New laws regarding car lowering (NSW)

[Wraith]

This could spread throughout Australia...

Approval from RTA needed to raise or lower car suspension

AAP
July 16, 2009 12:11pm
Text size
+ - Print Email Share Add to MySpace Add to Digg Add to del.icio.us Add to Fark Post to Facebook Add to Kwoff What are these? NEW laws making it an offence to raise or lower a car's suspension without proper approval is about saving lives, New South Wales Roads Minister Michael Daley says.
From August 1, car owners will be limited to raising or lowering their suspension by no more than five centimetres, and all modifications will need approval from Roads and Traffic Authority engineers.

Currently, a car can be raised or lowered by up to five centimetres without approval and by up to 15 centimetres with approval.

Mr 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."

Any vehicle that is raised or lowered after August 1 will have to carry a certificate stating that the modifications confirm to safety standard requirements.


http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25790506-29277,00.html

[EL BURITO]

This has been mentioned on one of the other forums I am on

and the point has been raised that the most people this will effect will be 4wd owners with lift kits on there cars, it is also worth mentioning that 4wd clubs are in general more organised than most clubs, I think the govt. is going to be in for some sort of fight.

Coilovers can be wound up or down, and what the cops are going to carry a book wit the ride height of every car on the road here

[Calibrated]

read this on ozaudi this morning.

and this reply from Guy


The Industry groups have started to react:

"
Dear Member,

Earlier this afternoon we received a press release from the office of the New South Wales Minister for Roads, Michael Daley. Please follow the below link to review this press release.

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/newsevents/downloads/minister_releases/16072009_carhoons.pdf (http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/newsevents/downloads/minister_releases/16072009_carhoons.pdf)

Under the guise of attempting to hamper modifications undertaken by 'car hoons' the Minister has outlined changes in regulation that will cause havoc for both the automotive industry and the 1000's of drivers on NSW roads with minor, currently legal suspension modifications. Many of the modifications outlined in the press release that will require engineering approval are completely legal in EVERY other state in Australia, making this scenario totally unworkable. We have spoken with other consumer and industry stakeholder groups nationally, and they, like us were not consulted regarding this radical change in policy direction.

We are currently drafting a letter that will be sent in the next 24 hours requesting an immediate meeting with the Minister to highlight both the shortcomings in the policy and the gross misconceptions raised in this press release.

Should you require any further information, please contact myself at the AAAA National Office on 03-9561-7044."

This is from the Performance Racing & Tuning Council, as well as the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association.

[sooty]

4wd's with lift kits should need engineering certs though, can you imagine how dangerous they are for a pedestrian....the bull bar would just crack your forehead open rather than you being able to go over the bonnet.
Still...for 5cm, it's not going to affect to many people lowering their cars, more just people who think it's cool to overly compress their springs and have their wheels in the arches..:rolleyes:

[Jerram]

let's not forget the fact that I'm sure this law will bring about some revenue source. (I'm assuming getting these certificates costs some kind of money)

[Keep'emRunning]

.. i kind've agree with this law.. 50mm over standard is usually enough for the road. Most people would agree that any further definately compromises safety and comfort levels.

As for higher, there's a hilux around our area with a lift kit (and tonka replacing the toyota decal hahah) It's cabin floor stands at about most car's roof height.. sure it's great for rock crawling, but for driving on the roads...? :rolleyes:

[glider]

4wd's with lift kits should need engineering certs though, can you imagine how dangerous they are for a pedestrian....the bull bar would just crack your forehead open rather than you being able to go over the bonnet.
Still...for 5cm, it's not going to affect to many people lowering their cars, more just people who think it's cool to overly compress their springs and have their wheels in the arches..:rolleyes:

get hit by a 4x4 your odds arent good anyway... you're not gonna go up over the bonnet of a landcruiser even if it was lowered ;)


.. i kind've agree with this law.. 50mm over standard is usually enough for the road. Most people would agree that any further definately compromises safety and comfort levels.

As for higher, there's a hilux around our area with a lift kit (and tonka replacing the toyota decal hahah) It's cabin floor stands at about most car's roof height.. sure it's great for rock crawling, but for driving on the roads...? :rolleyes:

gotta get to the rock crawling somehow ;)

unfortunately this is targeted at a specific group I suspect (slammed commonwhores and extremely low civics) and as a result everyone is going to be punished... so if your springs are sagging are you going to get done for ride height being out by a cm or 2?

[gman]

It should be a minimum ground clearance height, not a maximum amount of change from standard which is impossible to police...

A minimum ground clearance of 70mm or 100mm is easy to check and I actually agree would be safer than the "slammed" Civics', Commonwhores & pick-ups...

As for the raising of 4WD's, that's much harder to police...

[Wraith]

.. i kind've agree with this law.. 50mm over standard is usually enough for the road. Most people would agree that any further definately compromises safety and comfort levels.

As for higher, there's a hilux around our area with a lift kit (and tonka replacing the toyota decal hahah) It's cabin floor stands at about most car's roof height.. sure it's great for rock crawling, but for driving on the roads...? :rolleyes:

Agree...

On most newer cars there's no need to lower more than 25-40mm to get a perfect result, especially if you combine that with a larger wheel size :)

That range works on most older cars as well...

[hazrd]

wheres stefan? :lol:

(just jokes mate u know its all love)


i can kinda agree with this law too though... when u think about it... a 50mm drop is a fair bit (unless u drive a god damn magna)... and considering its going to become law, its quite generous considering how ridiculously tight they make other laws out there...

i always wondered WHAT exactly makes lowing a car unsafe, because it can improve handling, and better the aerodynamics of some cars.. wouldnt that be a good thing?

until i read above that it affects ESP which sucks

[mania]

Easy. Anyone asks, you did it before August 1st.

And it doesn't affect esp :P esp doesn't care about ride height one bit. It's just drivel to get the public behind the changes.

[Manda88]

i always wondered WHAT exactly makes lowing a car unsafe, because it can improve handling, and better the aerodynamics of some cars.. wouldnt that be a good thing?

until i read above that it affects ESP which sucks

thats what i thought.. lowering improves your acctual cars ability to avoid pedestrians.. the only danger i can see with it is for one's self if you get side swiped you more likely to be rooted (expecially if its a 4wd with a lifter kit :p lol) the only negative i know of lowering is it reduces your turning circle, which to me isnt very dangerous at all its just inconvenient to need to do an 8 point turn...

but yes it should be ground clearance of front and rear bars.. (if you do it from lowest point cops will probs do it from your mudflaps..:rolleyes:)

knowing WA this will take a few decades to get here :p

[Keep'emRunning]

yep, but unfortunately the majority that go to the extremes for good looks simply throw low springs on, without re-rating or replacing the shocks (which always costs a lot more than the springs as we know), which will now be operating well outside of their recommended area of travel and damping ability.

3 months later they wonder why their shocks are leaking oil and their car is bouncing like a trampoline ;)

[tomtom]

...and their car is bouncing like a trampoline ;)

I thought habibi's did that shit on purpose so it tells the ladies that if they had sexual intercourse with them in their car it'd be hella bouncy and fun.

Back on topic though, I realise that my PROPER lowering wont get any police attention but does the RTA expect us all to carry around our reciepts now?

Since cars before August 1st dont require hte cert, how will we prove that we lowered prior tot eh cut off?

Moreoever, what if i was a home-mechanic and i installed the springs myself YONKS ago? How will i prove that i installed them 2 years ago and not 3 hours ago???

I am all for this new law and I'm sure these kinks i mentioned have been or will be addressed over time by the government.

I've always thought less of people* who lower their cars to the point where its tucking half the rim.

Wow a motor vehicle law that I'm agreeable with... how odd.

*Yer i do judge people based on how much they drop their car. Whatup?

[gmonkey]

i imagine they will administer some sort of engine bay plate or something that can only be put on by an authorized mechanic or some crud, like an engineering plate but pointless ;)

[ugg-ugg]

I thought u.k laws were bad,but this sounds just like over here they are just targeting drivers for the easy money:mad:,and as for making a car unstable and affecting the braking:confused:,i thought the whole idea of modding was to make the car not only look better but also improve the handling aswell.;)

[tomtom]

I thought u.k laws were bad,but this sounds just like over here they are just targeting drivers for the easy money:mad:,and as for making a car unstable and affecting the braking:confused:,i thought the whole idea of modding was to make the car not only look better but also improve the handling aswell.;)

Nope. Some people mod to rice, some people mod to race, and some people, mod to be hekdick.

Does this look like it improves handling?

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm127/mrglass78/HPIM0047.jpg

The main problem with those *people* lowering thier cars to the extent that it becomes undrivable on public roads is that, they're undrivable on public roads.

While poeple will say "lower it is the lowe the center of gravity, the beter the turning", lets not forget that there are an abundant amount of other factors and elements that are affected by lowering to 2cm off the ground.

1. Brakes
2. Alignments
3. Shocks
4. Steering
5. The size of the penis you want in your mouth (exponentially and inversely increases to the height of the ground clearance unless off set by other mods to combat the new lowered state).

RACE CARS are very low to the ground:

http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/e-news/uploads/1/image41877_a.jpg

http://www.motorauthority.com/content/images/o/p/opel_astra_opc_race_camp_016-0324.jpg

But all of their geometry and what have you has been designed to go with this.

Why dont they just go wtih a normal ride height and not have to worry about that shit?

There IS an advantage to a lower ride height in a performance sense but you cant blindy approach it by cutting sections off yoursprings and have your car 2cm off the road thinking "holyshit i must turn like a go kart now im gonna pwn that ferrari".

Fact is, road cars arent designed to run at those heights. Its detrimental to every part of the car... and knowing the type of people that chop/compress springs, the main concern is scraping their precious bodykit.

[gman]

Absolutely...Lowering a standard car will only help to a certain level..

After you reach a certain level, the roll centres, king pins angles, castor, camber and other variables get so far away from optimum or to get one to where you want it you destroy the others...

Too low for the road is when it hits, scapes, rubs etc just doing the normal road car things...Dangerous for the road is when it does this and it adversely affects the handling...I've seen first hand a WRX that was so low the drive shafts popped out from the exageragted angles away from standard...

[ugg-ugg]

Point taken,but mine is'nt silly lowered it's only on a 60/40 front/rear, strut on the front to bring it all inline and big discs and braided hoses,and goes round corners for fun.:yikes:

[gman]

See thats OK...Mines prob not far off that too, but I don;t know how low it is...But if its stupidly low, it should be seriously looked at

[Wraith]

Correct to comments above by TomTom and Gman.

That's what this whole thing's about.

The tools out there that 'slam' their cars to ridiculously low levels (like that Mazda 3 hatch above) and then street use those cars :rolleyes: definitely not safe and shows how stupid they are because at such low heights they risk damaging or destroying the entire underside of their cars as well...I'm surprised the side skirts on that Mazda 3 above ain't ripped off or in pieces...maybe it has adjustables.

Adjustable suspension which could be slammed for show/s and then back up to a proper safe ride height for street use is a smarter way to go if one wanted to or had to have that ultra lowered look...