Suspension heights & Bosozoku tail-pipes

[1via]

Hi,
Is there any limit for ride height of a car ? mine is currently sitting at 280mm at the back and 290mm at front (Measuring from the top of the guards to the middle of wheel hub). also is there any law about exhaust exdending past the back bumper ? I've seen quite a few cars around with this but im not to sure ?

Kia Kaha

[Justin]

Hi Kia Kaha

The ride-height limit for a vehicle that is NOT certified is 100mm - this is measured from the lowest point of the structure under the vehicle down to the ground. Details can be found in the WoF VIRM here; www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/virm-in-service-certification/docs/gen-9-steering-v4a2.pdf.

For vehicles with less than 100mm or clearance, LVV certification is required. There are no 'set' limits for the ride height of a car for certification. Instead, each vehicle is assessed on it's merits, which are dependent upon the specific modifications. Some of the important things which the certifier will assess are the availability of suspension travel when the vehicle is fully laden, spring-rate, and damping rates. For more details on the requirements for modified suspension systems, you can look through the LVV Standard; www.lvvta.org.nz/documents/standards/LVVTA_STD_Suspension_Systems.pdf

Regarding exhaust tail-pipes;

I'm not aware of any legal requirement that would stop you from having a tail-pipe which extends past the bumper (I'm presuming that you're referring to the Japanese style of bosozoku, e.g www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_kK_dqjExw), unless your vehicle was required to go through the LVV Certification process for another modification. Obviously a lot of the extreme examples in the youtube clip would NOT be legal, I'm assuming that the tail-pipe is only protruding 'slightly' beyond the bumper.

It seems unlikely that a WoF inspector would have grounds to reject it, nor would a Police officer have any reliable grounds to pink/green sticker the vehicle, but it would be safe to say that it will attract their attention, and cause you unnecessary hassle.

In saying that, the point is that the LVV requirements would be unlikely to allow this (due to the risk of burns), and should be taken into account when considering this. The risk of a severe burn injury to a person walking around the perimeter of the vehicle to enter or exit is high, particularly in the case of a young child, or to a person with exposed legs, due to the fact that the tail-pipe is positioned relatively low, and may appear to be a grab-handle to a child. A hot tail-pipe can cause extremely serious burns.

I hope this helps.

Justin