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legal questions on sierra mods

Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 10:01 am
by brad91
Hey guys.

just wondering in regards to mods that you can do to a sierra how should i go about spring over?

Can it be engineered at all? And what else would i need to do to fit 32's under a sierra/drover?

Thanks
Brad

Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 10:58 am
by alien
you need to talk to an engineer... but from whats been done here about 3 bajillion times before you wont get away with SPOA or 32s in QLD.

Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 12:35 pm
by joeblow
alien wrote:you need to talk to an engineer... but from whats been done here about 3 bajillion times before you wont get away with SPOA or 32s in QLD.
haha.....QLD..........poor buggers..........it doesn't stop em though........

Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 1:43 pm
by lockdup
As far as I know a spring over is illegal in QLD, and so are 32's. If you do do that it wil need to be trailered (SP). In vic I engineered a spring over and body lift. 150mm of total lift. You should move states

Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:52 pm
by brad91
lol nah i like qld. Im only just 18 so im still living at home and have a drift car aswell lol(not that it ever runs). And from what i have seen qld is the drift state :P

So are 31's legal on a sierra? And what mods will i have to do to get them under the guards? Hoping to get it on the road for under 1500 lol. Im buying the car for $300 and already have a whinch and can make front and rear bars at work for next to nothing/free if i use scrap steel.

Would extended shackles on stock springs give me enough room to fit 31's? or drop shackles if i can be bothered making them. Might also do a 2inch body lift at the same time if its easy enough. Is there any tutorials on here about doing body lifts? sierra bible maybe?

And where could i go to get cheap rims and tyres? 32's being illegal threw my plans of using dads old cruiser rims with 32's on them out the window. I tried the wreckers today and they didnt have anything. Would hilux offset rims work? If i got my mate to redrill them at his work?

Thanks for the help so far guys

Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 6:08 pm
by grimbo
31s are illegal as well, so are extended shackles and drop shackles are a gimmick. Get a decent lift from old man emu, some 30s and away you go. In the future get a rear locker and some tcase gears and you'll have a capable reliable vehicle

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 12:51 am
by Highway-Star
You should be able to build a vehicle that will fit a 31" tyre that will be legal in everyway in queensland, except for the tyres themselves. Small lift, guard trimming, gears, lockers. if you want to keep it 100% legal you will have to run no bigger than a 205/70R15 +15mm to the diameter, so even a 205/75R15 (standard Vitara) is illegal :roll:

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:45 am
by bunder_ute
there are "loop holes" to in the laws......
if you buy a modplated vehicle from another state...

OR


Build it in another state and mod plate it there..

i just went through it when i was looking to buy my zook. i was looking at a few sprung over sierras... one running lux diffs and the other running just sierra diffs.. both mod plated in nsw.. i spoke to a few people as to the legalities once broght into QLD and as far as they are concerned.. the car has been modplated and engineered.

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:01 am
by 31zook
bunder_ute wrote:there are "loop holes" to in the laws......
if you buy a modplated vehicle from another state...

OR


Build it in another state and mod plate it there..

i just went through it when i was looking to buy my zook. i was looking at a few sprung over sierras... one running lux diffs and the other running just sierra diffs.. both mod plated in nsw.. i spoke to a few people as to the legalities once broght into QLD and as far as they are concerned.. the car has been modplated and engineered.
X2

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:12 am
by just cruizin'
bunder_ute wrote:there are "loop holes" to in the laws......
if you buy a modplated vehicle from another state...

OR


Build it in another state and mod plate it there..

i just went through it when i was looking to buy my zook. i was looking at a few sprung over sierras... one running lux diffs and the other running just sierra diffs.. both mod plated in nsw.. i spoke to a few people as to the legalities once broght into QLD and as far as they are concerned.. the car has been modplated and engineered.

eeerrrrr NO

Qld Transport won't give two tosses as to what's been done in NSW as far as mod plates go. Hell I could probably get engineering approval and a Qld Blue Plate to fit 40" tyres and a 6.5lt V8 but it doesn't mean Qld Transport will agree. In Qld approved persons don't have the governing say. this has been discussed countless times.

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:49 am
by bunder_ute
its not hard to get a blue plate for anything.. you just need to know the "right" people.. hell i know a guy with a gemini that was mod plated for a rb26 turbo engine. just to get it to fit we had to move the firewall.. reshape the trans tunnel..

like i said its a loop hole... and it comes down to who you talk to on the day.. i work in the trade and everytime i speak to someone at the transport department about the same thing it changes, i always note time, date and name of who i speak to, to cover my arse.. it comes down to there interpretation of the rules.

so what happens to all the spring over sierras that were modded before the rule changes?

they are now illegal.

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:04 am
by grimbo
engine transplants seem to be the easy things to get approved in QLD. Tyre size, suspension lift and SPOA aren't possible

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:25 am
by bunder_ute
yeh.. but it was running different diff and brakes.. it was more then just a dropped in engine..

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 2:33 pm
by grimbo
bunder_ute wrote:yeh.. but it was running different diff and brakes.. it was more then just a dropped in engine..
yeah so it still has nothing to do with SPOA, suspension mods or larger tyres on a 4wd

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 2:37 pm
by brad91
ok so if i do decide to go spring over whats the chance i will get pulled up on it? A mate from school has been running it since the end of last year and apparently hasnt been done (from what ive heard anyway). I just cant afford to lose my licence as i need it for work.

I know people that can get me modplates for things but if you get it modplated whether its legal or not can a cop bust you if it is modplated?

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 3:30 pm
by bunder_ute
from personal experience mate... you are more likely to be left alone if it is mod plated.. it comes down to the person who pulled you over.. i have had two cops pull me over and they had a dicussion about whether was my car was legal or not...(that was a nissan micra on 18s) nothing fancy at all.. one guy said it was the other said it wasn't.

what are your reasons for wanting to go spring over??

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 5:44 pm
by grimbo
why chance it? Why do you think you need a SPOA and 32s?

You are 18 how about instead of trying to make this super modified 4wd that will be way more capable than you, the driver. You do some minor mods, keep it legal and actually just get out there and drive it. learn how to 4wd, learn what the vehicle is capable of then over time as your experience increases you can then work out what mods you need to match your increased skills and the challeneges you want to accomplish.

Or you could illegally modify your vehicle, go on a few trips where you think because you 4wd is supposedly unstoppable, end up breaking something or rolling it, get annoyed at it all and just have it sitting in your front yard for 6 months. Then you finally drive it again and get busted for the illegal mods and all the money you spent is wasted.

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:16 pm
by brad91
lol dude i only want 32's as i cant afford new tyres at the moment and i have a set of them with only a couple thousand k's on thgem sitting in my shed off dads car. The tyres on it at the moment are street tyres and would more than likely end up getting stuck at every little mud hole.

I know there is a set of maybe 30 inch tyres sitting at work off a bravo but they are all mismatched so im not sure if they would be any good? Would probably fit on the rims that are currently on it too. What would i need to do to fit 30's?

I want to keep it legal as possible as i cant afford to lose my licence. I was going to keep it offraod only if the 32's stuk out too far past the guards and i had to do too much work to it but can you go to places like glass house and on the beach with the car being unregistered?

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:36 pm
by 31zook
You can run 32s comfortable with 50mm BL, 50mm suspension lift, 50mm bump spacers, and a 4lb dumpy hammer... spoa are good for the height but not setup right they can be a pretty big handy cap for the tyre gain... But with that said 32x9.5s (swampers) and 32x12.5 are a whole different game to try and fit under your guards... JMHO

With those small mods it will look like this and not be a cop magnet....
Image

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:00 pm
by grimbo
You're in NSW where something like that can be legal so of course it isn't a cop magnet. Whereas he is in QLD and it would be.

Back to the original poster, once again, why do you think you need a SPOA? Just buy a set of 2" lifted springs and put some mud tyres on and you will have a perfectly capable vehicle

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:08 pm
by 11_evl
grimbo wrote:You're in NSW where something like that can be legal so of course it isn't a cop magnet. Whereas he is in QLD and it would be.

Back to the original poster, once again, why do you think you need a Apia? Just buy a set of 2" lifted springs and put some mud tyres on and you will have a perfectly capable vehicle
from reading his post..
he must have worn out tyres now, his dad has tyres that he can use. which are 32" thats why he wants to use them. no other reason..
try get those 30s you were talking about, chop up the front bumper, put in a 'just cruisin' body lift, fab up a tube bar. and drive it.
you mite have to put in 2" lift springs.
post up some pics of what your working with, mite help us help you :lol:

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:11 pm
by 11_evl
below is the body lift kit he sells, dont try making it your self its just not worth the hassel.


Image

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:33 pm
by Junior91
I have some 30" muddies for a zook if your keen mate pm me. ;)

Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:09 pm
by brad91
11_evl wrote:
grimbo wrote:You're in NSW where something like that can be legal so of course it isn't a cop magnet. Whereas he is in QLD and it would be.

Back to the original poster, once again, why do you think you need a Apia? Just buy a set of 2" lifted springs and put some mud tyres on and you will have a perfectly capable vehicle
from reading his post..
he must have worn out tyres now, his dad has tyres that he can use. which are 32" thats why he wants to use them. no other reason..
try get those 30s you were talking about, chop up the front bumper, put in a 'just cruisin' body lift, fab up a tube bar. and drive it.
you mite have to put in 2" lift springs.
post up some pics of what your working with, mite help us help you :lol:
thats the one.

Ill try get some pics in the morning when its not dark as i only got it today. I was planning on making a custom tube bar or it has a ARB bar on it at the moment but its not a whinch one so would need modifying to fit my whinch.

Having only paid $300 for the whole car i dont really want to go spending $1000 on a lift kit as i will have to put rego on it aswell and i already have another drive car and a drift car that needs fixing so im on a tight budget only working 2 days a week lol. Would it hurt to run mis-matched tyres? As the 30's sitting at work are all different hence why work took them off and bought matching ones when they bought the bravo. THey are just standard ones though i think. Not mud or anything like that.

Ill send you a pm Junior 91

whats involved in a body lift? I had a look in the bible but couldnt really find anything with a tutorial on doing one and ive heard it can be a pain?

Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:38 am
by lay80n
Body lift is probably one of the easiest jobs on a sierra provided you have a good kit Most people come unstuck with teh captive studs, but just cruisin kit comes with female bolts that negate this problem. 2 hours work if you know what your doing. Search for a post by Viclore - he did a full body lift tutorial. I could have sworn i put it in the bible. Will sort that out anyway.

Looking at your budget - you need to outlay more than that to make 32's work properly. Have you taken into account that when you fit the 32's your gearing will be all screwed up. As in you will never get into 5th, probably never 4th, and offroad it will be as useless as tits on a bull. Sierra low range is questionable with stock tyres - approx 27 inch. So you make a jump to 32 inch and low range is now useless. You will struggle to drive anything decent, and destroy clutches in the process. If yu look on forums etc and get creative you can get a lift kit for less than 1K. Though your budget seems a tad unrealistic to get the car working well on 32's.


Layto....

Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:58 am
by VR Rodeo

Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:50 pm
by brad91
yea no doubt it will get more spent on it over time, just at the moment im a little tight with having to spend $600+ to get my drift car running again lol.

I checked out the tyres at work and they appear to be 29inch (had to measure with a plastic ruler as for some reason none of our tapes at work have inches on them lol) They are on 6 stud bravo rims so i was thinking about just making up bolt on spacers that convert it to 6 stud? Will this work for the moment until i can afford some new rims and tyres? And will it still have enough power to turn 29's?

I know what you mean about low range. When i first went to look at it my cousin had it sideways the whole way up around his driveway and i thought that would have been high range but apparently that was low range.

whats the go with glasshouse and ormeau with registration? Do cars have to be registered? As if i can get away without rego on it (just use my trailer) i can afford some decent tyres and a few other things. Where can i take it unregistered? And can you just get recreational rego like on bikes?

Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 12:02 am
by just cruizin'
brad91 wrote:whats the go with glasshouse and ormeau with registration? Do cars have to be registered? As if i can get away without rego on it (just use my trailer) i can afford some decent tyres and a few other things. Where can i take it unregistered? And can you just get recreational rego like on bikes?
Glasshouse and Mt Mee require rego, seen Rangers at Mt Mee but never GH but with the amount of traffic up there if something happens a regod car is essential. Ormeau is private land that just gets used. You're not meant to be in there and at times it has been blocked off. Owners seem to tolerate users but not give approval if you know what I mean. Where can you legally take without rego, Scenic Rim if you gain approval from the owners first, don't rock up with an unrego'd car and expect to drive anywhere apart from home again. All other parks I know require rego. No recro rego is available else we'd all have it and save a bucket load of cash.