Calling the WOF guys, car mods.

mr_lovebug, Apr 26, 11:45pm
I am looking a EB civic,but I have so far seen 2 that have mod/different motors in them.

1st one I liked is has a 1600cc 5speed accord motor & box.

The guy says that due to using the same mounts & drops right in no need for a cert.He also has changed the steering cloum too (would the wof guys know what is meant to be in the car!),there is no clues/talk of changing the brake system.

2nd car,has city 1200cc motor with a tubro & 5 speed box,again NO cert & the reason is that it bolted straight in,same mounts.
Again,no talk about the brake system up grading.

What sort of work would those cars need to be safe with those changed motors!I like the EB civics & am looking for one,like the idea of the 5th gear & more power (if it is safe & done right).

a.woodrow, Apr 27, 12:34am
If a car has been converted to turbo then it needs a cert.
1600cc Accord motor! don't know about one of those, but you can swap engines in the same series provided the power increase doesn't exceed a certain percent, i think it's 25% maybe!
Brakes don't always need to be upgraded, but if a cert is required, they will be checked and have to come up to a certain standard

mr_lovebug, Apr 27, 1:03am
Thats what i thought,I was thinking that a cert is needed to make sure the car can stop.The Eb's NOT have a booster.

The 1600 has a carb,so must be a very early model of accord.

As for the turbo,I not like the idea of it.just like the 5th gear.
Can you drop the turbo off the city motor!

Thanks for your reply.

Oh,both cars get wof's at VTNZ.thought that they would know their cars!

mopsy3, Apr 27, 1:15am
A cop can pink sticker you these days just because he thinks it should certed. Either get a cert or buy a standard car.

hamhonda, Apr 27, 1:16am
I put a 83 accord 1.6 motor into an EN1 civic (shape after the EB), didn't quite bolt straight in, just had to change the exhaust (civic was x-flow & accord wasnt) and shorten the rear stabiliser, so that in theory should have been cert'd, but as both motors looked the same no garage ever picked up on it.The percentage I was always told was 20%.Having the 1.6 in the civic made for a very cheap car to run

a.woodrow, Apr 27, 1:18am
You won't be able to just take the turbo off due to the compression you'll just be left with something gutless. And VTNZ don't know their cars

kcf, Apr 27, 1:20am
Both cars need to be certed.Same engine mounts doesn't mean a thing, no idea how that particular misconception came about.

kcf, Apr 27, 1:23am
Not true.The moment you change motor to one that's even 1cc larger, regardless of "same series" you need a cert.

The transplants NOT needing a cert are:
??? when compared with the OE engine, the replacement engine:
??

a.woodrow, Apr 27, 1:29am
Ahh so it seems, and the 20% is for modification of your OE engine. Well OP, you have your answer. Buy factory and modify the original motor, or be prepared to certify.

mr_lovebug, Apr 27, 1:41am
Cool,thanks for all that help & advice.

Will keep my current car & go for a newer car next time,was wanting a old EB with better power weight ratio.Not if it is going to be a nightmare.

mopsy3, Apr 27, 2:49am
At the end of the day a cert is only about $450 unless it's a pile of junk that shouldnt be on the road anyway. Get the owner to cert it if they want to sell it.

petemun, Apr 27, 3:10am
good idea or buy a nicely built one already certed.

remember those things that wear blue will fine you every chance they get.

kazbanz, Apr 27, 5:49am
Mate in theory I agree with you 110%but in the real world -yep the turb is a no brainer but the accord 1600 mmmm.
What I'm sayin is if it LOOKS like its soposed to be there and nothing LOOKS modified . I suspect you'd need a real honda expert to fail it on a wof.

mopsy3, Apr 27, 9:54am
True story. Son pulled over by cop in Evo 6 for driving with fog lights on. Car is certed for suspension, other than that factory standard. Cop spent an hour trying to find something to pink sticker it for and decided that the Recaro seats were after market. Son insisted they were factory, cop knew better, 'No, pink sticker material mate, you're out of here.' Son had to get on phone and pull up website to prove to the tosser that Recaros were indeed factory. Cop left slightly more knowledgeable than when he arrived.

supernova2, Apr 27, 11:46am
I agree with Kaz that if it looks right it will probably "sneak" a wof.Lets face it how many different variations ofany particular car model are there out there.Nobody could be expected to know what motor is factory for what these days.Problem would only arise when and if something goes wrong ie an accident and plod crawls over the car and whamo or your ins coy goes "Ha Ha modified - go away"I go the cert way, after all whats another $500 after all the work and bother.Old story do it once do it right.

morrisman1, Apr 27, 11:54am
I wonder if the whole insurance act would protect you in those circumstances if the cause of the crash was nothing to do with lack of certification. Ie could they deny you a payout if you t-boned someone at an intersection but hadnt got cert for the 500hp turbo vtec monster in your honda city

bitsy_boffin, Apr 27, 2:06pm
morrisman, your assumption is correct, they most likely couldn't deny outright for all claims, due to the Insurance Law Reform Act.

But, they could argue if you crashed into someone, something, that the engine modifications were contributory (eg, more power, more weight. whatever leading to inadequate braking for example) and thus decline payout based on that.

Key is, what they cite as a reason to decline the payout needs to be contributory to the claim.