Low Volume Vehicle Certification

Short wheelbase model

He's obviously not used to doing stoppies!

This VW Kombi was built many years ago, and was on the road long before Low Volume Vehicle certification was introduced. It has been shortened to 1200 mm wheelbase.

There are some hair-raising stories about the stunts it could do, such as wheelies, stoppies, and even a stunt involving a ‘stoppie” on full lock which ended up with the vehicle facing the opposite direction!
The vehicle was put back on the road, and of course now required LVV Certification.

Initial Inspection showed that the structural integrity was fine, and new seatbelt anchorages were installed.

The big challenge was the vehicle stability. The LVV System requires that any vehicle must be able to perform three stops from 100 k.p.h., plus handle and steer in a safe manner.

First drive revealed that when the accelerator was pressed, the van stood up on it’s rear wheels.

When the brake was pressed, the van tipped up and would have done a forward somersault, if the brake had not been released.

Clearly, this was not safe behavior. The problem was solved by adding 250 kg of steel ballast bolted onto the load floor, and a brake proportioning valve limiting the braking at the front wheels.

The vehicle then drove like a very tall go-kart, and performed the full-on brake test from 100 without killing the (very apprehensive) Low Volume Vehicle Certifier.

There is just one problem with this vehicle – the VW is a promo vehicle for the up-market “Establishment” where gentlemen meet nice ladies. The problem is that, as a result of the modifications required to make the VW safe, it can no longer ‘Get it Up’ like it used to be able to do.

Certified by John Brett 0800 LOWVOLUME (0800 569865)