Registered turbo in Vic?

Paulus · Postby **Paulus** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 10:03 am

Another insight... (and my enthusiasm has turned into cynicism)..

No external wastegates
You have to have a CAT

meow

as others have written, it seems pretty unlikely they'll actually look for what ECU you're running under the passenger foot well at the roadside. But the EPA may have other ideas. I'm preparing myself to revert to stock if such a nightmare occurs

TurboDoseBro · Postby **TurboDoseBro** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 8:59 pm

I have just joined the same boat recently with hairs growing greyer and greyer.

The biggest problem we face is insurance. It's fine to take a scratch and take the car home and restore it back to legal (ECU) in a night but if the car gets totalled on the spot then what comes of it? On another note which ECUs would be ADR approved as the exception?

I bought the MX-5 for its potential and if I can no longer use it for that purpose then I might as well sell it and let someone else have it

smy0003 · Postby **smy0003** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 9:59 pm

No programmable ecu is okay. Your choices are factory or factory.
Your best bet is AVO.
No car in vic can be legally turboed without the same headaches as far I know.

Buy a car that is factory turboed or move state.

It sucks, but thems the rules.

Eunos_Frogster · Postby **Eunos_Frogster** » Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:26 pm

So there is no way on earth to register a custom turbo setup?

Mr nanotech · Postby **Mr nanotech** » Tue Dec 16, 2014 11:32 pm

Yeah probably could but the problem is cost. It's just not worth the money in engineering in Vic. It's a couple of grand pass/fail. Unfortunately having it engineered doesn't make it legal either.
If you have it all legitimately registered as turbo with certs, a highway patrol officer can issue you a defect or epa referral which means more testing and reissuing of certificates.
So this could lead to lots of back and forth's.

It's absolutely ridiculous the sheer amount of things you can't do to a car in Victoria, but unfortunately with the BS media and police view on road safety; The 'awareness' and so on has nothing to do with reality. Most collisions are low speed or at speed limit. Parking, pedestrians illegally crossing, people not indicating or doing head checks, not allowing cars space to stop, and poorly maintained vehicle servicing (ie: brakes, tyres etc).
The reality is that a faster vehicle doesn't necessarily mean the driver will be more likely to drive dangerously and so on. But like I said, unfortunately that is the way the 'news' media have swung it and what they have led the general public in to believing. Which incidentally works great for revenue raising.

Doesn't make me mad at police or anything, they're just seizing an opportunity. But it's sad for car enthusiasts who have to be treated like a criminal or automatically assumed are irresponsible.

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Wed Dec 17, 2014 10:21 am

It is painful in Vic. I went through the Engineering process and emissions test.

llmoose · Postby **llmoose** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 12:14 am

Interesting read on this topic.

So what is required to be done with the AVO kit to make it legal?

I've got an NA6 because it will soon be eligible for club reg. I'm definitely wanting forced induction power, not necessarily a ton of power just more!

Are superchargers just as hard to get complied as turbos?

Black_Penguin · Postby **Black_Penguin** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 12:33 am

A supercharged engine would just as hard to get through.
The problem is not in the engine being turbo/supercharged but the adjustable ECU you would need to fit to get it to run properly.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:23 am

llmoose wrote:Interesting read on this topic.

So what is required to be done with the AVO kit to make it legal?

I've got an NA6 because it will soon be eligible for club reg. I'm definitely wanting forced induction power, not necessarily a ton of power just more!

Are superchargers just as hard to get complied as turbos?

The AVO kit must be installed by AVO, and using all of their components.

The reason AVO is legal is because they have gone through all the testing/engineering/certification that Vicroads needs.
That's also the main reason the AVO kits cost so much, certification isnt cheap.

And yeah, as above, in Vic the hard part is the ECU.
You can legally swap engines etc, so in theory, if you put SE engine/gearbox/etc into an NB you may be able to stay legal.... but at the cost of all that you could have just bought an SE and been 100% legal.

smy0003 · Postby **smy0003** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 12:10 pm

You will still need an engineer to sign off on the avo kit.
Which will be another however many hundred bucks.

The SE is a good choice but the lights don't pop up and down!