4722 replies to this topic

[Nev]

It applies even more to the road though. You won't get your car seized by the police for failing a noise test at a track. Fail one on the road and you risk a Section 61 for the first offence and then having the car seized if it happens again.

This is highly unlikely in practice, I've literally never met anyone who has had this in 30 years of being around fast and noisy cars. The only thing police are actually interested in is excess speed, not under the influence, then legal docs, then worn tyres. After that virtually nothing is tested for on the side of the road.  

no speed limits on track

This, and the fact there is no traffic driving the towards you are the main benefits, as I see it.

Edited by Nev, 22 August 2014 - 01:43 PM.

[techieboy]

 

It applies even more to the road though. You won't get your car seized by the police for failing a noise test at a track. Fail one on the road and you risk a Section 61 for the first offence and then having the car seized if it happens again.

This is highly unlikely in practice, I've literally never met anyone who has had this in 30 years of being around fast and noisy cars. The only thing police are actually interested in is excess speed, not under the influence, then legal docs, then worn tyres. After that virtually nothing is tested for on the side of the road.

 

I've met two people that have had section 61's issued to them - one in Leeds and one in Bicester. I think somebody on here also got one and Davemate got a fine of some form for an anti-social exhaust around Essex, I think somebody in the Kent area got one as well. VOSA (probably as a result of EU legislation) are also hot on noise as well now, hence why everybody was trying to find out what the standard noise of VX is meant to be a year or so back.

[cnrandall]

 

But as Matt says its only worth putting money and effort into getting it quieter if you plan to track it regularly enough to outweigh the cost, etc.

Yea, I'm not anti tracking the car, but it seems like the number of things to block you are considerable. The ease/simplicity of just going out spontaneously on an early morning weekend run on the road has a lot to be said for it IMO.

 

 

Trouble with the track is the stop watch doesn't tell lies ;-)

[Goosenka]

Yup happened to me as well although I didn't get a 61. One of the Greenwich owners got properly fcuked on by the Essex cops. Sure he got fined and god knows what.

[Nev]

Yup happened to me as well although I didn't get a 61. One of the Greenwich owners got properly fcuked on by the Essex cops. Sure he got fined and god knows what.

Maybe they had a crack down in/near the SE then, but in practice my guess is that if you divide numbers of miles driven by noisy cars to fines, I'd bet the ratio will be millions to 1. Most of the roads I try to drive on have few cars on them, let alone police cars so I will run the noise gauntlet the same as any other VX220. Hell, if even a bog standard VX220 with OEM exhaust is at risk of being pulled over and fined for noise, you have to wonder if it's worth trying to remedy the matter at all ?!  

Trouble with the track is the stop watch doesn't tell lies ;-)

Norty norty, no "timekeeping" and "racing" of other vehicles allowed on most track days.

Edited by Nev, 22 August 2014 - 02:51 PM.

[KurtVerbose]

Davemate got a fine of some form for an anti-social exhaust around Essex

 

It was Suffolk.  

[Nev]

So 2 or 3 noisy VX's are known to have been stopped over 3 or so years, out of a guess at 2000 noisy ones on the road. Ball park maths: that's a 1:3*3*2000 chance of being stopped in a year, so about a 1 in 18,000 chance of getting stopped. QED.

Edited by Nev, 25 August 2014 - 03:12 AM.

[Mopeytitan]

Haha!! That's some serious maths Nev. how long it take you to work that out?

[Nev]

Haha!! That's some serious maths Nev. how long it take you to work that out?

About 20 secs for my basic risk assessment, feel free to send me £100 for my insight After saying this, it'll be just my luck to drive down my road tomorrow and get hauled over by the rozzers and told to bend over

Edited by Nev, 25 August 2014 - 08:18 AM.

[Ormes]

Very nearly said something along the lines of tempting fate/sods law Nev

 

A friend at work said he saw something that looked like a VX going in the other direction on the A420 the other day and that it was not quiet... showed him a picture of your VX and he said "yes... that was it"

[CocoPops]

It's not just patrol officers, public can report your number plate for nuisance as well which could then be used for section 59. http://www.humbersid...riving-offences

Driving in a manner which is causing/has been causing, or is likely to cause alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public.

[KurtVerbose]

If you read davemate's thread the law is totally stupid. The law says it should be no louder than when it leaves the factory - even though no one knows how loud it was when it left the factory.

 

You could have a very noisy car leave the factory that would be perfectly legal, and a very quiet one which after modification is still quieter than the noisy one but is illegal. Completely unfair.

 

Motorcycles were tested at 4000rpm so all have a pronounced dip in their torque curve at 4000rpm.

 

What was worrying about davemate's case Nev wasn't the odds of him being caught, but that if it happened again it would lead to an 'instant court summons under the antisocial behaviour act'. You'd have to buy some Burberry and a hoodie, get an imitation Rolex and start referring to yourself in the third person.

[Nev]

Yea, it is at the back of my mind, I am as considerate as I possibly can be with my neighbours etc. When I rolled out of the garage the other weekend at 6.00am I literally rolled the car out of the drive and then 50 metres down the road by hand and then started it up and got onto the ring road as quiet as a mouse ! I went to yet another exhaust place about 2 weeks ago for a quote for a new backbox system and they promised to ring me back with a quote, but I never got a reply, I guess they just thought it too much hassle and don't want the business. I am also considering buying a TIG welder myself at the moment and possibly try and make my own backbox and move the flexi joint. At the moment, this months savings are going on a new double glazing panel for the front door which my g/f broke - grrrr.

[Ormes]

Hi Nev just a thought but think that Merlin at Castle Combe do exhausts, they have all the bending equipment etc...  However when I looked there seemed to be a lack of 3" silencers let alone 3.5"

[Nev]

Hi Nev just a thought but think that Merlin at Castle Combe do exhausts, they have all the bending equipment etc...  However when I looked there seemed to be a lack of 3" silencers let alone 3.5"

Thanks Alex, yea I looked at their stuff over the years and they never seem to have what I want. I've just bought a big steel welding table for the garage and managed to shuffle all my stuff around to give me more workspace for the welder and new table. Even if I don't manage to make something as tricky as an exhaust it's an appealing "man skill" to have.

[Nev]

Hi Nev just a thought but think that Merlin at Castle Combe do exhausts, they have all the bending equipment etc...  However when I looked there seemed to be a lack of 3" silencers let alone 3.5"

Thanks Alex, yea I looked at their stuff over the years and they never seem to have what I want. I've just bought a big steel welding table for the garage and managed to shuffle all my stuff around to give me more workspace for the welder and new table. Even if I don't manage to make something as tricky as an exhaust it's an appealing "man skill" to have. I am off to JoshuUXB's "man den" tomorrow, he has ALL the man tools, lathes, balancing machines, welders, barns full of cars etc and also is a very knowledgeable and friendly aero engineer.

[A-F_20]

I really don't get this - using a standard vx close to its limits on the road is difficult/irresponsible, in your car it must be down right dangerous. Unless of course you don't drive it anywhere near its limit and then it begs the question why you would build a car like that. I absolutely get the enjoyment side of diy modifying your car and improving it - Vockys car is a good example - but you seem to have built almost a track car that you don't use on track?! Strange

[Nev]

Well obviously I can't drive it at the limit on the road, in a similar yet less extreme way as you cant drive an NA at the limit on the road. I don't know why some people get so hung up on this. Like any car, you have to drive to the conditions, hell I can't even drive my 90 BHP 1.6 TDI anywhere near the limit most of the time, but I don't keep going on about like some of you. There are loads of times when the power is usable, pulling away from junctions, overtaking in tighter conditions, pulling hard up steep hills etc. Also the modified wheels/tyres/uprights/geo/aero/rollbar all add up to make for a different drive to the old setup, which I enjoy as a strong contrast to my daily drive. Where some cars (like my Focus TDI) might be on the limit cornering at 40 MPH on corner X, maybe Nipper would be happy and nowhere limit at 50 MPH, there-in lies the main difference - the ability to go faster yet not be at the limit. You don't have to drive at full tilt to enjoy your car, just the same you don't have to crank you stereo up to max volume to enjoy music, or drink to the point of unconsciousness, or scuba dive till you run out of air, or run until you have a heart attack.

Edited by Nev, 25 August 2014 - 07:43 PM.

[Mopeytitan]

It's a bit ridiulous stating that it's strange that Nev would build a car that would be impossible to drive at its limits on the road. At the end of the day he's built the car to suit what he wants out of it, thats the whole point in modding a car isn't it?

 

I can't imagine you would say the same thing if he said he had just bought a ferrari...

 

The chances are that the majority of us will most likely run out of talent long before the car gives anyway.

[A-F_20]

Fair enough - it's not in anyway a criticism of your work. I guess ultimately I don't get why you do all that work and then not test it without the restrictions/dangers of road driving. Not sure I get the stereo analogy - it's more like building 10k watt system and then listening to it at low volume!? I'm laughably slow on track - everything comes past me! But I'm still driving way way faster than anyone would drive on the road.