Low Volume Vehicle Certification » Cool Stuff

NZ Police get a RED CARD for RED STICKERS

johnbrett — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 05:24:28 +0000

The NZ Police have been found out making up their own rules- and have had to cancel a number of Pink and Green Stickers, and related offence notices.
A customer (who shall be nameless) was given a Pink Sticker because his car was below 100 mm gound clearance, even though it was Certified, and was at the ride height on the LVV Cert plate.

When the Police Officer was contacted, he advised that they had been told to issue offence notices if the ground clearance was less than 100, regardless of the LVV Plate ride heights.
The Police even wrote a piece in the advice column “NZ Performance Car” magazine explaining their policy.

The Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association contacted the NZ Police and explained the situation, and now the Police have changed their policy, and we expect a retraction in the next issue of the “NZ Performance Car” magazine. The customer who first complained has had his offence notices and Pink Sticker cancelled.

Top marks to the NZ Police out on the road for having to deal with some of the garbage cars out there, and dealing with the attitude they sometimes get. Lets hope that they get some better training on the rules!

If anybody else thinks that they have been wrongly ticketed when their car is LVV Certified, they should contact the Police, and if that doesn’t work, contact the LVVTA

Examples of modified vehicles

johnbrett — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 03:43:21 +0000

Here are some examples of vehicles which we have NOT Certified recently!!

The Low Volume Vehicle Certification system (and of course the NZ Police) are why we DO NOT see vehicles like this on New Zealand roads

Enjoy

Road Test requirements for LVV Certification

johnbrett — Sun, 23 May 2010 12:06:57 +0000

A stringent Road Test procedure is required for modified vehicles with changed wheels and tyres, modified suspension such as coil-overs, brake modifications, engine changes or any other modifications which may affect the on-road performance.

Part of the road test is the cyclic brake test, which requires the Certifier to perform three or five hard stops from 100kph to zero within two minutes, on a typical, uneven road surface.
Problems which can occur during the Brake Test are
1 Brake Fade, where the brakes or brake linings are inadequate for the performance or the weight of the vehicle,
2 Brake imbalance, where front and rear brakes are not matched, and wheel lockup is happening before optimum braking is achieved,
3 Wheel bounce and chatter, where the suspension is unable to keep the tyres in contact with the road surface to achieve good braking,
4 Dangerous effects on the steering, where the vehicle becomes unstable, or is hard to keep on course during braking.
5 Malfunction of ABS, EBD, Brake assist, and Stabililty Control systems.

The car being tested here is a 1988 Nissan Silvia, fitted with a SR20DET motor with drivetrain, front intercooler, S14 brakes and 5 stud hubs, adjustable platform struts, adjustable caster bars (front) Adjustable camber arms and adjustable toe arms (rear) and competition seats. It has been set up as a drift car, but it is an excellent handling car for road use.

Hypercars

johnbrett — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:36:24 +0000

Hypercars DSN390

Custom designed for the purest racing experience, DSN390 delivers unrivaled performance, guaranteed excitement with the auditory aggression of a kiwi grown V8′.

Hypercars NZ’s DSN390 offers all the adrenalin rush of a sports motorbike but with your passenger beside you. For track or road, custom built to your specifications

This incredible vehicle is being built right here in New Zealand, and will be Certified as a Low Volume Vehicle

Hypercars

VW Kombi Stunt-van

johnbrett — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:09:06 +0000

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)

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