Forum

You have stated that you will be changing/enforcing this rule?
Will you be D.B. testing at comps?
Just curious how you are going to enforce this?

It isn't about enforcement. It is about changing the current wording. At present it just says no restriction so in theory if you got a WOF and then changed you exhuast you would still comply with the rule. If the rule states it must comply with WOF rules then it just tidies things up.
The change is about taking away the argument. It theory it won't change a thing. It is the same as the wheel spacer change. We are trying to stop things we just want to make the process easier to understand and to take the liability off organisers.

As for enforcement. My truck is 94.7DB so any truck louder than mine is illegal! That is working on the LVVTA rules not WOF rules. WOF rules state it should be 92DB!

Here are the actual w.o.f rules.......

Noise limits: light goods or passenger vechicle(eg, car,mpv, minibus,ute or van)
-First registered in NZ before 1 June 2008 95 db

-First registered in NZ on or after 1 June 2008,
and;

manufactured before 1 January 1985 95 db

manufactured on or after 1 January 1985 90 db

My hilux has also just been through certification and just got through at 94.6 db so im quite interested to see how loud it is compared to you truck.

If its road legal and it has a cert, unless you are going to noise test before a comp this rule is just a waste of paper

I'm with you there Tim. It seems like this is just making rules for rules sake.

Do we have a reason for requiring exhausts to be not too loud? From a promotion point of view we want trucks that make good noises, do we not (within reason of-course).

The current rule is 'The exhaust system is unrestricted'.

This implies that you don't have to comply with the WOF laws. We aren't trying to introduce new rules, the point is to make it easier to
So there are 2 options.

1 Add 'must comply with WOF rules'.

or

2 Remove any mention of exhausts?

The whole point is that you are suppose to comply with WOF rules and we don't want to be checking WOF compliance but if there is room for enterpretation there is room for problems.

I was under the impression you could do what you liked to the exhaust and that 'unrestricted' simply refered that you didnt have to have the factory exhaust system , BUT because all vechicles were meant to have a less than 28 day old warrant you would be expecting them to be within the db rating.

I think if you are going to reword the rule - how about saying ' unrestricted but must comply with WOF rules'

The rules clearly state that vehicles need to comply with WOF so that includes the noise levels. If the rule wording is ambiguous then find another word for 'unrestricted' that allows people to modify exhausts within the noise requirements.

so if a vehicle certifier has certified a vehicle with its particular noise level and has also passed WOF's at testing stations why should that come under scruitany during competition? At the last Wof they tested my decibel output and it is above the standard noise limit, but they still gave me a warrant of fitness.

Hey Chris, a vechicle being certified still has to be under 95 db and if your lucky enough to be getting through warrants even though your failing , i would be keeping that under your hat!

Just to clear a few things up for those that are obviously driving illegal trucks.
This is about tidying up the rule so that it isn't contradictory. It isn't about having a DB meter and testing your trucks. It isn't some witch hunt to stop people racing.

So everyone who is panicing, get over it. Everything we are doing here is about making the rules easier to use and ensuring that the intent and the wording on the rule can't be confused.
In this case it is about a slight change in wording so that the exhuast rule doesn't say you can have anything and then you have to go back to another rule to see that it has to be road legal. ie IT DOESN'T CHANGE A THING.
However we must move with the times and virtually ever motorsport has a noise regulation and we currently do as well. All we are doing is making it easier to understand. The fact there is so much question and discussion does say that it needs doing.

Hey Darin, just a couple of points: the rules have always stated that you can have a 'unrestricted exhaust' system - also the rules have also insisted that all compeating vechicles have a warrant no older than 28 days - i assume that most people would interperate this to the degree of "I can do what ever I like to my vechicles exhaust as long as it still gets a warrant"?
So how could any one get confused or protest about that?

Quite correct Tim, it seemed reasonably clear when we wrote that clause originally. The whole thing with rules is that like any collection of words, there are always slight differences in how people read them. In the past we emphasised that if a person had a question about interpretation, then they only needed to ring the rules convener for an opinion.
That usually solved it faster than I can type!

Another question. How is the rule going to be interpreted for non WOF trucks that are going to be racing in other classes?

The reality is that creating new classes that don't require a WOF will mean that most of the 'Vehicle Rules' sections will need to be completely re-written for each of those classes.

Hi Darin
As far as the Norwest comp goes we are running 4x4 challenges rules ,so if it states that the exhaust must be up tp WOF standard then competeing trucks will have to comply even though they dont need the actual warrant.,We will also be checking steering,brakes ,seat belts, structual integrity to make sure its safe but if they turn up without a horn,lights etc we dont really care (no lights might make the night stages interesting) ..

To compete, competitors have to comply with ALL the rules. With regard to exhausts this means they have to comply with LVV and WOF rules. If you know a competitor has modified their vehicle since getting a LVVC and/or WOF to make it illegal then pay your money, make the complaint and have them chucked out. We could always resort back to having a testing station do the scrutineering.