Suspension and body Lift NSW and tyres

[florix]

Hey all, I have been searching for some time now about legalities with suspension and body lifts in NSW with little to no luck. Alot of people talk about it but there is never any links to the RTA about what is the max without an engineers. There are so many variances which state from half the original height again to 50mm suspension lift and what i have found on the rta website state "guidelines' for tyre size. VSI 09 - Guidelines for alternative wheels and tyres (http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/downloads/vsi/vsi_dl1.html)

Does anybody have a direct link to an article? P platers have made rules strict and as a result effected 4wd owners from what i have read.

[NissanGQ4.2]

Has nothing to do with P platers mate its all about the pedestrian safety committee

Extract from the NSW Rta website bellow: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/vehicle_standards.html bellow

My advise would be: read VSB14 then ring the RTA Technical Enquires on the number listed below and also ring your closest certifier to see what they have to say

Raising and lowering vehicles

VSI 50 was originally written to provide guidance to vehicle owners and modifiers about how to ensure their vehicles remain safe when being raised or lowered.

It was developed by an expert working group, comprised on the (then) RTA, industry and peak user groups. Rather than introduce it as a unique NSW policy document, it was decided to refer VSI 50 to an appropriate national forum to consider adopting it nationally. This has not yeat occurred. Before any consideration is given to the introduction of VSI 50 it will be subject to further consultation through the Vehicle Standards Working Group.

Guidance on raising and lowering light vehicles is currently given in section LS in VSB 14. If VSI 50 is finalised it can also be used as guidance material.

Enquiries may be directed to 1300 137 302 or by email to Technical_Enquiries@rta.nsw.gov.au.

Cheers

Toddie

[florix]

So what is VSI50 and why should you, the recreational offroader, care?

VSIs, or Vehicle Standards Information, are official documents describing what you can or cannot do with vehicles. Clearly, there has to be some limit on modifications otherwise entirely unsafe vehicles would be driving up accident rates.

The NSW RTA’s VSI50 covering the raising and lowering of vehicles, and as offroaders, we’re more concerned about raising than lowering. The industry uses the term “lift” instead of raise, and generally a lift through suspension or body, so I’ll use the term “lift” instead. But for the purposes of VSI 50 a lift also means increasing tyre diameter.

So why lift? Quite simple, better offroad capability. In general, the greater the tyre diameter, the better the clearance and ability to clamber over obstacles. Raising the suspension improves approach, ramp and departure angles, and to a lesser extent so does raising the body relative to the chassis on those vehicles where that’s possible. A lifted vehicle will, in general, be more capable offroad than one not lifted.

At present the road regulations limit lifts, for example the suspension lift limit is 1/3 of the stock travel (not 50mm as often quoted). There needs to be some rules, otherwise there’d be entirely unsafe vehicles driving around, causing accidents. VSI50 seeks to change those rules, so that you can modify your 4WD with no engineering approval as follows:

Maximum of 75mm lift through a combination of tyre diameter increase, suspension and body lift.
The tyres may go up to +50mm, as may the suspension, so you can’t have 75mm of lift through just tyres or just suspension.
No lift of 150mm will be legal I think this is from one thing (suspension/body/tyre)

You need engineering approval for:

Any body lift
Any lift over 75mm

Any vehicle with 75mm+ lift may have conditions placed on its use. The RTA will “consider requests for exemptions to restricted registration on an individual basis”.

However, if the registered operator of the vehicle is a member of a 4WD club associated with 4WD NSW/ACT and has completed the SRVDRV001B or equivalent competency (training course) then the lift may go to 100mm with a maximum 75mm suspension lift and a maximum increase in tyre diameter of 50mm.

That’s the proposal. Now let’s look at how sensible it is. It is my view that any low-range 4WD can be fitted with a small lift of 50mm, shod with mud tyres and possibly one differential lock then driven anywhere you like in Australia for touring purposes. To get beyond the limit of that vehicle you’d need to be specifically looking for tough tracks, with very few exceptions. Most 4WDs run tyres of around 31” (I know, mixing units but we think of tyres in inches). Add a set of 33” tyres and that’s around 50mm difference, but of course only 25mm taller. Add a 50mm lift and you’re at the 75. That’s a pretty capable touring wagon and as I said, more than enough to tour anywhere in Australia. Therefore, VSI50’s restrictions won’t stop people touring the country, and to whip up hype suggesting implementation of VSI50 means offroad touring will not be possible is getting a little hysterical.

But what if you want something more capable, say a truck with 35” tyres? You’ll need a suspension lift just to fit those tyres, say 3”. With the bigger rubber that’s now a total of 125mm, well beyond VSI50’s 75mm limit, and we’ve not even considered tyres beyond 35 such as 36s and 37s.

Does it matter? Absolutely, there’s a principle at stake, and the rules are illogical.

It is utter madness to prescribe absolute limits for lifts.

Let’s consider two 4WDs, a Jimny and an F350. Clearly, a 75mm lift on a Jimny is an entirely different proposition to an F350. The tiny Zook will have its centre of gravity appreciably raised, wheel alignment will be out, the proportionally larger tyres will affect gearing…the list goes on. Lift a big truck by the same amount and you probably wouldn’t even notice. So the first change has to be to move away from absolute limits and make them relative to the type of vehicle. This is where the 1/3 of the suspension travel rule was good, and you could add others such as mandating the original wheel alignment settings must be maintained, percentage of track width increase and more. The tyre diameter issue could be similarly solved; just make it no more than say 10%, but with the proviso that the tyre must not foul any part of the bodywork at any steering lock or suspension position. The track increase or decrease should be within say 5% of stock and so on. Exactly what those parameters should be would be another article and would need some serious engineering thought, but the principle of relative amounts is nevertheless valid.

A second reason is different vehicle architectures. Some independently-sprung vehicles cannot be lifted by 50mm safely or sensibly, particularly at the front. But that doesn’t apply to live-axled vehicles to the same degree. Yet there’s just the one rule all round. Again, it has to be a relative not an absolute rule, expressed in percentage such as requiring a certain amount of downtravel or angles the CV joints must operate at, perhaps with different rules for different suspension systems. Unfortunately, the RTA is trying to simplify what is a fairly complex situation.

[florix]

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx325/phil_florix/Untitled.png

[florix]

These are all the things I have found on it but I still cannot find a current version of the document anywhere. Its like the RTA are hiding it because they are constantly changing things.

[florix]

Its kind of funny but in order to make you exempt from all of this and you own a 4wd is be a member of a 4b club. I dont know how you prove this but hey one simple solution if this is true. Even so you are still limited to the increase in tyre size and also still need a engineer to pass your body lift.

[NissanGQ4.2]

Why you would need to be in a registered 4wd club for the bigger lift I believe only came about because the clubs or a club was apart of the committee and their excuse was they need the bigger lifts because they help with volunteer track clearing / rubbish removal on fire trails etc

I don't think the RTA are hiding anything, they just don't know what they are doing *L* It was meant to be a national ruling but I'm guessing some states could not agree with the proposal.