Swerve/Brake Testing-35” Moderate Tread Tyres-Australian Design Rules?

[MB]

G’day NP.com.au,
Hoping someone out there can enlighten us on the test methods involved for swerve and brake testing vehicles within Australia?
Cutting to the chase, yanky speak, personally cannot understand how ridiculously top heavy rental Backpacking Giant Campervans do pass and yet a wisely built say Nissan Patrol on 35” road type tyres at some half the centre of gravity cannot?
Thanks Team!


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[PeeBee]

MB, the issue is validation and a certification by the manufacturer that the vehicle meets code. Its engineered to meet and pass a test and the manufacturer spend the money getting it to meet the standard. They take the risks with validation, then reap the reward when it passes. Then along comes Johnny GUPatrol and wants to drive his raised vehicle with taller tyres around the countryside without any testing apart from a few squirts up the bush. The vehicle has not been certified within the design parameters the vehicle has been been built and tested to at the factory. Thats it.

Brake tests as I went thru with mine for GVM upgrade were a fatigue test to gauge brake fade under very hard rapid braking - 22 emerg stops 60 - 1 followed by 22 emerg stops 80-0. Stopping time needs to be within some industry standard/allowance. Mine passed with braided lines and standard nissan pads, but the brakes were stinking hot - hotter than they have ever been.

When I looked into the Portal Upgrade i hit a problem in that tier 2 testing had not been done for the GQ, but has been for the GU, hence why the kit has been withdrawn for GQ sale, however I can still buy the kit, then roll down to my VASS engineer and for 6K have him do the swerve test and brake test again, and provided it passes I get it road legal, to the rules. The swerve test takes place on an airstrip or similar and has straight line changes or direction and corrections against a given standard. the vehicle must handle predictably and stop accordingly. I went thru this in detail with the VASS engineer who did my certification. To get it engineered with 35" tyres the brake and swerve test must be done with 35"s, not smaller tyres also. This is the only way of getting a totally undisputable engineering classification. A non VASS engineer can write you a certificate for 35" but the coppers and Vicroads can reject it.

At the end of the day its about following the anointed rules and laws. Common sense is not linked to it. Having said all that, i also can't understand what standard some of them have passed, but they obviously have.

[MB]

Cheers Phil, that all does make sense mate with the OEM manufacturers liability gamble I guess you mean for extent of modifications they’ll accept?




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[mudski]

G’day NP.com.au,
Hoping someone out there can enlighten us on the test methods involved for swerve and brake testing vehicles within Australia?
Cutting to the chase, yanky speak, personally cannot understand how ridiculously top heavy rental Backpacking Giant Campervans do pass and yet a wisely built say Nissan Patrol on 35” road type tyres at some half the centre of gravity cannot?
Thanks Team!


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Understood clearly MB ol' mate. Its outdated rules. Simple as that. How is a 4wd lugging a roof top tent allowed to be driving the roads? Guarantee, none would pass a swerve test. When I did the swerve test with mine, the tester said he was confident it would pass with 35's doing a swerve and brake test. The law is the law though. Even a catch can is not allowed mate, because of old rules that were implemented back in the day when catch cans were not a closed circuit and just vented into the air and still have not been revised.

What really bugs me is, last year 4WD Action showed a person from Europe somewhere bought over his Ice truck to do a full tour of OZ. From memory the lift was some 6inches and he was running 40inch rubber. For him to be allowed to drive this in OZ the vehicle had to go through some testing and it passed an he was allowed to temporarily regster the car in OZ. I still have the issue here somewhere. Farking bullshit it was.

[PeeBee]

Cheers Phil, that all does make sense mate with the OEM manufacturers liability gamble I guess you mean for extent of modifications they’ll accept?




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Maybe poorly worded. The OEM engineers the vehicle and tests and modifies it to ensure it meets the rules. It would not be a gamble on their side of the fence under any circumstance as the risks are too great to put a missile out there with dodgy engineering or lack of real compliance. I witnessed the VASS engineer reject a modifications done to a guys commodore one afternoon whilst I was waiting as he said he wasn't going to be the one standing up in the courtroom to say this guys vehicle met code when it didn't - no idea what the issues were but it didn't pass on that day.

[MB]

Ok Cheers, what is this code/test we need to look at all together?
Certain weight vehicles must stop within ##metres and only fall off the Westgate bridge above 80kmph side winds whilst dodging a hippies Moped ?


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[PeeBee]

I don't know the details, only the cost to comply!!!! Leave that to the guy the guy who has the big rubber stamp.

[PeeBee]

Ok Cheers, what is this code/test we need to look at all together?
Certain weight vehicles must stop within ##metres and only fall off the Westgate bridge above 80kmph side winds whilst dodging a hippies Moped ?


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Talking about Mopeds, I was driving to work this morning anda guy was on a vesper or similar on the monash, at 100klm/hr and could not keep it in a single lane. He was crunched over in the wind and hanging on for dear life - absolute goose. Cars all around were hesitating and he was wiggling around in the centre lane - thats dangerous for sure and totally out of control.

[MB]

Scary stuff mate, similar issue I guess as to a 4.0m high Britz Campervan, wind to weight swerve ratio etc....


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[jack]

Scary stuff mate, similar issue I guess as to a 4.0m high Britz Campervan, wind to weight swerve ratio etc....


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Those things have some type of wind warning tip over alarm that goes off and then cuts the cruise control and accelator.
Bloody annoying according to my daughter who just took one up to Alice Springs for last weekends Red Center Nats.

[MB]

Cheers Jack, wonder if that new alarm/control system somehow helps get around some ADR compliance needs?
Braking them big tall buggers from 110kmph to stop and or swerving a situation still baffles me with Physics though!



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[mudski]

Scary stuff mate, similar issue I guess as to a 4.0m high Britz Campervan, wind to weight swerve ratio etc....


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