what a shocka

[scorched]

im goin to do a spring over on the patrol and wonderin wat shocks i should get cause i think my current monroe ones will be far from long enough.
thinkn maybe rancho but have heards heaps of negative comments. i wanna do it on a budget. i dont care bout ride too much just want the length and resonable performance for a cheap price. also i have two old man emu shocks and can easily depress them with my arms. does this mean they r stuffed? u can hear a burbaling noise in them.

[Drafty]

Go a set of Koni truck shocks. Rancho are SHIT!

[scorched]

how much is a koni shock each? wat would be there most suitable one for me?

[Drafty]

Not sure, ask your local supplier. Just know they are good and will outlast most other shocks.

[60serius]

I have rancho's on my spungover landcruiser set to the hardest setting
and they are way to soft. the back end bounces around like a pogo stick
go the koni's if you can get the right length for the springover


I thought it was illegal to do a spring over in QLD

[scorched]

yer it is but i got told i can get it engineered
i dont think the cops will target me much anyway. There is another mq patrol lifted a shitload with 36" swampers on it and he has no problems with the cops.
i think they tend to target all the lowered cars with stereos.

[60serius]

I'd make sure first, IT would be a real kick in the wallet to do all the work
only to be put off the road cause sooner or later when you least expect
it you will get checked!!!!!!!!!!!

[scorched]

dude in arb shop it is legal if i got it engineered

[60serius]

DUDE: the head machanic at arb southern told me I had to leave the thich
overlaod leaf in on a spring over . which stops the spring from bending backwards, losing shitloads of flex.
I didn't take there advise then and I doub't I'll ask a shop for technical
advice again rather I'll ring some one direct


unless you tell me arb run the QLD department off transport

[Area54]

dude in arb shop it is legal if i got it engineered

Is Michael the one who will engineer it? I would speak to the guy who will engineer it and plate it, and put his name on the paperwork. That way you will have a legal vehicle.

[Brad]

SO's In QLD are illegal no matter what you are told. If you are told other wise then you are being lied to, simple as that. Now some may consider it a bit harsh to say that about some reputable block that works in a $WD shop. Ask him for proof .... I get so sick of people quoting rules they have never even read.

In QLD we have a Code of Practise for light vehicle modifications, it cost about $80 from Go Print here in Brisbane. Then you need to join the mailing list ( costs more ) and get all the bulletins for approved persons. There are usually about 100 or so plus a year.

Anyway back to my point .... ask them to show you Information for Approved Persons number 35 dated May 2000. It covers lift and suspension lifts. I quote " Modifications that invlove leaf springs remounted from under axle to over axle are not regarded as an acceptable form of suspension modification and will not be approved "

Not trying to be a wanker here but it is a simply case of him either not knowing the rules are just trying to confuse yet another unsuspecting vehicle modifier.

Approved Modifications Stations aka Blue Platers are only allowed to operate within the specified guidlines. They are not allowed to make up the rules unless we are talking ICV's and other expensive options which are not the issue here.

Anyway.... "rant mode off "

ZZZzzzzzzz

[scorched]

thanks for clearing it up for me
Im goin to have to play sneaky with the traffic dudes and police.
Ill have to paint my fourby in camo now

[Area54]

Ill have to paint my fourby in camo now

like this...

[Ferwoaza]

And yet there is a zook running round in QLD and every time I ask him he says the SPOA is definetly engineered

Just be careful if your going to do a SPOA and not get it approved (ie it is illegal). I'd hate to be in your shoes if you have an accident and someone is injured...

[-Mick-]

And yet there is a zook running round in QLD and every time I ask him he says the SPOA is definetly engineered

Then he's either talking out his arse or got a dodgy engineer, no way a SOA is legal in QLD Have a look at BJ on Roids, well thought out and all engineered apart from SOA because it's illegal

[Area54]

The term 'Engineered' is used like the word 'Extreme' - it is a very loosely used term. Engineered (as a term) and Approved Modification can be so far apart in reality that it's possible to have something engineered, but not certified as an approved modification according to the current guidelines. I could make something here at home that is beef, used common sense in it's design, looks good and is totally functional, an engineer may give it the tick, but doesn't automatically mean that it will pass a DOT inspection.

So don't always take the word 'Engineered' on face value...

[ToNkA]

What if the zook was running Hilux Gear. Would SOA be able to be engineered then?

[Area54]

What if the zook was running Hilux Gear. Would SOA be able to be engineered then?

'Engineered' - absolutely. Approved and plated - absolutely not, at least not in QLD. As Brad mentioned, only if you were thinking of ICV plans, but I don't believe that just the running gear alone would be grounds for ICV plating.

[bj on roids]

What if the zook was running Hilux Gear. Would SOA be able to be engineered then?

No that loop hole has been well and truly closed up about 18 months or more ago at the least.

Listen to Brad he knows whats going on with these rules, hell he is fighting non stop battles against these people. I hate ringing them up to pay my rego let alone ASK them a question, add another 40 mins on hold GRR!!

Yes you cna get an engineer a qualified automobile engineer to sign off on your rig and say yes it is safe and all that. This DOES NOT mean its legal. SOA are "Specifically" banned in queensland

"changing a vehicles height by placing the leaf springs on top of the axle tubes is strictly illegal" Or something to that effect. Is simlar to the wording.

Thats not to say it is not done, 2 years ago when mine was first done I was one of a very few in qld. Now i would see maybe 1 vehicle a month just driving, not even people i know who are SOA and with qld number plates.... sometimes i laugh (MQ in the city on 31s ROFL) sometimes i am in awwe, a 60 series with 6 feet to the door sill, saw it at logan and nearly crashed my car, street driven, i was in awwe and shock and had half a woody, it was a tidy looking rig!

I see a 75 series with 33s out capalaba way and it looks very good, not too high, just all stock, 33s and SOA, good looking rig.

I would do it, hell buy my 60 series axles with 4 wheel discs! Get full floaters and a stronger and bigger front diff.

[bogged]

like this...

Nobody would pick that in peak hour traffic

[Area54]

Exactly. It blends right in...

[lyall]

yeah there is a red 60 series in Bellbowrie that is SO and it is huge, but the lucky bugger is registered in NSW.

[greg]

I have rancho's on my spungover landcruiser set to the hardest setting
and they are way to soft. the back end bounces around like a pogo stick
go the koni's if you can get the right length for the springover

This would suggest to me that you have got the wrong ranchos for your application...

Don't forget that the criteria when selecting a shock should include:
1. length (both compressed, and extended)
2. eye to eye / pin to eye requirements
3. valving (how firm / soft)

It sounds like your ranchos are too lightly valved for what you require yours to do...

I can't see how fitting a set of Konis to your car is going to make any difference except that you are obviously expecting the valving to be much firmer - but this could also be achieved by selecting a Rancho that is going to be firm enough too.

Don't forget that the hardest setting on a Rancho is meant to be 800% firmer than the softest setting - i.e. there is a lot of ranch to work with for your on and off road requirements.

Sadly i hear there is not too much support from Auto Alliance (primary supplier of Ranchos in Australia) for selecting the correct rancho for your car, and it seems that it is normally just the length and eye-to-x requirements that they consider when recommending a shock. This just means that there is more research required by the buyer when selecting the product (i.e. you need to know what weight you are going to be applying to the shocks, and which shocks are valved accordingly).

I run ranchos and i reckon they're awesome.

[2car]

Anyway back to my point .... ask them to show you Information for Approved Persons number 35 dated May 2000. It covers lift and suspension lifts. I quote " Modifications that invlove leaf springs remounted from under axle to over axle are not regarded as an acceptable form of suspension modification and will not be approved "

At last - someone who has the facts! It could be that there are vehicles ie the SOA zook that someone mentioned in this thread, that were engineered and approved in QLD before that information circular was distributed. In general, Road worthiness changes can not be made retrospective - that's why you don't need seatbelts in some old cars. Maybe his SOA was approved before the SOA witch hunt, and now they can't touch him. Wouldn't that be sweet!

[V8Patrol]

DAMN.... tonka had the same thought as I did, then BJ blew it out the water....gotta hate that !!..... so OK you cant run hilux gear.... hate that too but if you can put a chev motor in it, why not put the body on a hilux chassis ?.... If it were me ..... I'd duck down to a wreckers and get a piece of hilux chassis ( the bit wid the numbers on it ) cut it into the patrol chassis and tell em it was a patrol body on a std hilux chassis... get the chassis number changed to suit and rego..... let me guess FAILED !!

What I cant understand is ...if a hilux is legal then why isnt the SOA.... it would be interesting to take it to court and I think if the DEPARTMENT OF FAIR TRADING got involved then it could be argued that the hilux has a unfair advantage in the market place under this law...
If the qld govt were serious about it then why are hilux's allowed to be registered in the first place????

[scorched]

a suzuki up the road from me got a soa done the other day. i should ask him if he did it legally. My car is nsw registered so i might just keep it that way. Are 35" legal in nsw?

[Brad]

If you really want to get a SPOA approved in QLD then you can do it but it is a PITA and playing on glitches in the system.

Prior to May 2000 you could get SPOA approved in QLD as it was not in black and white that you could not. Therefore you simply had to find an approved officer that would allow the modification. I have mates who have got SPOA approved legally in QLD. I had a SPOA approved in 97/98 in QLD with no real hassle on an LJ80.

In regards to a Hilux, the rule states "leaf springs remounted from under axle to over axle " as a hilux has always been sprung over it is not an issue. You need to read the rules very very closely. So it would not be an unfair advantage for Toyota as any car maker can build a SPOA vehicle.

An old glitch that I think has been clossed as BJ suggested was the fitting of Hilux Diffs to other vehicles. As they alwasy had leaf springs on top of the housing you were not modifying their position in relation to the housing so it was not illegal. I personally think you could still push this point if you really felt like doing it. Then your mod would be approved under suspension substitution which is another set of guidlines again.

The Code of Prac - Light Vehicles is well worth the $80 if you are seriously thinking about modifying a vehicle close to the rules.

Anyway like the old olympics slogan said, where there is a will there is a way, it just depends on how many $$$ you want to spend to get there.

[Ferwoaza]

What about SPOA rigs that are engineered, registered, legal etc in NSW and bringing them to QLD? Guess you couldn't register them up here?

[Brad]

My understanding is that if it has been fully registered in another state for more than 12mths thes DOT will happily chnage it over. You would just need to keep proof the vehicle was SPOA when it arrived. The rules are in relation to doing a modification of a vehicle in QLD, if it is like that when it gets here then as long as it is legal in teh place it came from it should be no problems.

I know guys who had transferred heavily moded vehicles over from NSW to QLD and all they needed was a RWC based on usual stuff like lighst etc etc not mods.

I could be wrong as I havn't bought any in since 2001 when I change a SPOA 40 series from Vic to QLD rego for a guy, it took a day but wasn't real hard.

[NICK]

i know of 3 4x4 here in queensland that are approved SOA, a suki, a rocky and a landcruiser. All were done before the rules were made in black and white and have letters from transport stating that the vechicle meets current road laws and is exempt from some code.

ill back brad, and say GOOD LUCK TO YOU.


NICK