Turbocharger Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 I suspect a decent lawyer would argue that you in fact have no exhaust, simply a single convoluted silencer with six or seven bends and a 2.5" diameter along it's length. Again regarding beadlocks, if there's nothing in Construction and Use then it'll come down to case law - anybody wanna be a test case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Stumbled across this whilst I was there For those running TDI's with no silencers So does this mean that all those chav megaphone exhausts are illegal? The silencer etc. shall at all times when the vehicle is used on a road be maintained in good and efficient working order and shall not have been altered in any way which makes the noise of escaping gases greater. As far as I can see that could be read in one of two ways: You can't modify the exhaust system in any way which makes it louder. You can't modify a specific silencer in any way which makes it louder (but you could replace it with an entirely different device). Strikes me as a badly written law, but then I'm not a lawyer so maybe if it's read as legalese it's more specific. Case law again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 So if you use that argument 3-piece split rims are illegal too. I'm sure I've seen loads of them on factory fast cars.Still haven't seen any proof...... Split rims are not illegal. I do know that beadlocks are forbidden for that reason but a splitrim with an insert (like a hummer wheel for example) is not illegal. Bad beadlocks, with a boltring which doesnt bottom out on the rim do indeed come undone. I agree that the argument doesnt hold on a good bead lock wheel, but these are the rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Al Posted March 2, 2006 Author Share Posted March 2, 2006 I agree that the argument doesnt hold on a good bead lock wheel, but these are the rules. Are they? How do you know? No-one seems to be able to actually point to any kind of document??? Ta, Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 A good site for any legal questions is www.5ive-o.org ...a site orginally started by a load of Subaru owner police officers which has grown into a site for lots of varying vehicles and lots of Police officers, very friendly bunch who try to answer your questions as best they can. There's a load of traffic cops on there and specific sections for different questions so might be worth asking Used to be a mod on there so would throughly recommend it Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed0 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 please dont ask the police! they might notice there is a gap in the law and close it !!! (and not in our advantage ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 please dont ask the police!they might notice there is a gap in the law and close it !!! (and not in our advantage ) lol! Hope you're not being serious - the website above is a 'petrolhead' site, the founding members of which are police officers - they can't make laws (only politicians can do that), they're there to answer questions and help clarify positions. Have a look around, they're not as scary as you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunter Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 So does this mean that all those chav megaphone exhausts are illegal?As far as I can see that could be read in one of two ways: You can't modify the exhaust system in any way which makes it louder. You can't modify a specific silencer in any way which makes it louder (but you could replace it with an entirely different device). Strikes me as a badly written law, but then I'm not a lawyer so maybe if it's read as legalese it's more specific. Case law again? The Chav's rond here put 3" exhausts on their Nova's causing a deep vibration/sound. This interupts my digital TV signal causing squares to appear on the screen and the volume to cease until the t&ats are down the road. Of course they go up and down all night. Why don't they test noise at MOT time against a manufacturers published tolerance for each vehicle? That would stop the sods! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Well, I'm still not sure about beadlockers; some say they're OK, some not. I think the best way to go, though, is internal beadlocks (what I'm doing) as they lock both sides of the rim, centre properly and are made using split rims (totally legal). I still think a court would have difficulty prosecuting if you've got locking rings unless they prooved they were dangerous. As far as silencers go; I'm going to be using a selection of 90 degree bends to silence it. The fact that they also allow the exhaust to pass arround the roll cage is irrelivent IMHO, that law is full of holes and you stand very little chance of being convicted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Al Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 After a little digging, I have received the following from 'VOSA' / the SVA people: "The fitment of beadlocks to affix the tyre to the rim is would not in itself be considered a failure item within the Single vehicle Approval scheme. However, the engineering of the wheels/beadlocks will be assessed on the day of test. as well as ensuring that the wheels themselves do not have any sharp or pointed features, and that the wheels/attahments do not protrude beyond the body plan form. As I touched upon in my last email, it is impossible to give a clear cut answer, as the assessment by the examiner will depend on the vehicle (i.e weight, wheel arch/body design etc) ,as much as the wheels themselves. Ultimately, the person responsible for ensuring the vehicle's legality and safety is yourself. The SVA manual, Construction and Use Regulations etc are available to car builders and modifiers. The SVA test is partly responsible for this type of decision - but please bear in mind that this is a minimum form of Type Approval - and does not cover all of the legalities of vehicle use. As stated above, parts can not be given approval on their own; the part will need to be fitted to the vehicle before it can be properly assessed." This suggests that beadlocks are basically NOT illegal, as long as they are applied with common sense... Good enough for me, if I get taken to court (which I guess I won't anyway), I'll just show my SVA pass certificate and this email. It has reached the level of a gamble I'm willing to take. Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Still, what matters is that wheels have to be DOT approved. I havent found a dot approved beadlock wheel yet. On the other hand, if the engineering of the wheel is proper, who cares? Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 The so-called silencers fitted on Chav's motors are in fact not silencers at all (as we all know). Rather they are resonators, and in their use also amplify exhaust noise as well as tone. A silencer isn't necessarily the silver thing that's in line with the rest of the exhaust, but rather a device that reduces the noise of the engine to an acceptable level. I think the idea is that if your engine is deafening, then that would warrant further investigation by the Poilce, and then a charge relating to the law quoted above would no doubt follow. As already stated, a Turbo significantly reduces the amount of noise emitted by the engine. At present catflap has no 'real silencer' on him, but you can stand next to the engine while it's at quite high revs and hold a normal conversation. Indeed, the 'silencer' that I am going to use is actually a resonator, the same in a way as a chav's vehicle is invariably fitted with. The MOT requirement for an exhaust system is merely that it exits from under the vehicle in such a way as for fumes to not be sucked into the vehicle, it doesn't leak gases from any point other than the end, and that it's correctly supported along it's length and doesn't foul any part of the vehicle. You can in fact use any type of tubing to make an exhaust, support it wherever you want to, and it should pass the MOT test. Indeed, any of us that make our own systems are doing this same thing. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isuzurover Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I know it is not pertaining to the UK, however: In Australia we have Australian Design Rules (ADRs), which are basically the equivalent of the construction and use regulations. The relevant ADR states that: "The rim must not have a circumferential weld other than that which attaches the rim to the wheel centre;" Which makes all beadlocks that involve welding a ring onto the wheel illegal. Beadlocked wheels that are pressed steel (one-piece outer ring) or cast alloy would in theory not be illegal outright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 DOT approval? erm no, TUV approval - also no, welcome to the wild west of Europe (although Bliar is trying his best to create a hybrid nanny state) Also a case of putting it into context, as Al has pointed out VOSA are happy, the plod barely know up from down at the best of times (thats if you ever see one), whats left? community niceness wardens with the power to use stern language? Try Hutchinson Rockmonsters if DOT approval is something you really want, they have it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Ali was stopped on one of the road block things in Southampton were they have about ten policemen checking everything on mainly older cars. when it can to the tyre check the copper said "F**K ME are those legal I will loss my check gauge in those trades" Ali reply "course they are" the police man called his fellow officers over and they all laughed a bit then said nothing more about it. The police don't know what there looking at at the best of times unless you get a little Hitler. I will take my chances the car is normally trailered anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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