New Laws er: Raising and lower vehicles.. VSI 50

[Jason]

New laws to come into effect at the end of the month.  

MAY have been discussed before? 

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/downloads/vsi/vsi_50_raising-and-lowering-vehicles_17-july-2009.pdf


http://www.thepetitionsite.com/94/help-save-the-future-of-modified-cars-in-nsw

Regards

[CraigA]

Looks to be retrospective too 

This VSI applies to vehicles modified or presented to an AUVIS after 31 July 2009.

It also seems to indicate that air bag suspensions are OK, but can only move a vehicle in between -50mm and +50mm of the original spec and front and back must not move independently.

Drop spindles are also out as a method of lowering vehicle height.

I reckon you can thank the late model guys for this stuff as it looks like a reaction to the proliferation of massively lowered Civic's and other Japanese cars. Lets hope they are the ones who are targeted. 

[FC427]

This topic has had a fair amount of discusion on the oz rodder forum there are links and suggestion's as to who to contact to lodge you opposition against the said changes .......FC427......

[ratbox]

just read on ozrodders although dim at the moment there may be a light at the end of the tunnel

[NO NAME]

doesnt adding a HR front end drop the front some amount without even lowering, just like 70 seeries radial tyres also would?
does that mean if you have a front end from a HR fitted but on your engineers report it says nothing about being lowered that you can get defected till you get new papers or change back to the king pin drum brake front end?
now there is zero tolerance to go up or down in height even 2mm without a engineers report does that mean everyone on 70 or 65 series radial tyres needs a engineers report if they ever have to re register?
I wonder how much proof micheal daley has to show that the stock height and unmodified suspension and tyres on a FE or FC give safer handling than modified to the point it will reduce our annual road toll.

[FC427]

No matter what happens now the Police will be briefed  to look out for lowered cars and your car is so looooow [ suits your cars looks]  that you will be on the top of the list for attention by the boys in blue... and we will all be getting new engineers reports  stating that we have a lower car that is not more than 50mm lower than factory specifications and forking out again $$$$$$$$  If there is an up side to this is would be those 4 wheel drives that are raised 2 feet up in the air will be off our roads [sorry 4 WD's ]......FC427........

[NO NAME]

good news for engineers, bad news for aftermarket suspension parts manufacturers.
 bad news car owners who now might need to move to another state to keep legal.
 

[maroon-fc]

What is the factory spec standard height of an FC?

Is this height measured from ground to centre of headlight?

FC Mikey

[NO NAME]

What is the factory spec standard height of an FC?

Is this height measured from ground to centre of headlight?

FC Mikey

hope not, especially if they go of the bottom headlights

[NO NAME]

here is micheal daleys details-
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/Parlment/Members.nsf/c1f0a145443eba46ca256ce000181fd1/f81ed499e90a76a7ca25705700192d10!OpenDocument

ofcourse he is away on holidays till the new law comes in.

we dont only have one lowered car, even my wifes family VP calais is lowered, it was when we bought it 9 years ago, prior to us buying it the car was first a company car then owned by a older guy, we were told it had FEII but it doesnt show up on compliance plate as a option, i was going to let the rego run out and give it some new paint

[NO NAME]

What is the factory spec standard height of an FC?

Is this height measured from ground to centre of headlight?

FC Mikey

apparently rta have a database of all the measurements and dimensions here-
http://ols2.rta.nsw.gov.au/rvd/searchRVD.do

[FC427]

Leon if they measure  it from the lowest headlight your in deep shit you might have to fit 30'' tyres to get roadworthy  ........FC427.......

[maroon-fc]

Went to the rta rvd search, typed in the details and it said "No data exists for the criteria selected".

Does this mean we can lift'em or drop'em as much as we like? Doh... I'm typing out loud.

FC Mikey

[NO NAME]

Leon if they measure  it from the lowest headlight your in deep shit you might have to fit 30'' tyres to get roadworthy  ........FC427.......

i think they are taking it from the wheel arch to the axle so after finishing my paint and bodywork i now find out the wheel arches need to be radiused.
 these pollies are a pain in the arse, all this is becuase of one fatal accident that involved a 4x4 that was raised.
 how come when the hundreds of people die from bad road conditions they dont ban shit roads.
 conveniently micheal daley is away on a holiday till after his new law comes in.

[FC427]

It still has to get through Parliament before it can be made law  ... Thats the idea of contacting our local members and objecting so they can oppose this on our behalf  so it does not get through Parliament and become law ........FC427.......

[NO NAME]

It still has to get through Parliament before it can be made law  ... Thats the idea of contacting our local members and objecting so they can oppose this on our behalf  so it does not get through Parliament and become law ........FC427.......

as far as i knew its passed and comes in august 1
 apparently although you can still have a lowered car if it was lowered before august 1 insurance companies are saying they wont cover cars with any lowering without a engineers report from august 1 on, that is probably about 200-300 of the cars at the AHD next weekend that will be not covered

[FC427]

Can some one with a standard height FC post the measurement they have from the ground to under the wheel arch front and rear  at its highest point  or might be better under the sill front and rear then we can compair this to see where we low one's stand my FC is 220 mm rear 180mm front, of the  sill Thanks .....FC427......

[weddo]

Fair Dinkum!!

(page 2)

"Driver’s field of vision - Altering a vehicle’s ride height changes the driver’s view of the road. When a
vehicle is raised, the distance to the point the driver can see the ground in front of them is increased.
This results in an increased blind zone immediately in front of the driver where they cannot readily
see other road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and smaller vehicles. Similarly, blind zones along the
passenger side and rear of the vehicle are also significantly increased."

You would have to be driving a monstertruck !!!!!



Weddo

[CraigA]

Combine lowering with a seat laid back behind the B pillar and a back the front baseball cap and you've definitely got a problem 

This bit is fair enough, but not in all cases.

Modifying a vehicle’s suspension by raising or lowering it beyond the manufacturer’s specification has the
potential to decrease its safety by compromising its handling and braking performance, affecting safety
features, and by altering the position of impact-absorbing sections.

Like Leon says the lowering of the centre of gravity, especially in an early Holden, greatly improves its road holding and therefore inherent safety.

Funny how they actually agree, by saying

Dynamic stability - Raising a vehicle correspondingly raises its centre of gravity, which increases its
propensity to overturn.

but they forget to say that the reverse (lowering) lowers the centre of gravity and therefore (in their words) its
propensity to overturn 

This too is laughable

Risks to other road users - A vehicle that is out-of-control poses a risk to other road users.

Who says that as soon as you raise or lower a car it automatically gets out of control?

Unexpected vehicle behaviour - A vehicle’s suspension system involves complex relationships
between its components. Modifications to some components can introduce unexpected
consequences in the vehicle, such as introducing body roll induced wheel or axle steer and wheel
angle while turning, all of which could significantly degrade the handling characteristics of the vehicle.

Impact on other components - Modifications to ride height can stress or expose other components,
such as brake hoses or ABS/ESC sensor wires, resulting in their premature failure.

Trajectory of headlights* - Altering a vehicle’s height alters the trajectory of its headlights, which could
cause them to dazzle other road users either by shining directly in their eyes or by reflecting in rear
vision mirrors.

The above is true, and hard to dispute.

I still believe their target is the late model guys, but significantly lowered cars like Leon's could attract attention and therefore be at risk.

Just another example of government knee jerk reaction without consultation.

Remember, these are the same guys who say speed kills while maintaining a road network where 3 foot thick trees grow next to the road in 100km zones. Poor driving kills fellas, along with your gardening practices.

[NO NAME]

when you see a car like a mercedes benz clk on 20" rims with rubber band tyres sitting 70mm of the ground you know that the car wont handle as well as it should, i know of alot of wedding cars exactly like this, but with a 1950's holden. or a 1930's hotrod i think lower stiffer springs can only be a advantage, i think anyone with a stocker and a modified 48-ej can also confirm it.
 i couldnt even find good shock absorbers in the standard HR front end length but in the HQ length suitable with the lowered springs there is a big range of perfomance shocks.
 I think its plain stupid to apply the law to pre ADR cars, we dont have esp, srs, crumble zones, irs or even panhard rods.
 i cant see how it affects pedestrian safety, being lower not only makes short pedestrians more visible but but reduces chances of pedestrians going under the car instead of over the bonnet in a collision with a pedestrian.
 another thing i dont understand is when they say cars are designed to absorb each others impact and that raising or lowering a car affects it by changing the bumper height.
 that is so weird, look at the bumper on a landcruiser compared to a bumper on a mini compared to a bumper on a mack truck, they arent all that level with each other, its all bullshit.