‘Sick’ modifications to require engineering approval

By Paul Maric | July 16th, 2009

From August 1st, 2009, gone will be the days of lowering a car so much that it needs assistance to traverse a speed hump.

The Road Transport Authority (RTA) will introduce new laws which prohibit vehicles from being lowered or raised any more than 5cm, along with all modifications requiring the approval of an RTA engineer.

The current law states that a car may be lowered up to 5cm without approval and up to 15cm with approval.

New South Wales Roads Minister Michael Daley says while drivers may think a lowered car looks “cool” it really is dangerous and any adjustment of more than five centimetres doesn’t belong on the road.

“I don’t want to see young hoons putting their lives or the lives of others at risk, just because they think their car looks better 15 centimetres closer to the ground,” Mr Daley said.

“Raising or lowering a vehicle’s height can put the driver, passengers and other road users at risk.

“It can affect handling, braking and safety features such as electronic stability control.”

All vehicles lowered after August 1st will be required to carry a certificate of authorisation.

snerd

HAHAHA! GOOD.
Alex

Fantastic. Should have happened ages ago. I do wonder though, you can’t lower your car but what about adding to the car to make it lower physically? Like a really low body kit for instance, but keep the car at normal height. Will that be allowed? Because it’s basically the same thing so it shouldn’t be allowed either.

kay

booooo u a downer…

Gav

I don’t see how this will affect cars that are lowered in home workshops.

I mean, up until August 1st you can lower your car by up to 5cm without approval, so who is to say that you can’t lower your car by up to 5cm and just say / tell them it was done before August 1st!??!

Nevertheless, I believe this is a good move. Most people who ‘chop’ their cars down give little thought to the safety implications it might cause.
david

is it just me or will “hoons” who have lowered cars get better handiling? or is that just for performance orientated cars, and what about gt3′s or f430 scuderia’s there buit lower then most cars.
http://skyline The Salesman.”Don’t blame them, train them”

Any news on raising a car? Many of my commercial customers add air shocks ect to increase the load capacity of a Truck/Ute. We also often fit Load Levelers to cars to assist in towing.
Tom

Gav they’ll get them on the blue slip after the next one. By then any lowering should have an engineers certificate and their old one will mention that their car wasn’t lowered, if they were trying to lie and say they lowered it before 1st Aug 09.

David, if done properly lowering your car can improve handling, but a lot of people just cut the springs which completely f*%ks it. Personally I hate almost all lowered car, they all look ridiculous. Ruins the symmetry of the wheels and wheelarches.
http://www.caradvice.com.au Paul Maric

The Salesman:

The law applies for raising a car too as far as I’m aware.

But it’s only the RTA which is introducing the law, so it will only apply in New South Wales.
Le

Not everyone chop their springs. Jeez.

Well i reckon this new law sucks though.
Bavarian Missile®™

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.Im guessing none of you except for Salesy Im guessing and Le have every dumpt a car in their life!

This law sucks big time……how the hell are the cops going to monitor how low a car is meant to be when they dont even know what they are looking at under the bonnet most of the time. Do they know the hight of all cars from the factory ?

Safety implications hahahaah……… You should stop all home mechanics now then cause what about people that fit their own brake pads? Cant that be a danger if done incorrectly!

What an absolute joke. Bet King Springs are pissed……..

Oh and Salesy I hope they nab all those stupid 4×4 s that put lift kits under their vehicles too,equally dangerous !
Andrew M

T/S,
Any patented products such as load levelling equipment or other modifications to improve a vehicles ability should already be engineered before it is on sale.
If you ask the supplier they should be able to provide you with a design certificate to prove that is the case.

No different to buying a 120kg rated step ladder from bunnings. If you contact Bailey (or whoever) they must be able to provide you with a design certificate that certifies the structual integrity of the ladder.

If you are buing a decent, reputable suspension modifying product, they should already be made to a certain design that is certified therefore my guess is that should be acceptable under the change to the law

On a side note,
Insurance is very hard to get on a lowered vehicle. If you are under 25 forget it for starters, they wont touch you
Andrew M

Also,
Ive had a lowered vehicle that was probably about the same height as a couple Ive had that were factory height with sports suspension.

The biggest thing I found is that the one that was lowered tended to bottom out more even though it was about the same height.
What I put it down to is the car not being designed to be that low. Things such approach angles werent designed with such a lower ride height in mind
http://br-look.blogspot.com Nemesis

I guess this law makes sense on paper, but to make it work they would need a list of the standard ride height of every single model of car ever sold so the police officers can check properly if a car is or isn’t lowered.

Lowering your car with proper sports springs will make it safer, period. BUT what they should be trying to stop is people chopping their springs, which is always dangerous!
Yanzo

wait do they actually drive with it that low? as long as you don’t exceed like 20 kmh then i think it should be ok. who’s gonna drive at 100 kmh with it that low. it’s not permanently that low is it? they have hydraulics or airbags
David

The law doesn’t require any enforcement. It works by scaring people into following the rules. WHAT IF a car that had been illegaly modified got into an accident? If your insurance company found out, you wouldn’t be covered. People (well, most people I would think) will not take that risk.
DesignEng©™

Yanzo, the modifications that you are talking about (hydraulic variable) are already illegal and have been for years.
Captain Mainwaring

A better remedy than lowering the cars themselves is lowering their owners, by about 15cm, which happens to coincide with the level of the neck.
L

Factory cars meet ADR’s, so they already comply, Although it wont stop them from giving you a fine.

My friend got defected in a stock porch for being too low and it was standard height, they sent the car to the rta and it passed.

As for discouraging “hoons” buy not letting them lower there cars, what a joke!

Regardless of what height a car is, what wheels it has, what body kit it has will not change the attitudes of these drivers. You could endanger peoples lives in a stock as a rock datsun 120y if you really wanted to.

The real issue is not the cars they drive but the drivers themselves.

These new laws are just another piece of our freedom gone.

Educate the repeat offenders, take there licenece’s. Make them educate themselves as they do drink drivers and AA meetings before giving them back.

Show them photos of horrific accidents where negligence was involved, show them the conciquences of there stupidity and how many times it really does happen.

Punish them and not everyone else aswell.

There are thousands of car enthusiasts who know the road isn’t a race track and drive modified cars, how many cars are there in events like targa tasmania? Races on our roads, in street registered, modified race cars, 98% 0f these people are responsible people with good jobs, familys and morals.

It is not fair to punish everyone for a minority of idiotic drivers.
FrugalOne

HOOOOOOOOORAYYYYYY,,,,

Now just get rid of all the doofdoofdoof idiots

Then the a.nal fog light idiots

Then the big-boy exhaust and BOF valve idiots

Be all heart broken out west!

Cheers

F-0
Sam-R

I speak as one who has owned many cars over the years and lowered most of them. If done PROPERLY lowering a car will improve handling and safety. To lower a car 5cm without approval is very generous in my opinion. To lower a car 15cm is insane. Yes it looks “cool” but I’m glad engineering approval is required because in most cases there isn’t enough travel within the suspension system to cater for such a drop so aftermarket modifications need to be made and the car still needs to be roadworthy so as to not cause accidents. It also needs to make it over speed bumps, its sooooo embarrassing otherwise ;-(

The same applies for raising a car. The centre of gravity is higher and the risk of a rollover is increased if the jobs not done right. I had a 4×4 roll over in front of me down the freeway and its not a pretty sight. Any drastic modification on a car needs to be checked by a “professional” to ensure safety for all road users.
MuseDW

Too right L,

This is just another half-baked ‘safety’ campaign that the roads minister has come up with to justify his existence. It’s typically not thought through, and ends up placing more restrictions on the innocent.

It’s easier and cheaper to fine people than invest in appropriate driver training and safety courses.

This sucks.
AAA

There’s no RTA in Victoria in 2009. Only Vicroads ~
David

By the way, the vehicle pictured in the photo is an AMERICAN Chrysler 300. Definitely not an Australian-spec 300C.
http://www.tuneyoursaab.com Tony

I agree with Sam R, most cars are designed within certain rules and the design is usually a compromise of performance vs cost vs safety. usually, lowering a vehicle will generally improve handling and cornering.However, I am typically talking in the 20mm to 40mm region (dependant on car). This business of severe lowering anything greater than 50mm is dangerous and typically puts many other suspension and drivetrain parts under additional stress.
http://skyline The Salesman

BM – Andrew M and Paul Maric

Take alloy wheels for example. You have load rating and rolling diameter to conceder. Just because the wheel and tyre are certified for use and deemed safe does not guarantee it meets the manufactures standard for the car you are fitting it to.
Same goes for most other aftermarket modifications. If you are making structural changes to cars that require engineers certificates i would understand. But lowering a car is hardley a major modification.
http://skyline The Salesman

BM Says,
Oh and Salesy I hope they nab all those stupid 4×4 s that put lift kits under their vehicles too,equally dangerous !

I actually traded a Kingswood ute that had blocks of wood jammed in to lift it up. And, he had a drum of fuel strapped to the roof racks that gravity fed fuel into the carby. The fuel pump was broken. Surprisingly no one had ever pulled him over?
Matt

DesignEng©™
adjustable suspension is legal and engineerable, i have a “bagged” hilux that does not go lower than 100mm which is legal and engineered and it handles and drives better than a stock hilux. ditto with my raised one, done right which they are, they handle better than stock.
DesignEng©™

Matt, this is one example:
Look up: VSI_L_1.0_Light_Vehicle_Replacement_Suspension_Modifications.pdf

I geuss it depends on the interpretation, but it seems fairly clear to me.

I suspect that a off the shelf lowering kit from someone like King Springs, and professionally fitted might come with the engineering approval certificate and require no further action by owners.
Motorhead

While I’m against many defect laws against mods etc I have to admit 15cm is a pretty insane amount, it would only be some commercial & 4wds etc that would have enough height built into them to take that amount out anyway.
I haven’t bothered reading the law so does anyone know how it works with optional factory lowered sport suspension packages & performance models etc.
A 50mm lowered GT Falcon is much lower then a 50mm lowered XT & they share the same basic suspension architecture otherwise.
Howie-R31

Basically any off the shelf products are going to be certifiable, as long as the vehicle isn’t lower than 100mm.
I believe these laws are just being introduced to try and deter the people lowering there cars by using makita and ryobi specials etc :p
Flying High

oh of course… this coming from the font of all driving knowledge – the NSW RTA. Seriously. With respect to ‘road safety’, how about getting the roads fixed for a start you bureaucratic incompetent mules? sheesh – dont get me started.
Gibbo

I can understand lowering some cars (by about than 25-30mm) eg: base model commodores and falcons, they sit that little bit nicer and handle better – which would make them safer. But I dont see the point in lowering the sportier cars (eg: SS and XR or HSV /FPV variants) that already have lowered sports suspension standard – they already sit nice and handle better than the base models – any lower and they become too impractical. On that basis I dont see why simple lowering kits (from reputable companies and fitted by qualified mechanics) Should require the hassle of an engineering certificate. The same goes for raising and load levelling kits.
Bavarian Missile®™

Hey Gibbo,Im not sure about the new FG GTs but I can tell you the previous models including the R-spec suspension versions like the Cobra handled like a boat when thrown into corners.

Its not difficult to order a set of lowered springs at the same load capacity of the originals and drop them in, most instances you will find springs by King ect cheaper than the original Ford branded versions and heaps better handling . The car sits a little lower on the road but most people wouldn’t even notice including Police,but the handling is heaps better. Im not saying it handled like it was on rails like the M3 does but you didnt get that sea sick feeling in the back especially. Only challenge is the front spoiler doest clear most gutters so you have to watch your front when parking.
DesignEng©™

But BM does it meet the requirement of: 100mm min clearance between level ground and ANY part of the car, within 1m of the axles?
http://Caradvice.com.au Baddass

YEYE Boyyssss!!!!
Howie-R31

BM, I see you keep mentioning King springs, are you giving them a bit of free advertising there? :p I’ve used King a couple times before and I honestly think they’re crap when it comes to performace, they’re just that little bit better than standard.
Bavarian Missile®™

DesignEng©™….no idea how low it is and frankly never cared .
Ive never been pulled over for a car being too low in my life.

I know my M3 is stock height and scrapes going over speed humps unless I angle over them slowly , as did both BA and BF GTs after being lowered but not prior .
Bavarian Missile®™

nahhhhhhhhh not at all Howie……………for a spring that lowers the car and gives better handling without shaking the fillings out of your head they are pretty good .
Bavarian Missile®™

Out of interest what do you recommend Howie .
Howie-R31

I think Pedders are a much better option. For a basic direct fit for the price there’s nothing wrong with the Kings. But when you want to push a bit harder for track work etc I would prefer something different. I run Tein S13 suspension on my R31 tho and that works a treat.
Bavarian Missile®™

Yeah the XA has custom Pedders in the front from memory {power coated } ,but it also has had the upper control arms repositioned along with custom valve shocks and colour code nolathane bushes…….they are just to look pretty hahaha.

None of that was fitted for serious track work as your car most likely is but simply to re-engineer an old car so it handles and sits better on the road . My son recently just put better coil overs in his Skyline too…..quite a bit of swearing went on under those front guards I hear from their installation .

Thats what annoys the crap out of me with stupid laws like this,most of us that are doing the right thing by buying better springs and shocks,that over engineer our cars almost but we still get told where are nothing but a danger on the road with our lowered modified cars………..

What about those guys that put larger dimension wheels on their cars ? Do they know what extra load it puts on axles and bearings , gearing of the car and how much the speedo is out because of it ?

http://www.pedders.com.au/photoGallery
Andrew M

T/S,
True point that even though a wheel for eg may be certified as a product on its own, doesnt mean it will suit the task/vehicle you are using it on,
BUT, some responsibility must be placed on the owner in chosing the right product.

Ill link it back to my Bunnings ladder example…….

Sure all ladders have to be design tested, but say for example you are purchasing a ladder to use on a building site, its up to the purchaser to choose not just any old ladder, but one that meets the tougher standards for use in a workplace.
No point in buying the 100kg rated ladder because the WHS inspector will toss it straight out the door (if you arent quick enough to hide it).

Sure its the Manufacturers duty to provide details of the standard that the product reaches, but its also the purchasers duty to ensure they chose the appropriate product.

If you go and buy a set of new wheels, the manufacturer will have the load rating of each wheel available for you.
Thats their part taken care of. If you choose to ignore the advice given, then yes, the owner is at fault and liable for any fines.
True the wheel has been engineered, but that wont save you if some idiot ignores it

Same too for lowering kits…..
The reputable brands should be certified for whatever vehicle they are for.
If they fit the right kit for the right vehicle, then no probs.
If the purchaser buys the wrong one, or doesnt fit it as detailed, then thats a different story
Mad Max

I run a mix of Bilstein and Kings in the Camaro. This all looks like a total over reaction by NSW RTA. But the scary thing is my brother works at Vic Roads and its under review in Victoria as well as QLD. They are looking at a Jan 1st 2010 intro in Vic. I asked how it will be implemented here as we don’t have annual roadworthy checks. No answer on that yet. He also said that in NSW they are looking at banning the sales of lowering kits that exceed the limits as well as fining professional installers that fit them.
Luckily the old Camaro is done already…
Sorry officer. Its a 40 year old car and the springs have sagged a bit over the past few years!
Krusty

The Salesman Says:
July 17th, 2009 at 9:22 am

I actually traded a Kingswood ute that had blocks of wood jammed in to lift it up. And, he had a drum of fuel strapped to the roof racks that gravity fed fuel into the carby. The fuel pump was broken. Surprisingly no one had ever pulled him over?

Was the Feral who owned that car Frugal_One???
http://skyline The Salesman

Andrew M,

Good point. I think the onus falls on the franchise retailing and fitting the product to ensure it meets/fits manufactures specifications. Another issue is insurance. For example if you are driving a car that is illegally modified and crash, the insurance might be void.
Rollin

I love the way there are so many people commenting on this subject who have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.

Go back to your holes and examine your stamp collection or something, leave the discussion to people who have a clue.

Mr Michael Daley, go back to school and research such things as ‘center of gravity’ and the effects of altering this in relation to vehicles. You never know, you might one day stop sounding like a complete fool.

Any time you want to come up to Brisbane I’ll gladly show you the difference in handling between a stock Falcon and a 65mm lowered one, and I’ll have a super-size freshly baked Humble Pie waiting for you when we’re finished.
Phil

I’m sorry I have just read the article above and I am confused how a lower car will put other road users and the driver at risk? Even though many factory super cars are much lower then these “hooned up” cars. If anything when lowering a car (if done properly) should improve the handling of the vehicle and not in anyway harming the driver or other road users. Although i do strongly believe in that “chopping” the springs should be made illegal for obvious reasons but for all means having a vehicle professionally lowered is safe and has been around for a very long time.
Andrew M

T/S,
Insurance is the biggest thing people dont think of.

When you sign up you declare that any modifications have been disclosed.

I had a case quite a few years back where the vehicle I was insuring was lowered by 2 inches. I initially told them it was lowered, but when asked how much I said I think its 2 inches, but I would have to get back to them to confirm it.

When I rang back to confirm that it was infact 2 inches lower than stock, I got a different operator. The different operator told me they wouldnt insure me because it was lower than the allowable 1.5 inches. She then looked at my file to see that the previous person had already noted on my file that it was lowered 2 inches, so they had to give me the insurance. I didnt push the issue, it must have been a legality as they had already accepted my policy.
I was then told that when it was to come up for renewal again, it would be reviewed, and it was hinted politely that they wouldnt re-insure me.

The thing handled like a dream but if I were to write the thing off with out them knowing it was lowered when I insured, they could have wiped it because i would have been in breach of my policy
Wheelnut®™

Rollin Says: July 18th, 2009 at 2:09 pm

I love the way there are so many people commenting on this subject who have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.

A-a-h-h I think you will find that kind of behaviour isn’t just limited to this particular subject
Howie-R31

Rollin,
Next time your in tassie feel free to come drive my R31 with stock suspension, then have a little drive of my drift R31 which is lowered around 2 1/2 inches and you’ll see which one handles better, I’ll be waiting with my own large freshly baked humble pie.
Cheers
FRYZEM

I own a nissan silvia with a highly modified motor..
1 word… COILOVERS people…. my car sits just above 100mm 2 make it legal and this thing handles like its on rails….
cant get much safer…. stiff suspension,lower 2 the ground,no body roll….
all these laws a bullsh!# and its just the goverment revenue raising!!!!
im sick of gettin pulled over cause i drive a hoon classed car…. i barely do anything wrong on the road these days…now go out 2 the track 2 have fun…
NSW ROAD MINISTER…..get a life and get a lowered car
http://www.ozhonda.com shoe

It looks as though these laws have been conjured by the minister without much thought being put into it. I hope they go back on it, because it’s just not going to work. How are they going to police it? As everyone has said, a lowered vehicle installed professionally and correctly in most cases will handle a lot better than a vehicle straight off the shelf, and I’m sure alot of car enthusiasts out there would agree with me on that one. I just hope they stay the f*ck away from Victoria.
Disco_steve

none of you really seem to get the point of these hoon laws, they are there mainly to get the unsafe vehcles of the roads, be they lowered or raised.
It is already compulsory to get most suspension mods engineered, air bags, coilovers, major lift kits etc.
To all u drift spec nuts above, i owned an r33 skyline, tein coilovers wide as back tyres and all the gear, yer it was excellent in the dry but in the wet it was a handfull.The stiffness of the suspension didn’t allow body roll which assists in the tyres getin the correct grip levels.
I also own a ” Bagged” vx commodore. yes its engineered. To get this to pass there are alot of rules you have to comply to. Bagged cars are not dangerous if they are built right.
They are my 2 examples, at each end of the modification scale, just to give fuel to the fire. I am all for car modifications,if they are done properly, it is a part of our culture and heritage. Build your cars legally and safely. These laws still allow suspension modifications, they are just stricter to eleminate dodgy joes cut springs and the like.