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New car modification laws...sorry for off topic.


D.Lodge

23-Jul-2009
4:22:28 PM

The worst bit is that these laws will not actually do what the government says thats the rub. Like the cameras cut crashes bullsh8t in Vic. It has been proven time and again that they don't do anything for safety just revenue raising


jkane

23-Jul-2009
4:37:25 PM

I agree that cars should be checked regularly though. There are an unbelievable number of cars on the road in Victoria with defective lights and who knows what else.

tastybigmac

23-Jul-2009
5:41:44 PM

yeah, my front tires were pretty bald for the last 2 months. not too good for stopping in the wet. on the lifting topic, is the govt going to fix all the 4wd tracks so they are drivable without a modified 4wd?

Tris

23-Jul-2009
5:44:17 PM

On 23/07/2009 D.Lodge wrote:
>The worst bit is that these laws will not actually do what the government
>says thats the rub. Like the cameras cut crashes bullsh8t in Vic. It has
>been proven time and again that they don't do anything for safety just
>revenue raising

Where has it been proven?

Do you have any links?


D.Lodge

23-Jul-2009
5:49:13 PM

Yes don't have the links but a lot of studies have been done in Europe and some towns in England took them all out and spent their money on things that actually work. The english government got taken too court about a similar ad about speeding being the biggest killer on their roads and lost because they were lying and had to remove all the ads.


ajfclark

23-Jul-2009
5:55:08 PM

On 23/07/2009 D.Lodge wrote:
>because they were lying and had to remove all the ads.

Did anyone else watch that new TAC ad and wonder how stoned the guy that hits the guy is? It's like 2 seconds after he opens the door that he gets hit... (for those who haven't, here's a like to the ad. Like more road safety ads it isn't pleasant viewing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS7-zbaCWv0 )


D.Lodge

23-Jul-2009
6:00:55 PM

Yeah if he had kept driving then he would have been alright, it wasn't till he got out of the car that he got hit and that had little too do with him being stoned.


IdratherbeclimbingM9

23-Jul-2009
6:28:24 PM

^ Implied inattention due judgement affected by drug/s?

>On 22/07/2009 IdratherbeclimbingM9 wrote:
>>Modifying vehicles is not my thing...
>
On 23/07/2009 evanbb wrote:
>Your bike 100% standard is it Rod?
> ;)

Ok, I'll bite. Basically yes!
I have had grip warmers fitted, but that is not a modification that affects the handling of the machine in a performance/safety sense. Think of this as more operator comfort than a modification; ... perhaps the equivalent of fitting a CD player in a lesser model car that does not have one, but has provision for it, like the next model above what one may have.

No mods required! ~> That is an interesting thing about many (most?) motorbikes evanbb.

These days they have an incredible amount of adjustment ability pre-built into the machine. I can adjust my bikes suspension quickly, easily and independently on both front and rear for both rebound and compression, as well as easily adjust/set the 'preload' for those settings. This is no small thing, as this ability affects the handling of the machine drastically. ~> Think 'automatic suspension load levelling/ ride adjustment feature' of newer model Subarus to get a (primitive billycart by) comparison(!), ~> regarding as to how bikes are affected!!
On a more mundane level, many bikes also have personalised adjustment features for handlebars, footpegs, etc.

The 'after-market' accessories within the brand/model* that one can trick up their machines with is mind boggling, and greater so if one obtains the specialised (govt approved) non proprietary brand stuff.
For mid-high-end of market bikes (ie expensive; ... you tend to get what you pay for), the 'standard' technology they incorporate is akin to some of the features that one can only get in the absolute most expensive of cars in terms of comparative handling characteristics attributable to those machines; ie I am saying you get better value performance features for your $ in motorbikes compared to cars, ... & this due to competition.

In short. There is no need to 'modify' most motorbikes because of the adjustment features that come as standard.
~> Doesn't stop people doing it though, ... just like some folk like modifying cars; ... but I don't happen to be one of them.

(*eg a wind fairing bought from the manufacturer of the bike as an add-on accessory, would be [in terms of modification] akin to buying a car and then taking it back to the dealer to have the dealer fit a same brand standard accessory to it like a window weather shield; ... ~> ie not a mod that deviates from 'as produced')

pete_w

23-Jul-2009
6:57:40 PM

Fair point rod, but what percentage of riders fit and aftermarket exhaust and for what purpose?

But I am sure you (along with many others including myself) will not be happy when the government decides to simple make riding prohibatively expensive because it:
a) is more dangerous
b) is annoying to the general public on their sunday drive
c) will win the vote of the elderly

Think it wont happen? Take a look at the restrictions / costs placed on PWC owners and for what reason?


evanbb

23-Jul-2009
7:07:10 PM

On 23/07/2009 pete_w wrote:
> Take a look at the restrictions / costs placed
>on http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/fees.html>PWC owners and
>for what reason?

I reckon a big part of that was the "penguin incident".


IdratherbeclimbingM9

23-Jul-2009
7:20:21 PM

On 23/07/2009 pete_w wrote:
>Fair point rod, but what percentage of riders fit and aftermarket exhaust
>and for what purpose?

Have no idea of the %, but note an abundance of suppliers for the product.
They do it to free up some more hp out of the engine, and to get a sound they like.
It is a fashion imo, as most folk like myself can't pick the difference in performance and are happy with stock items.
For me personally, it would be a w@nk because I can't match the capability potential of my machine as it is in stock configuration(!) and more hp would only equal more wheel spin as I reckon traction to be the limiting factor, ... particularly on dirt. I'd get more performance out of different tyres in that situation, instead of different exhausts.

>But I am sure you (along with many others including myself) will not be
>happy when the government decides to simple make riding prohibatively expensive
(snip)

... I agree, ~> ... have already said ~> It makes me wonder when they will target adventure sports next...
Seems they have started on PWC already!

yak

23-Jul-2009
7:34:17 PM

Here's a recent media release from the aust aftermarket association

http://www.aaaa.com.au/news.asp?id=66

And a response to these laws from an RTA approved engineer

http://you-have-to-be-kidding.blogspot.com/2009/07/car-hoons-news-release.html


JamesMc

23-Jul-2009
9:36:56 PM

On 22/07/2009 pete_w wrote:

>PS JamesMc, my new car is lowered (but probably still complies) and goes
>around corners in a significantly better fashion than it did from the OEM.
> Our other car is also significantly safer to drive following the fitment
>of some after market suspension equipment.

A little story. I live on a corner on a fairly steep hill. Some years ago, a young lad drove around my corner in an early model Commodore and screeched to a stop when his rear wheels refused to keep turning. Problem was the rear universal joint in the prop shaft locked up after two rear control arms ripped out of the floor of the car. He ranted and carried on about the bloody Commodore heap of sh!t. When I pointed out to him that his modified car had eight non-original plastic bushes in the rear suspension and these will have caused the failure, he told me they were an improvement. (What would Holden know about making cas that handle???) I then explained how they caused the failure. He calmed down when he realised I knew a bit more about Commodore suspensions than he did. Perfect example of a NFI who thought he could design a car better than the people who designed it first.

JamesMc

One Day Hero

23-Jul-2009
11:30:02 PM

On 23/07/2009 JamesMc wrote:
>A little story...........blah blah blah, I'm an engineer, I know everything, pay me lots of money!

There are lots of poeple with no qualifications who know vastly more about the cars they are working on than you do James. Maybe if engineers charged a reasonable rate for their services, people would be inclined seek their advice. I would guess that driving unengineered cars is a fair bit less dangerous than climbing, so it would be hypocritical of me to tell anyone not to do it.


evanbb

24-Jul-2009
7:52:26 AM

On 23/07/2009 One Day Hero wrote:
>Maybe if engineers charged
>a reasonable rate for their services, people would be inclined seek their
>advice.

Do a 5 year degree yourself and stop whinging.


nmonteith

24-Jul-2009
8:43:44 AM

If you want to modify your car then get the qualifications to do it. To build a bridge you need qualifications, to do heart surgery you need qualifications, to do electrical work you need qualifications. As cars get more and more complex then I think its fair that people need to have matching qualifications to work on it. With airbags, stability control, self leveling suspension ect the average punter would have no clue what a finely balanced piece of engineering it is I imagine.


D.Lodge

24-Jul-2009
1:55:50 PM

Thats why you get and old 70's muscle car and modify it, nothing complicated there :)

pete_w

24-Jul-2009
7:16:14 PM

Degree's smegrees. Everyone in industry knows that Uni's giving out degrees to people who really shouldn't have them these days. I absolutely guaranty* that the majority green engineering grads with limited will be less qualified than an enthusiast#

For the record I have 2 degrees - Eng + IT and am happy to admit I know less than the average bogan (in regards to cars).

Also I think a distinction should be made between replacing OEM components with aftermarket equipment (design specifically for the purpose) and taking a hack saw to your springs / chasis of your mini truck...

* - guaranty void.
# - definition excludes the fully sick crew

Wollemi

24-Jul-2009
7:33:50 PM

On 22/07/2009 IdratherbeclimbingM9 wrote:

>I have been told by a reputable Driver Training Centre owner/operator
>that laws are already drafted and under discussion, for introducing mandatory
>re-certification of air bags in cars when the current certification expires.
>I gather this is not just NSW.
>
>Apparently air bags have something like a 10 year time limit on original
>certification. It costs a truckload of money to get them certified/re-certified
>(possibly more expensive than buying new ones). New ones are not cheap.
>
>Doesn't affect you?
>~> try selling a car with out of date airbags.
>~> try registering a car with out of date airbags.
>
>Many second hand European manufactured cars (they have had airbags in
>use much longer), are currently road registered and in use here in Australia
>but with near/expired airbag certs, ~> try re-registering it ...
>
>I think I read somewhere not long back that airbags are being made mandatory
>in all new vehicles manufactured after a certain date...
>

I bought a Subaru Forester 2 days ago. Built 7/1999. Dual airbags. Rego due in three
weeks.
Today at the large RTA in Penrith, I transferred ownership to my name and paid rego to
mid-August 2010. Nothing said about this thread... Airbags must not be out of date
then?


mattjr

24-Jul-2009
7:40:38 PM

On 23/07/2009 One Day Hero wrote:
>>On 23/07/2009 JamesMc wrote:
>>A little story...........blah blah blah, I'm an engineer, I know everything,
>>pay me lots of money!

>There are lots of poeple with no qualifications who know ..........blah,blah,boring,blah, even more boring, blah... I would guess that driving >unengineered cars is a fair bit less
>dangerous than climbing, so it would be hypocritical of me to tell anyone
>not to do it.

What about all the other people that share the streets with your lowered/enlarged un-engineered boy-racer mobile... it's not just yourself that you are endangering. UNLIKE CLIMBING!!!

There are 42 messages in this topic.