their part

[Flash89]

just filled in the form for my mods will see what i will end up with. filled it up about 2 weeks ago

[J_R32]

how is this different to getting a mod plate?? or is this the application for a mod plate not the piss weak useless permit?

[wudi]

I filled one of these out recently for my S13. For anything that I wasn't sure of such as wheel tract and ride height i simply wrote "Standard" or "N/A". When my letter was issued it said I just need an engineer to approve my high mount turbo set up and my brake upgrade.

All was well.

[BANGN]

are pod filters still legal.. that system shat me off.

[gazza750]

are pod filters still legal.. that system shat me off.

yes pods are legal

[masTers]

Anyone know if dished steering wheels are illegal?