Thread: EPA warning

If that happens to me I will just refit the standard unchipped ECU, for a while

I was a bit lucky about 10 years ago or maybe I was very persuasive unless of course it was just my natural charm.

I was pulled up by the police near Yass while driving my son's quite old Corolla and told that it was too smoky.

I agreed that it was and explained that I already had another engine that I was planning to fit within the next week or so. It was all perfectly true.

He must have accepted my explanation because I didn't hear any more about it.

The interesting thing was that at the time my daily drive was a 1969 Crown that had done almost 500,000 km and was suffering from a number of terminal illnesses. I nursed it along for a couple of years blowing much more smoke than the Corolla.

For some reason nothing was ever said about the smoke the Crown was emitting. At least nothing was said by the police or the EPA. A lot of my friends had plenty to say about it and none of it was complimentary.

I guess that illustrates how it is pretty hard to ensure that laws like those are fairly applied to everyone. I thought the smoke from the Corolla would have been acceptable, but I knew very well that the Crown wasn't. In those days Crowns tended to be driven by bank managers and that was also a time when bank managers were highly respected members of the community. Maybe that is what saved me.

I know it was environmentally irresponsible to have driven a car in that state, but it was quite safe and at the time I was not in a position to do much about it.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

Was that so you could fit a set of 33's to your Defender. QLD are the tightest of the lot for modifications.

Going by what I read HERE in Vic the tyres cannot bigger than 15 mm in diameter specified by the vehicle manufacturer
An tah is among the all the regulations HERE

Plus you have the year inspection that we do not have here

Don't stress it's not recorded anywhere and is almost impossible to get a conviction/fine from, even if your vehicle is a bit of a blower. (which I reckon it's probably not).

Every state has basically the same system, as someone said it's driver revenge.
QLD has the smoky vehicle hotline.
You can ring up, get a recorded message and just supply the rego. no. of the car with no evidence, and they send out one of those letters.
Hmmm, that's some Smart State, Biotech, cutting edge innovation for you
These notices have been received by a dealer, relating to a brand new vehicle that hadn't left a dealer lot, to prove a point.

It is supposed to be 10 secs of continuous thick smoke, like when your following an old bedford or a "DI special" (a 4wd that has spent more of its life on the sand than on the road, and the only thing holding the rusted roof together is the occy straps)

Originally Posted by Chucaro

Going by what I read HERE in Vic the tyres cannot bigger than 15 mm in diameter specified by the vehicle manufacturer
An tah is among the all the regulations HERE

Plus you have the year inspection that we do not have here

But other states can engineer beyond that specification which i understand you cant do in QLD.

Yearly inspections are a good thing IMHO.

Originally Posted by mudmouse

Current legislation in NSW allows Police (goodness knows with what technical knowledge) to direct the registered owner of a vehicle deemed to emit undue noise or emissions to an EPA inspection station. The process is actually a report to the EPA and they chase up the owner. Failure to comply with a direction to report to the EPA can mean cancellation of registration - i think it's well meaning but a bit ridiculous affording and untrained person the power to put you off the road until a test is completed - at your expense.

Sure the Magna example may be valid but when members of the public (and misguided Police) have that sort of power the 'revenge' argument is a concern - and very unsympathetic to a poor old diesel warming itself up in the morning

They should be going back to the workshop that signed off on its last roadworthy - in NSW thats every 12 months...

I'm sure that sort of legislation is going to save us all from ourselves

Matt.

It has always been the same, very subjective and does not just apply to smoke, it applies to all aspects of roadworthy inspections by police who have no idea what they are looking at eg I was canaried some time ago in my Torana for allegedlly having a Holley carby, it was the standard Rochy, still I had to get it inspected and it cost me. Additional to that it is not actually illegal to fit a Holley as it is a standard after market replacement. Most police are OK and would overlook some smoke, but not a chimney. Geez there would be a lot of diesels off the road if that was the case, cars, trucks and buses. What about diesel Locos?
I would actually say someone (usually and eco fruit in a Yaris) would have reported you. Generally if it was the police or EPA they would have pulled you up. This is the downfall of the reporting system that is in place. I could write down the number of any 4x4 and report them and not have to produce any proof. Open to abuse by narrow minded eco fruits.