Hello,

I feel like to write a few lines about how sad and disappointing it is in Luxembourg/Germany to be a car enthusiast. Since a few years I am now restoring and modifying my FC and I still don't have a complete overview of all the laws and regulations that apply when it comes to car modifications. Of course this does make the entire process a lot more complicated and you have to think over every step 10 times and make sure there are is no "law conflict" potential. And if there is, how to resolve it. Well read for yourself ^^

I think it may be interesting for you guys to read, laugh and/or comment. Your feedback is much appreciated.

So basically lets say, you are driving an old 1986 FC with a NA motor and you want to rebuild that motor and beef it up a bit. Nothing too extreme, just some internal work, porting, intake and exhaust and maybe a programmable ECU.

The car is registered and taxes are paid and OK, same for the technical inspection sheet. All green. Back to the shop for some work.

First thing you need for your modified engine is a waver from the shop that performed your modifications. This waver can only be issued by a authorized shop and is basically a statement "shop xyz has installed the following parts (...) and done the following work on vehicle zyx, signature here ..." If you are doing your own work you are screwed.

As for your exhaust, there we have a problem, either your exhaust has a certificate from the manufacturer that it is plug & play legal to run it on a specific vehicle ("ABE") or it is custom build and will have a different certificate allowing for special inspection and agreement. ("Einzelabnahme") Of course the exhaust must contain all emission relevant devices and the sound level is not allowed to surpass a specific level.

As for your intake, well nobody actually cares as long as the engine builder has included it on his waver and the intake doesn't portrude out of your hood. The internal porting is fine as long as your emissions and noise levels are in the legal frame. If your modification adds horsepower then you are submissed to a whole different set of tests (read on). The same goes for your ECU, if it is stealth, you might get away with it but if you are gaining noticeable more power you need to make the additional tests.

So now for the business end, assuming you have all the necessary papers after your engine has been modified/installed and your walled has lost a siginificant amount of of its initial weight you can pass onto the next level of bureaucracy. Before you are legally allowed to move your car on the road you need to pass some official tests and inspections. These inspections will give you (when positively passed) one or more certificates that your car complies to the law and enables you to let the modifications be listed or added in your vehicle registration papers by the official agency. (Before they are added a technician will check again all the points modified and decides if the papers are fine or if you have to repass a test as there is something wrong or missing)

So these inspections in our case of the engine will check that all the components are safely installed and fuel lines / brake lines / electrical cabling has been installed correctly and in a safe manner. Of course your drivetrain and wheels (brakes included) need to be up to the task of your new power level. Mandatory tests are:

# Emissions certification, certifies that the vehicle emissions and noise are respected. This test is pretty expensive as the car gets completely analysed from a to z. There is no tricking or cheating here, your pants are down and you have noting to hide.

# Dyno run, to see how much power it does make. This time your pants are gone completely, it depends on the level of power you make but in general the more you make the more critical you get scanned.

# High speed run to see how fast it does run. (I am not to sure about these but I believe they are also done on a dyno or some kind of device) Same thing with your pants, you better don't have a car that reaches high speeds as you will only get checked more rigourously. (Brakes, drivetrain, suspension all that stuff)

Of course all these tests dont come free and registering a more powerfull engine is actually easier than bolting on 'nother set of wheels. Oh well don't get me started on wheels lol My head hurts now after writing that wall of text, but it has to be said.

Oh btw you cannot race an RX7 Fc here, so all that effort is either wasted or you are loaded and doing it just for the fun of it While I admit still doing it, with the difference that I'am not loaded and I am basically employed to finance my car

Brgds
Steven

 

wow that is brutal,how can you not take the fc to a track? That seems insane

In Chicago any pre 95 car is not even tested and cars after that with obd2+ are a joke to pass, all they look for is engine codes.

Is this Germany's way of getting rid of older higher emissions vehicles?

 

Indeed, it is insane

You can make a round on the nurburgring as a tourist, no problem. After all you can bring a vw bus for these tourist rounds. For competition you need FIA homologation for the FC. Only the FB has such a homologation from mazda, so we are screwed as pretty much everything is dominated by FIA, from autocross to serious circuit racing. So there is no racing for the FC.

I live in luxemburg and when it comes to modified vehicles we need to pass our cars through the german DEKRA or TüV. The germans are pretty strict when it comes to tuning. For example we are not allowed to mount a set of lets say Volk TE37 and drive with them, big nono, your car gets immobilized by the police if you re caught, its a crime ! Its just their bureaucracy that took a life of its own I guess. They are trying to get rid of older vehicles, its an open secret ^^

Steven

 

well that explains why not many people modify thier cars in europe.
Your going to have to do it the american way and run from the police

 

Thats how it is. Tuning is regarded as something ill, its like sleeping with your sister, a few do it but many many more think of it as bad. Driving a scoobie for example is like asking to get pulled over, ask me how I know it

 

Makes me glad I live in Canada/North America. I can modify any car pretty much any way I want with in reason (to be road legal you need head lights, tail lights, basic stuff). Plenty of places to race; race tracks have open days for racing... you get the idea.

I've noticed a lot of countries in Europe consider their citizens as psuedo-servants of the government. Here the government in principle exists to serve the people. We have much more freedom and our laws reflect that. In Canada we can import 15 year old Japanese cars and drive right-drive here without much problem, even though our cars are mostly left hand drive.

 

that is much worse than California!

we only have an emissions test, and they run the car on a dyno, @15 and 25mph, then they check the gas cap, and the evap system for leaks.

this part is actually easy, anything with an 02 sensor and cat can pass it.

the hard part is that we have a visual inspection too, and ANY part that is changed, must either be stock, or have a CARB #, even the cat.

so it turns something easy into something hard, as they complain if you use vacuum hose that isn't black, or if they can't find the EGR valve, etc.

although on the good side, this is all we have to do, so you can run your car into a wall, literally, smog it, and its completely fine.

 

=/ wow.... thats brutal , and not even the FD??????

wow.. I'm just... so glad.. I dont live there right now.. sorry

 

Minnesota is a pretty communist State, except for the passenger vehicle laws...

They completely gave up on emissions testing and inspections years ago. Further, any car 20 model years old or older can be registered as a collector (vaguely limited usage), which affords basically unlimited modifications while still being legal.

Our tint laws are stupid, and the most restrictive in the country tho...

 

 

Ohhhh that's how emissions works! Shoot. I don't know if mine can make it through in a few months :/

 

In Ohio, when I lived there, they had a grand plan for California-like emissions testing state-wide. Then people started to complain and oppose the mandatory emissions testing. Especially in smaller towns and rural areas. SO it was decided to make the emissions testing requirement to be determined by each county and city. (Keep in mind, many of the testing centers were already built and staffed.) So now, Cleveland in Cuyahoga County may have emissions testing you have to pass each year, but a suburb in the next county may not. Akron and Canton are different and so forth.

Each state in the US has their own emissions requirements with, at present, California's being the strictest because they also have some of the worst smog air quality problems in their cities.

As far as sanctioning bodies in the US for racing, ignoring drag racing (Because I don't know anything about it.) There are SCCA, USAC, IRL, IMSA, NASCAR, ARCA, SCORE to name but a few. The American Automobile Association (AAA) is the US member of the FIA in the US and they have no racing connections at all.

Most road racing tracks in the US have open track days for the public. And there are even some private tracks that are owned by the residents or association members and they can race every weekend on their track.

 

Sounds a bit like Australia.

Coil overs, ecus, wheels 3" bigger, 100mm min ride height, pretty much anything aftermarket is deemed an illegal modification. I recently bought $15,000 in parts for my FC build, aside from the factory replacement parts, everything else would be deemed to be illegal to use on the road here.

We are coping heaps of **** from the police here as new laws have been passed, allowing the cops to defect our cars if they suspect anything is wrong with it, under the guise of road safety. When we receive a defect notice the car has to be towed home, and then driven only to mechanics and the dept of transport inspection centre to have the defect cleared - costing $$$ and days off work - the cop only has to suspect something is wrong with the car, he doesn't have to see ****.

Anyway this is part n parcel with the anti - hooning legislation, it works over a 5 or 10 year period, basically if you get defected too many times, your exhaust is too loud, your stereo too loud (even on your driveway) or you get caught spinning the tyres or a bunch if other weak as **** offences, 3rd strike the govt takes your car to sell or crush.

 

Wow, I just googled this and it seems they take this very seriously (Car crushing to resume after SA court revives Government's anti-hoon laws - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation))

I think they have a few screws loose ... Well the first time I am glad to live in Luxembourg when it comes to car laws and stuff. (Besides for having first class roads of course ) lol

 

California isnt that bad. All i have is a cat and my seven still passes.
idk where in california you live but in los angeles theres alot of places that dont give two ***** and just pass the car with a little persua$ion

 

It's very different here in the capital. The police actually have a job to do and that isn't harass motorists all day. If your car is an obvious piece of **** you'll get pulled over but other than that it's fairly lenient. Only have to do an inspection when you transfer the registration over states or to your name. If you don't let it run out of rego you'll never have to do another inspection.

I used to live in NSW and it's exactly how you describe it. P-Platers are a major target and the coppers love to pick on imports. If I was still living there with my 7 the amount of fines I'd have picked up would be worth more than the car.

 

These laws were championed and created by a certain political party. If you dont like them quit voting that way.

Im in the AACA and Have Hagerty for insurance, These organizations send publications aground and one of the repeating topics is how that certain political party has ZERO respect for the hobby. Of course they dont come out an tell you who, because they dont want to offend their members that might lean that way. Every year new laws are being pushed to make it harder and harder to enjoy my historic vehicles. Ive watched it happen for 25 years.

I maybe put 1500 combined miles a year on my 3 hobby cars. Im clearly a huge threat to our environment, the safety of others and the general well being of the population at large. The carbon foot print from my Model A has killed at least 10 polar bears.

It is going to get worse, the communist republic of California is an example of what the future holds for the rest of us.

These days your supposed to use bikes and mass transit.... Yeah f-that. Thats what our kids learn. Old cars are bad because they are such polluters. Lets make cars that drive themselvs,.... f-that, Lets make a law that requires every car to have an ecu that has gps tracking and gives police the ability to shut your car down, track your speed, miles driven every week..... Again F-That. Speed cameras, F- that, e15, F-that. Its getting to the point that if you dont have a cat on your car your going to be a felon.

Driving is a privilege, therefore they(certain political party) can shove whatever they want down your throat.

Next time you vote "that way", remember, you ASKED for it. Its for the greater good comrade. Enjoy it.

 

I fear that this is what the future truly holds.

I am always amazed when I see Airbusses and Boeings being refueled at work with so many tons of kerosene and they certainly don't have a cat So the amount of emissions that come from cars is so marginal and yet we get harassed for every gram of CO2 ...

 

Wow. Sounds like characteristics of a police state. Any plans on moving out of that country OP?


And here I was complaining I just got my second warning for loud exhaust this summer, on a catless, poison spewing, loud rotary. lol.

I love it here, no emission testing on anything(just took the cats out of the daily M3, woot!), no worrying about my car getting profiled and impounded for a fmic or some illegal mod ****.

 

Ohio is looking really good about now.

 

Here in Missouri, the police don't care about exhaust or modifications- I guess they have bigger fish to fry. I once passed a police car with an open exhaust manifold and no license plates on my FC; he watched me drive by, nodded to me, and went the other direction. As for inspections, they are mostly safety oriented. Certain inspection stations follow things to the letter, others are more lax about it. Ususally when they open the hood on my FC they get a look on their face like "Wtf is this thing...?"

 

I feel like If all the environmentalists had to do was band together and gang up on us, then that should be all we've got to do as well.