[QLD] Engineering experiences

[NMX516]

It's really quite simple - some engineers follow the letter of the law and won't pass certain mods, others may get "creative" look for loop holes and/or ways to "side step" the requirements. Depending on whether the mod you want approval for is clearly legal, or whether it is "iffy" will depend on which engineer you go to for your mod plate. If you want to turbo your NA, go to Charlie's engineer, MX5Plus won't do that for you.

The only research you need to do is to find which engineer will approve the mods you want to do, because if they're not too extreme, you should be able to find someone to approve it. Start with contacting Charlie's engineer, tell him what you want to do and have a talk to him about what he will want to see to give approval....

[93_Clubman]

So you'd be stretching the rules a bit to cough up the LA3 option - you'd never be able to get a Supercharger done that way.

MazdaSpeed produced a MazdaSpeed B Spec Stage III NA8 for the JDM market that had the Eaton M45 SC fitted - it's MazdaSpeed build plate code is MS13.

[93_Clubman]

In fact, it appears that MazdaSpeed also produced an NA6 B Spec with an SC, as well as the NA8:

mazdaspeed b spec sc plate na6ce.JPG

mazdaspeed b spec sc plate na8c.JPG

[Aussie Stig]

"LA3 deals with adding Turbo/Supercharges to vehicles where that model had it available as an option. It is subtle, and not 100% clearly laid out that way, but the mod must be made available as an option by the OEM. "

So Mazda offered the SP which is basically an NA8 engine with twice the power. Turbo engineering should be a walk in the park then. In QLD.

[orx626]

Hi guys, here is the LA3 code as it currently stands.....The game breaker is stated in the section "Modifications which are not allowed under this Code"; Item 2: Fitting of turbo/superchargers to MA and MB category vehicles such as Subaru, Toyota Tercel, Alfa 33 Quattro and sedan car type derivates. Refer to Code LA1 for allowable modifications.

The vehicle category codes MA & MB cover passenger vehicles that includes sedans, station wagons, forward control vehicles etc. MX-5's come under the MA category. The fact that MX-5 owners in Queensland have been able to get their turbo or supercharger installations (I'm not referring to SE, SP or SR20 etc...factory turbo engine substitutions) approved under the LA3 code is beside the point, the point is that the Queensland Approved Person has incorrectly applied the code and as such they now personally carry any risk associated with the flawed approval.

From recent discussions with various stakeholders regarding Queensland's adoption of the National Code Of Practice (NCOP) for Light Vehicle Modifications, there will hopefully be a "legal" way forward for the approval of such modifications through a combination of the LA1 code and the IM240 Emissions Test. I'm not holding my breath though!

Regards,
Danny

[charlie_91]

this man knows

[gslender]

NA - LIGHT GOODS VEHICLE - A goods vehicle with a ‘Gross Vehicle Mass‘ not exceeding 3.5
tonnes.

NB - MEDIUM GOODS VEHICLE - A goods vehicle with a ‘Gross Vehicle Mass‘ exceeding 3.5
tonnes but not exceeding 12.0 tonnes.

MC - OFF-ROAD PASSENGER VEHICLE - A passenger vehicle having up to 9 seating
positions, including that of the driver and being designed with special features for off-road
operation. (See Definitions and Vehicle Categories for special features)

So LA3 is mainly for trucks and 4wd vehicles then ;-)

Dang!

[orx626]

So LA3 is mainly for trucks and 4wd vehicles then ;-)

Dang!

You are spot on, but as I said, there are Approved Persons out there who are prepared to take on the risk for you!

Cheers,
Danny

[NitroDann]

So hang on... NA is the code for lightweight vehicles.
Why doesnt this surprise me?

Dann