Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 41
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I know it has most likely been covered elsewhere, but if your car is running illegal mods and you have an accident, is your insurance (compo or 3rd party) made void?

what if you list all your mods with the insurance company and they say its fine? because iv heard of people having insurance with Just Car insurance, and they listed all their mods and their fine, like BOV ect. I think just cars are the way to go if your young import driver.

Just Cars are probably the best for highly modified cars, the excesses are the only thing that makes claims expensive. However, they state on the policy that all modifications must be legal and road worthy. So an illegal mod or one that you dont have a permit for could give them grounds to refuse insurance, then you get into the whole legal battle of proving the illegal modification didn't cause the accident.

In QLD they can't be YELLOW, RED, BLUE or WHITE, or flash. can't see the bulbs and can't be DAZZLING to other motorists.

Main roads has made up a info sheet all about them, just go and ask them for one. Your rules down south are probably different.

BTW. Having the front number plate to the side is perfectly LEGAL aslong as it is viewable from 20m in front, and 45 degree angle.

haha good call kamikaze, thanks for url karina

anyway

boost controller is illegal as it adjust your factory engine emissions, more boost = more air = more oil / fuel / other volumetric crap changes from the factory "emissions"

in vic its only 1 air intake mod, pod or aftermarket front mount intercooler. unsure if factory still counts as one, i think it does.

shit like guages are allowed because according to ADR if mounted on the a pillar its in driver collision area. that is if you have a head on your likely to mash your head forward and bust your forhead open on the nice HKS boost guage you have etc.. if its monuted say in the console or near ash tray then i guess its fine

gear knob is ok but it has to have the 1-2-3-4-5-6 H pattern sticker on it to show "someone" else who may drive the car where 1st 2nd 3rd is etc...

pedals i guess would need to meet adr (australia design regulations) same with aerokits and big **** ass wings, they need to meet ADRS to be allowed and ticked off as Okay

turbo timer is illegal because your engine must NOT run once the key has been removed for safety resons. no other accessories other than radio and harard and horn i think should work when key has been removed for safety reasons. ie your windows must not go up and down when key is taken out, things like auto arming alarms that do turrbo timer function and wind up windows automatically is technicallly illegal as your engine and windows work when key has been removed

window tint is allowed only upto a certain darkness (in japan they had mirror tint!!!) -> cool effect hey : )

pod is illegal (well oiled one) because it affects your emissions with a normal air filter it just sucks in air, with an oiled pod (most are i think) it sucks in air + random oil from the pod. its not illegal for the noise, for the emissions. i think it comes into play becuase the bov can trumpet the air out into the atmosphere, whereas on an NA car it still goes out via the cat converter before it gets to atmosphere, could just be a technicality

there are other ifs and ums, things like the power to weight ratio (for p platers only)

which i believe is you must not drive any vehicle that exceeds X torque/killowats/power per 1000 kilos or whatever the scale is

so if you are driving a skyline 1995 GTST on your p plates and you get pulled over and they go power to weight violation you can ask for them to prove it

to prove it they must

a) weigh your car - easily done

B) measure engine output (not including drive train) - aka take the engine out on a hoist and dyno the engine, as if they are gonna do that

but then you can also argue that your rb series 2.5 litre twin cam turbocharged engine has 115,000 kms on it therefore its 35% worn and therefore its voluemertic capacity is only 70% of its factory output therefore its not 187kw at the flywheel its more like 160kw which would put you and your car under the power to weight rule. you could also say you have a special restrictive air filter that only allows the engine to suck 80% of its capacitiy there power is less - $x of 80% and so on

lots of ifs and ums, of course most of this is off the top of my head so i could be completely wrong in some areas, sorry if i am

oh and i just found (which is cooll and i didnt know)

15. EXTERNAL GAUGES

Gauges may be mounted externally forward of the windscreen in a position visible to the driver provided they meet the following requirements which are effectively the same as the bonnet scoop and protrusion requirements:

o The gauges and any attaching brackets or covers must be of a smooth construction with the edges suitably radiused so that they are not likely to increase the risk of injury to a person;

o The surface of any part of the gauge or cover visible to the driver must not be more reflective than the general bodywork of the vehicle;

o If the gauges have instrument lighting then the intensity of the light must not be greater than that of the interior instrument panel;

o The gauges or covers must not prevent the driver from having a clear uninterrupted view through the full width of the windscreen of all parts of the road surface 11 metres forward of the steering wheel viewed from any driving position permitted by the range of adjustment of the driver's seat.

o If the gauges or mounting brackets have sharp edges or are constructed in such a way that the likelihood of injury to any person is increased then they must be covered by a faring which presents a smooth surface when viewed from the front and side of the vehicle.

It is recommended that pressure gauges are of a type that are electrically controlled, however if pressure lines are required to operate the gauges then the lines must be suitable for the pressures and temperatures involved, braided type lines are preferred. The lines must be appropriately supported and routed so that they are not likely to fail or be damaged during normal use.

Probationary driver licence holders must not drive high powered vehicles. A high powered vehicle is any vehicle with a power to weight ratio over 125 kw per tonne, or with an engine capacity to weight ratio over 3.5 litres per tonne.

Capacity to weight ratio is the capacity in litres divided by the weight in tonnes. Power to weight ratio is the power in kw divided by the weight in tonnes. In doing calculations, weight is specified in tonnes (1000kg = 1 tonne); capacity is specified in litres (1000ml = 1 litre); power is specified in kilowatts (kw) and is as measured at the engine flywheel.

The weight of a vehicle is the unladen mass specified by the manufacturer for the stock-standard vehicle (without options). Since 1988, this weight is specified on vehicle data sheets, as published by the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services. Vehicle manufacturers provide the information used to prepare the data sheets.

The file attached below contains a guide to vehicles that are classed as high powered motor vehicles. The Guide only covers standard vehicles that have been made in Australia, or imported in bulk, since 1970. It does not include all high powered motor vehicles. If you are concerned that a model not included may be a high powered motor vehicle, then you may be able to get engine power and vehicle weight information from the manufacturer.

If your car is modified, you may also need to obtain an engineer's certificate and do your own calculations. You are also required to notify VicRoads of any significant modification. Penalties for not doing so are severe.

If you are a probationary licence holder, it is your responsibility to make sure any vehicle that you drive is not a high powered motor vehicle. The penalties for driving a high powered motor vehicle include a heavy fine, and may result in licence suspension.

Power to weight ratio is the power in kw divided by the weight in tonnes. In doing calculations, weight is specified in tonnes (1000kg = 1 tonne); capacity is specified in litres (1000ml = 1 litre); power is specified in kilowatts (kw) and is as measured at the engine flywheel.

ok so based on factory specs of my car

February 1997 to 1998 > GTS25t type M active LSD specification

Engine Code RB25DET

Engine Type Water cooled Inline 6 cylinder DOHC 24 valve IC turbo

Engine Size 2.5 litres (2498 cc)

Max power 184kW @ 6400rpm

Max torque 294Nm @ 4800rpm

Forced Induction IC equipped turbo

Weight 1400kg

So:

184 / 1.4 = 131.42857142857142857142857142857

So yes according to factory specs my car would exceed power to weight rule.

But you could simply argue your engine is not brand new therefore those figures do not apply

Engine Code RB20DET

Engine Type Inline 6 cylinder DOHC 24 valve IC turbo

Engine Size 2.0 litres (1998 cc)

Max power 158kW @ 6400rpm

Max torque 265Nm @ 3200rpm

Forced Induction IC equipped turbo

Weight 1320kg

So:

158 / 1.32 = 119.69696969696969696969696969697

So yes according to factory specs you can drive an r32 GTS-t Type M on your p plates.

But the same applies, the cops or dudes who check your car could argue that your pod filter allows 15% more air suction and capacity than the factory specs so therefore

158 / 1.32 = 119.69696969696969696969696969697 + 17.9 (<--- pod filter % increase) = 136

so therefore it is then over the power to weight, of course they have to be able to prove it and of course you need to have a pod filter that would make a 15% increase, which it most likely wont

i know it wont add 17kw, i was using the figures as an easy and bad example.

of course 15% more airflow wont give 15% more power, was just using it as easy comparison and figures. as if a pod filter would give that much more increase

  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

As long as your vehicle runs the engine that it came out with, and its pwr to weight is p plate legal, according to OM specs, you can install all legal modifications and have "300kw at treads"(unlikley on legal modifications) and drive it on your p's

  • 1 year later...

Depending on who you're with I believe normally they just won't fix those items, they won't be covered by the insurance and they may reduce the amount of compensation but I can't imagine they would void the insurance.

They don't usually seem to have a problem with mods as long as you let them know of mods you make and their value so they may accordingly adjust your premium :)

Edited by Froozog

EPAvic.jpg

some victorian law.. :(

piggyback ECUs are referring to stuff like SAFC .. things which handle stuff your ECU normally handles.

also pod filters have to be boxed on most vehicles in most (or all?) states.. but you probably already knew that

Edited by hobbsy

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • I know why it happened and I’m embarrassed to say but I was testing the polarity of one of the led bulb to see which side was positive with a 12v battery and that’s when it decided to fry hoping I didn’t damage anything else
    • I came here to note that is a zener diode too base on the info there. Based on that, I'd also be suspicious that replacing it, and it's likely to do the same. A lot of use cases will see it used as either voltage protection, or to create a cheap but relatively stable fixed voltage supply. That would mean it has seen more voltage than it should, and has gone into voltage melt down. If there is something else in the circuit dumping out higher than it should voltages, that needs to be found too. It's quite likely they're trying to use the Zener to limit the voltage that is hitting through to the transistor beside it, so what ever goes to the zener is likely a signal, and they're using the transistor in that circuit to amplify it. Especially as it seems they've also got a capacitor across the zener. Looks like there is meant to be something "noisy" to that zener, and what ever it was, had a melt down. Looking at that picture, it also looks like there's some solder joints that really need redoing, and it might be worth having the whole board properly inspected.  Unfortunately, without being able to stick a multimeter on it, and start tracing it all out, I'm pretty much at a loss now to help. I don't even believe I have a climate control board from an R33 around here to pull apart and see if any of the circuit appears similar to give some ideas.
    • Nah - but you won't find anything on dismantling the seats in any such thing anyway.
    • Could be. Could also be that they sit around broken more. To be fair, you almost never see one driving around. I see more R chassis GTRs than the Renault ones.
    • Yeah. Nah. This is why I said My bold for my double emphasis. We're not talking about cars tuned to the edge of det here. We're talking about normal cars. Flame propagation speed and the amount of energy required to ignite the fuel are not significant factors when running at 1500-4000 rpm, and medium to light loads, like nearly every car on the road (except twin cab utes which are driven at 6k and 100% load all the time). There is no shortage of ignition energy available in any petrol engine. If there was, we'd all be in deep shit. The calorific value, on a volume basis, is significantly different, between 98 and 91, and that turns up immediately in consumption numbers. You can see the signal easily if you control for the other variables well enough, and/or collect enough stats. As to not seeing any benefit - we had a couple of EF and EL Falcons in the company fleet back in the late 90s and early 2000s. The EEC IV ECU in those things was particularly good at adding in timing as soon as knock headroom improved, which typically came from putting in some 95 or 98. The responsiveness and power improved noticeably, and the fuel consumption dropped considerably, just from going to 95. Less delta from there to 98 - almost not noticeable, compared to the big differences seen between 91 and 95. Way back in the day, when supermarkets first started selling fuel from their own stations, I did thousands of km in FNQ in a small Toyota. I can't remember if it was a Starlet or an early Yaris. Anyway - the supermarket servos were bringing in cheap fuel from Indonesia, and the other servos were still using locally refined gear. The fuel consumption was typically at least 5%, often as much as 8% worse on the Indo shit, presumably because they had a lot more oxygenated component in the brew, and were probably barely meeting the octane spec. Around the same time or maybe a bit later (like 25 years ago), I could tell the difference between Shell 98 and BP 98, and typically preferred to only use Shell then because the Skyline ran so much better on it. Years later I found the realtionship between them had swapped, as a consequence of yet more refinery closures. So I've only used BP 98 since. Although, I must say that I could not fault the odd tank of United 98 that I've run. It's probably the same stuff. It is also very important to remember that these findings are often dependent on region. With most of the refineries in Oz now dead, there's less variability in local stuff, and he majority of our fuels are not even refined here any more anyway. It probably depends more on which SE Asian refinery is currently cheapest to operate.
×
×
  • Create New...