Currently, I have 350z Brembos and matching rotors on the front of the car. The rear of the car just has the stock 300zx setup. No adapter is needed, they bolt straight on. My understanding is that technically this is still considered an illegal mod and am contemplating the idea of getting an engineering certificate for the brakes. For anyone that has done this, aside from finding an engineer, what else is involved? Also, I'm using Powertrix adjustable camber arms front and rear. Can these be engineer certified as well? My suspension is Tein Street Advance Coilovers, and Ive been led to believe that the Street Advance are street legal. So I'm assuming I would not a certificate for those. Cheers
In QLD at least, just ring up a mod plate guy and tell him what you have. Arrange a time for him to come out and inspect the car. He will do a mod plate, and apply whatever codes are applicable to the stuff he is inspecting. He will then attach the mod plate to the car. They usually charge per code.
Well, spoke to some engineers today.... while their prices vary, it seems to be a more onerous task than I thought. mainly because the engineering report has to cover the whole car. So they can't just focus on the brakes and suspension. They will also inspect and report on all the other mods they can find, whether you tell them or not. So, because the car has a non-standard exhaust, and is post 1986, it has to be emission tested by Vipac in melbourne. This test costs $900 alone and you pay regardless of whether you pass or fail. And each test there after is a further $900. The only way around this would be to fit the standard exhaust system and therefore no emission testing required. Not too bad I guess as I have my factory exhaust at home, just need to get some new pipes welded to the front section. For those guys with aftermarket turbos, injectors, ECUs etc etc, good luck trying to pass this test Unless you can remove them and replace the stock items, be prepared for emission testing Then some engineers want to do a brake test, which is about $250 dollars. While others do not or at least have not mentioned that they need to. It just seems like, its a different procedure depending on who you speak to. either way, its about $800 - $900 for the inspection and report, possibly another $250 for a brake test. And if I have to do all the emission testing stuff, I'm not even going to bother.
Adjustable coilovers If any coilovers has the ability to lower the vehicle beyond the 100mm limit it is deemed illegal. It gets more technical than that but that is the gist of it. The only adjustable coilovers that I'm aware of and have personally fitted are Ralliart Evo coilovers as they have a very limited adjustment and did pass all vicroads requirements.
Are you guys on the ncop scheme? If you are you are getting screwed. Call some engineers that operate out of nsw. Mine was like 1200. The brake test was me going onto a private road dspeeding up to 100km and coming to a complete stop 10x. Emissions test (IM240) was free. However i paid 1k to a tuner for a pass. Pass it did.
Ive delt with owning a Kit Car (Purvis Eureka) for over 16 years, and my understanding is that any part that has been ADR approved then it can be used irrespective of what car its on. In your case you have brembo brakes, which should be ADR approved, and therefore ok to use on your vehicle, as they are fitted to many other performance cars from the factory. If your using adjustable suspension, where the struts have ADR approval, then they should be ok to use, as long as you are not altering the overall height of the vehicle from standard height. Most aftermarket parts that are generally available from reputable suppliers here in Australia have to be ADR certified. For example if you purchase a pair of aftermarket seats from Autobarn, and they are correctly fitted to your zed, then this modification is acceptable and no report is necessary. I know of guys that have built kit cars, and used all sorts of mods without having engineering approval. Take the new Ford cobra which uses a donor Ford Falcon for all the mechanical parts, this is done this way, because all the parts on the Falcon have been ADR approved, and so every usable part is ok to be used for the new kit car. I cant see why you need an engineers certificate because you have upgraded the brakes to a safer and better operating system, especially if you have not modified the fixing points and they bolt straight onto the car. I can understand if you modified the vehicle to be more powerful ie drop in a V8 in a zed, then this needs to be engineered, so that the chassis rails and mounts can handle the extra weight & torque of the V8. Stu
Upgrading front brakes, with or without upgrading rear brakes, without upgrading brake bias and master cylinders to suit, can potentially reduce braking performance and car control in an emergency braking situation. Personally I think any modification to the braking system should definitely require engineering certification and testing.
There is a protocol for light vehicle modifications. Firstly you might like to discuss your potential mods with an engineer as they can hel[p you around some obstacles. Next, you prepare a modification list, including how you propose to attach/weld/bolt/ whatever your trick bits in and submit that to the relevant authority in your state. Youll get back from that particular authority a list of approved mods based on your construction criteria. Youll also get back a list of mods that you CANT do based on your construction/modification criteria. You go back to your trusty engineer and redo your calculations, drawings or contruction criteria and submit that agin to the certifying authority until such time as they approve what you want to do. You then go ahead with your mods according to the contruction/attachment techniques that were approved and when your done, you trundle down to your friendly engineer who then inspects the mods/upgrades/additions to ensure that they were carried out in accordance with the criteria that had been issued with the approvals! So, for example, engine mounts were specified and approved in 6mm plate and you made them in punched 3mm plate for lightness....... Engineer ticks off the mods, issues the modplate and takes a chunk of money off you. Done. Specifically, if you want to change braking components, then look it up in the NCOP regulations. https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/vsb_ncop.aspx E
Vicroads regs clearly state that if you fit brakes to your vehicle that were not a factory option, that is considered a modification requiring an engineers certificate. They are ADR approved, but for the 350z, not the 300zx. As for the Tein Street Advance Coilovers, yes, they ADR approved and street legal.
I appreciate the issue with the brake bias. However, from driving the car and having to stop quite suddenly on 2 separate occasions, the brake feel and stopping power is noticeably better with the 350z brakes. Also, on repeated braking in corners, the Brembos do not go "spongey" as I have felt the stock 300zx brakes go in the past. I would love to fit some brembo callipers on the rear as well, but the rear 350z brembos do not fit the rear of the 300zx. My options are to get some R33 GTR brembo rears which apparently fit the rear 300zx perfectly. But I would have to get them painted gold to match the 350z brembos. Although the 350z brembo setup are slightly bigger than the stock brakes, they are not a "huge" difference in size. I mean, they still fit under my 17 inch wheels. If they were larger, then perhaps the brake bias would be a larger issue.
If its just those couple items, I think you are setting yourself up for a world of butt hurt for no reason. There is all the really annoying stuff that goes along with an engineered car that nobody tells you about.
When you get stopped, you will be asked for the report, (it will come up when a rego check is done) then they will proceed to go around looking for these things + anything else which they find which might not be covered, or think may not be correct. You must carry the report with you at all times. If you are unable to produce it, you better know a good towwie. Engineers report will not stop you getting defected, see comments above. Going to sell the car will be harder for the new owner, in terms of inspections, unless i really wanted that car, for mild mods I would walk away if it has a report. If it was drastically modified with engine conversion etc is when I would only buy a car. with full reports. Bolt-on simply isn't worth the effort, swapping back to stock is cheaper and easier, long term and short. Changes to the car needs reports up dated = $$$. Ask yourself, why are you doing this, is it really justified? If you want it because "its by the book", You should not be driving the car while the mods are on the car, and it should be on a trailer.
Sounds like a PITA! When I got mine done on the old Slicktop here in QLD I had a mobile mod plate guy come around who eyeballed them, asked what the master cylinder was and if they bolted up without brackets. Paid my money and he stuck on the mod plate. Easy as. Cost about $150 per mod.
The answers to all your questions are here: https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/vsb_ncop.aspx This is a "live document", which means it will change.
The difference in upgrading with 350Z fronts only is a 19% bias increase to the front brakes (based on piston area x rotor diameter). This isn't extreme so as long as your ABS is working correctly and can handle this percentage change in front/rear bias, your emergency stopping ability is probably fine, and possibly will pull you up quicker. The issue with upgrading fronts only is it's then much easier to lockup the front brakes, and sliding locked tyres do not slow you down faster, plus you lose all steering ability. And if you run decent fluid and decent brake pads with factory TT brakes they actually perform quite well. I tested this at WP doing 20min sessions before upgrading mine with a Stoptech kit.
I don't know if this has ever happened, but I expect if you had an accident, and the insurance company did have a close look at your car, and your modifications were not to compliance for your particular model vehicle, or not supported with an engineering certificate, I expect they would be well within their rights to refuse your claim. This is what would concern me the most making modifications to a street registered car.
That is what my plate and the supporting paperwork looks like. I had this done prior to getting a roadworthy, prior to getting it registered in QLD after I bought it up from Wiz in NSW. You can see 7 codes, covering brakes, recaros, coilovers, adjustable arms, turbos, intercooler and surge tank. Mobile guy, all up was about $5-600 from memory.
Exactly... Thats one of the main reasons of wanting the certificate. Having spoken to a few insurance companies the general consensus is this; If your are not at fault, no problems. If you are at fault, but the accident was deemed to not be caused by the modifications, then all will be fine. If at fault, and the modification is deemed to be the problem, then your claim would be rejected. In reality, any accident could be blamed on poor braking so they could use the brake modifications as an excuse. So it really comes down to who inspects the car and how thorough they are with their investigation. But yes, I would prefer to have the certificate, hence why I am investigating the process. I keep all my stock equipment at home. So I hope if ever I am involved in an accident, my plan would be to either drive the car home or have it towed home where I could reinstall the stock components. Obviously, this would not be possible in a serious accident, as the car is normally taken away for investigation. My other motivation is that in a couple of years time, I would like to put the car on club registration. That requires a valid road worthy, and I would not get a road worthy with these mods, without an engineers certificate. So its something I may have to do if I want the club reg.
Yep, that does look handy indeed. But at the moment, it seems a more difficult process in Vic. Still speaking to a few engineers, the search continues.
