Just about every single street car featured on our pages has an LVVTA cert. It’s just one of those facts of life; if you’re modifying a car, someone’s got to make sure it’s done to an acceptable standard.
LVVTA have copped a fair bit of flack, mostly from people who disagree with certain rules around vehicle certification, or — more commonly — have been told a modification is not legal after they’ve done it. Information sheets are available online to prevent this from happening, and that’s before you even consider the Bible-sized NZ Hobby Car Technical Manual that contains just about everything you could ever need to know about certifying a car in New Zealand.
But we live in a changing world, and as technology changes, so does our understanding of how things work. As such, the LVVTA recently underwent a review, and has listened to feedback, resulting in updates to certain standards.
Suspension
One of the more significant updates is a change to the LVV Suspension Standard, in which the requirements for negative camber have been changed or relaxed. While it doesn’t affect those with significant negative camber, it does help those who have vehicles with minimal or zero factory camber tolerance by permitting any car to have up to 1.5 degrees of negative camber.
At the same time, the standard also relaxes the requirement for the vehicle to have a recent wheel-alignment sheet. That said, for anything over 1.5 degrees, the status quo still applies — i.e. the factory tolerance plus 0.5 degrees (negative), and a wheel alignment.
The standard now factors in requirements for adjustable platform suspension, adjustable camber plates, aftermarket arms, and a bunch of other related items. You can view the updated LVV Suspension Standard here.
Driveshaft safety loops
Another new document is an LVV information sheet containing all of the relevant information for driveshaft safety loop requirements. There are a few relaxations on requirements which have come from the recent Engine & Drivetrain Standard, and there are also clarifications, diagrams, and useful information.
Certifier categories
The certifier categories have also experienced a change, allowing a 1A certifier to now approve several more complex modifications that were previously only able to be dealt with by 1D certifiers. This means that there are more certifiers able to carry out certifications across the country, but this will be of particular help in Auckland, where, for example, a pair of drop spindles or a HICAS lock-bar would have had to go to a 1D certifier, but can now, in most cases, be dealt with by a 1A certifier. You may find the relevant information within this document here.
We think these updates are a good thing, addressing several of the more common complaints that we hear directed towards LVVTA. We already have a great system in place — unfortunately one that some people understate the value of — and with LVVTA addressing issues where reasonable, we can only look forward to seeing the system get better.
