Coilovers -- Lets talk legalities & insurance..

[Jayraddd]

Heya,
So straight to the point..

BC-BR Coiloves vs. QLD Police and Car Insurance ?

Has anyone had many issues with defects and also how do they go about insurance for the car after they have coilovers fitted..

Thanks !

[alessandro132]

Coilovers are illegal, period.

Now if you welded the locking rings to the strut body, different story.

[kiks]

Coilovers are illegal, period.

Now if you welded the locking rings to the strut body, different story.

You realise your statement means the factory mcpherson strut front suspension is illegal too?

Dont be silly.

Coilovers can be perfectly legal, provided you follow the ADR, NCOP (easy to google and read through)
http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/~/media/Safet ... eering.pdf

http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/~/media/Safet ... COPv23.pdf


But the basics of what a normal engineer would sign off is:
The new suspension system is made for the stated vehicle
It maintains all legal parameters for height, clearance, travel.
It is strong enough for the listed examples in the VSB.

Questionable stuff, that only a stupid engineer would sign off:
Adjustable lower clevis. Is a no no

Adjustable spring perch. no no.

Uncovered spherical bearings. no no.

Keyways and slots not conforming to a written standard (top hat adjustment). no no.

Material strength and suitability.

etc.

So yep, coilovers are fine as long as you maintain OEM style camber adjustment, use a sealed/covered spherical bearing, have an integral lower clevis or eyelet point, have a non adjustable spring perch.

Revalving B46 bilsteins FTMFW.

[kiks]

So something like this:


Perfectly legal, steel construction, ohlins quality replacement unit.

You could also modify the bilstein housings to take a smaller spring if clearance was an issue.

[Manaz]

Coilovers are illegal, period.

Now if you welded the locking rings to the strut body, different story.

So I've had two insurers so far who have had no issue insuring cars with an "illegal, period" mod? That's interesting.

It's also interesting in that case that there are so many businesses which will sell and fit coilovers to a road car - surely if they're illegal, they're setting themselves up for legal action as an accessory to an illegal act?

Alternatively, it's not that cut and dried. I've already got approval in principal from my engineer for both my brake replacement (Skyline R33 brakes on cruisn-made adapters) and the Shockworx coilovers (based on what they've seen already for other cars) - it'll cost me ~$600, and then the car will be considered roadworthy, absolutely legal and fully covered by insurance.

[Manaz]

Further to this, read this document (for NSW, other states vary): http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/registration/ ... i/vsi6.pdf

Specifically, the item related to suspension, which reads:

Altering vehicle ride height by more than one third of the manufacturer’s suspension
travel in the direction of the ride height change.

Examples requiring certification:
• Conversion from coil to leaf springs.
• Any modification to the suspension configuration.
• Fitting a suspension of a different design eg from a different make and model
(eg from coil springs to leaf springs).
• Fabrication of suspension mounting points.

Examples not requiring certification:
• Modification of suspension with components or parts which meet or exceed the
original vehicle manufacturer’s specifications.
• Fitting uprated roll (sway) bars, shock absorbers, springs, struts or manufacturer’s
options for that particular year make and model.

[shav]

Interesting thread *subscribed*

Good to know some states aren't completely against it. I don't know the laws in SA with regards to coilovers. I was under the same impression as alessandro.

Thanks for that informed post kiks.

[GT Gravity]

Cheers for the thread Jayraddd & Manaz thanks for posting the NSW details...

I was just having a look into this as i'm contemplating buying a pair of coilovers...

[alessandro132]

Haha, what have I started....I should have clarified my statement was in relation to height-adjustable coilovers ie BCs

Happy to stand corrected, but was always under the impression that anything height-adjustable suspension-wise was a defect.

[Brunsy3.0]

Ill keep an eye open on this. Im interested to hear NT legislation prolly the same as other states

[senator]

Anything added to the vehicle after it rolls off the production line is deemed a defect……… Any OEM mods added to the car after manufacture need to be covered by secondary modification compliance plate which needs to be adhered to the vehicle.

Don’t forget the police person issuing the defect road side doesn’t give 2 f#%ks about your engineering report, it only helps when you take the matter further……which means you still need to spend $$$$$ to clear it…. Great system we have.

Moral of the story, don’t draw attention to yourself, go ahead fit the coil overs just don’t dump the car beyond function.

All the cars I’ve owned have been modified and I’ve never bothered with engineering reports as the system is not about safety just making $$$$$$

[Manaz]

Anything added to the vehicle after it rolls off the production line is deemed a defect……… Any OEM mods added to the car after manufacture need to be covered by secondary modification compliance plate which needs to be adhered to the vehicle.

That's not strictly true. There's no issue with fitting OEM parts that were factory fitted on other models of the same car - as an example, some cars had projector headlights on some models within a range but not others, and you're allowed to retrofit the projectors to the non-projector cars as long as you meet the ADRs. Same goes for HIDs (harder to do, as you're meant to have washers plus leveling gear, depending on when the car was ADRd and the state of the rules at the time). Uprated swaybars as an example are absolutely fine (and are specifically

Don’t forget the police person issuing the defect road side doesn’t give 2 f#%ks about your engineering report, it only helps when you take the matter further……which means you still need to spend $$$$$ to clear it…. Great system we have.

Moral of the story, don’t draw attention to yourself, go ahead fit the coil overs just don’t dump the car beyond function.

This bit I agree with entirely. A police officer doesn't state that you do have a defect, they state that they suspect that your car may not be roadworthy. This is why you then have to have the car inspected at an authorised inspection station who make the determination as to roadworthiness. The engineering certificates CAN help with the police officer, depending on their opinion of you at the time - if they've caught you being a moron, they're unlikely to pay any attention, but if they've pulled you over for a random issue, notice something and ask "hey, is that legal?", then an engineering cert CAN help.

I got pulled over for a right turn against a sign. The cop booked me for it, asked me about the suspension, brakes and wheels (Golf R32 suspension and brakes at the time, 17" factory option wheels), I told him about them, showed him the engineering certificate for the brakes and suspension, and he was fine with them and didn't issue any defect notices. He also advised me to fight the ticket for the no right turn, as I had an otherwise clean record and (unfortunately after he'd already written it up) explained to him that I normally go through the intersection outside of the hours of operation of the no right turn rule, but was home early that day to pick a sick kid up from daycare.

If you're not a dickhead, the cops will generally (not always, they have bad days too, and there are just some bad eggs in there) treat you like a human being too.

All the cars I’ve owned have been modified and I’ve never bothered with engineering reports as the system is not about safety just making $$$$$$

I've had some things engineered, other things now. I had Bilstein PSS9s on the Bora for a while, but never got them engineered. The insurance company knew it, didn't care.

[Jayraddd]

Wow, lots of info pouring in.. Thanks guys. Good to see an actual constructive conversation haha

So if I'm wanting the BCs then no matter what way I look at it they're illegal.. So my best bet is to to keep my ride at a sensible height as to not draw too much attention to myself lol

[alessandro132]

^yup.

I had coilovers in my lib for nearly 2 years and never had any dramas. Just don't dump it and you should be fine.

[Deep Heat]

Wow, lots of info pouring in.. Thanks guys. Good to see an actual constructive conversation haha

So if I'm wanting the BCs then no matter what way I look at it they're illegal.. So my best bet is to to keep my ride at a sensible height as to not draw too much attention to myself lol

Drop it onto bump stops and if you ever get stopped tell them some guy on the internet said it's legal.