body lift on air bag vehicle

charlie strayarc · Jan 1, 2011

So a body lift on an air bag equipped vehicle is illegal.Whats the worst that can happen?

Yellow sticker (in WA)?
Law suit should someone get killed? (Air bag sensor)
Insurance void (Lots of damage to pay for)

Do I think too much?
Seriously whats the worst that can happen?

Comments/thoughts/opinions greatly appreciated especially from those who have gone ahead and done it anyway.

KraftyPg · Jan 1, 2011

Are you asking for what else can happen above what you listed, like that isn't enough and you want to risk more or are you asking if the items you've listed are possible outcomes?

Chriso · Jan 1, 2011

Hmmm,... yes i'm thinking your thinking too much, but i don't think anyone would encourage an illegal Mod. I've done a few body lifts but they were all on older Utes w/o airbags.Whats the reason for the lift? Height for tyres or looks? Kicks and giggles?

charlie strayarc · Jan 1, 2011

Yeah basically are these possible outcomes.
I see a few people have done it and dont seem too concerned.

KraftyPg · Jan 1, 2011

Different people consider things differently, some people may not even realise work they have had done is illegal, some probably do and just ignore it anyway. At the end of the day if there is a rule in place someone will break it.

My uneducated guess would be, yes to a yellow sticker, if the cops catch you first.
Yes to a big law suit if you hit someone and their lawyer can make a case.
And yes to insurance issues, possibly even insurance fraud (I did say possibly) if you knowingly make your car illegal and expect them to insure it. At very least they will void the policy if they find it not a legal motor vehicle.

So really the worst that can happen is jail, and loosing everything, the very worst could be your own death but the lift may not be directly attributed to the death itself.

Also bare in mind that if you have an accident completely unrelated to the lift (or any illegal mod) including one that is not your fault, any of the above options can still happen, so it's not just a potential problem if you cause an accident.

charlie strayarc · Jan 1, 2011

The yellow stickers no problem.
The other crap is.
sometimes i wish i was i was a brain dead cxxt and honestly believed that a plea of ignorance and/or it was like that when i bought it would see me through in a worst case scenario, however i know what would really happen is you would go for a row of shithouses.

So basically im wondering if its paranoia or common sense that is stopping me from a body lift.(i like to think its common sense)

KraftyPg · Jan 1, 2011

Well really only you can answer that but in an ideal world it would be nice if there was more common sense out there when it came to all road rules than there was paranoia (or just ignorant dumb arses) but it's not likely.

gadgets · Jan 2, 2011

charlie strayarc said:
The yellow stickers no problem.
The other crap is.
sometimes i wish i was i was a brain dead cxxt and honestly believed that a plea of ignorance and/or it was like that when i bought it would see me through in a worst case scenario, however i know what would really happen is you would go for a row of shithouses.

So basically im wondering if its paranoia or common sense that is stopping me from a body lift.(i like to think its common sense)[/QUOTE

Its both paranoia and common sense, I have wanted to do lots more to my car recently but the complications with insurance and keeping your mods legal is a pain in the ass.
What gets to me most is the 500 page document you have to read in order to find out if a mod is legal or not,and then there will be a clause, "check page 238 for more info" bla bla bla.

maddogrc · Jan 2, 2011

worst case is you have a crash and either you die due to the airbags not going off, you survive, but your passenger dies (probs family or friend) and you'd be done for manslaughter since you intentionally knew you were making your car unroadworthy and thus 'unsafe' in the eyes of the law. also if you crash with someone else and they die you'll get done for manslaughter for the same reason, knowing you made your car unroadworthy and putting others at risk rah rah.

body lift is ONLY need to clear tyre scrubbing... and thats only if its a lot of scrubbing.

otherwise dont bother.

KraftyPg · Jan 2, 2011

gadgets said:
What gets to me most is the 500 page document you have to read in order to find out if a mod is legal or not,and then there will be a clause, "check page 238 for more info" bla bla bla.

It's all part of the process, they write all that jargon so that they can find out who is serious about doing some work and who isn't, only those serious about it will ever contemplate doing the job. The downside is people who can't be bothered and just go ahead anyway.

About 10 years ago I was contracting to a large national legal firm and part of my job was to convert 4000 pages on legal texts into a web format, was a dead easy job for the outrageous hourly rate they were paying but unlike just typing a letter or plagiarizing homework none of that legal jargon made sense to anyone but a lawyer so until I was half way through it proof reading what I was doing was damn near pointless.

From that experience I've learned two things, how to read legal jargon and understand some of it, and how important having a friend involved in one of Australia's largest legal teams is when it comes to reading such stuff.

UncySpam · Jan 2, 2011

maybe I'm missing the point here, but why be such an idiot as to buy an airbagged vehicle, then disable them by body lifting it - why not save your cash as stick with vehicles that didn't have them in the first place if you really need to body lift????

charlie strayarc · Jan 3, 2011

Yeah im hearing all this
My main train of thought has been possible manslaughter charge.Highly unlikely but bad things do happen to good people sometimes.

Reason for lift would be for looks and the fact that i can do a body lift for no cost whatsoever.In fact i have fabricated the parts but have held off after realising about the airbag sensor bit. (Thanks maddogrc for your informative thread in WA section)
A free 2 inches is hard to ignore however at this stage i think iwill do a 2 inch susp. lift to keep me happy for now.

Solo · Jan 3, 2011

Air bags or bags of hot air?

On another thread, ZORDO who does suspensions for a living says that a
2'' lift does not affect airbag function. I can't see how it would make any difference to airbag deployment. Fitting a bullbar is more likely to interfere with airbag operation!
If you can get an approval to fit a 2' lift from the Transport Departments and they are willing to inspect and sign off on the mod, how is that going to be illegal? Sometime I think some 4wd's get so bogged down with the potential risks that they can't see the practicalities of what they want to do.

Just my 2cents worth

SOLO :rock:

,

scottybobcat · Jan 3, 2011

In some states it is legal to do a body lift in an air bagged vehicle.If your RTA or vicroads or who ever it is over there will pass them with a certificate it is not an illegal mod and insurance will cover you.
An insurance company will insure any modification as long as it is legal and roadworthy.

maddogrc · Jan 3, 2011

charlie strayarc said:
A free 2 inches is hard to ignore however at this stage i think iwill do a 2 inch susp. lift to keep me happy for now.

a 2" suspension lift will get you much further then a 2" body lift...

you raise the whole car including the chassis 2" so you're going to get more clearance also...

like i said, body lift is only for LOOKS and mainly for being able to fit bigger tyres.

UncySpam · Jan 4, 2011

Solo said:
On another thread, ZORDO who does suspensions for a living says that a
2'' lift does not affect airbag function.

can you please link that post as I can't recall it, and a search comes up empty

maddogrc · Jan 4, 2011

i did a bit of reading...

from research on other forums i have found a few notes...

if you have a body lift engineered on an airbag vehicle, the sensors have to be disabled

you can have a body lift on a vehicle as long as there is the same model of vehicle which doesnt have airbags (aka, if air bags is an option which it was on the 2008 nav).

and again with the note above, you still have to have to sensors disabled by an engineer.

so in all options, its a bunch of work and a bunch of money and a big run around

ZORDO · Jan 4, 2011

why on earth would you disable a safety item
That's bullshit.
Doing a 2" suspension lift or 2" bodylift is the same as far as air bag operation is concerned.
I do agree bodylifts are normally done to get bigger tyre under & to protector the sill panels as they hang sooo low
If the dept of transport in your state will approve it no problems.
DOT in QLD is pretty tight on modifications & they will aprove a bodylift on a airbag vehicle.
Cheers

scottybobcat · Jan 4, 2011

In Victoria they won't look at it.If it has airbags no mods in height what so ever.

ZORDO · Jan 5, 2011

scottybobcat said:
In Victoria they won't look at it.If it has airbags no mods in height what so ever.

so there will be no suspension lift kits sold in victoria on any airbag equiped fourby ?????

Don't think so

body lift on air bag vehicle

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