PhilMeUp

The price of parts will probably make it a write-off. Depends on the value of the bike (eg age). Look up one of the spare parts web sites and get a few prices on individual parts (eg swingarm). It adds up pretty quickly. eg http://www.wimmeramotorcycle.com.au/yamaha.php If you're inclined to fix it then negotiate that with the insurance company. A secondhand swing arm can be found easily enough, the nose cone can be plastic welded and a fairing and engine sidecover found somewhere (ie US if not available here).

It should be a legal requirement of every house design that all doorways, openings, etc, should be at least the width of a set of dirt bike handlebars.

That's the easy part. Someone mentioned a name to me a while ago. I rang him and he pretty much said, "yeah whatever, sounds easy enough".

An automotive engineer then looks at it all. He takes photos and writes a report saying that it's all safe and legal (ie conforms to ADRs). That report has photos, and a copy then stays in the glovebox to show cops in the future. The emissions test is part of that process, but is generally the trickiest part. Turns out that passing an emissions test isn't hard, it's just that very few people have experience with it, so there's not much knowledge about it floating around. Standard cat stays on until the car is licenced, and then hi-flo cat goes on the next day.

- Correct o-ring. - there's also a small bracket thingy that goes over the end of the pipe.

It's all about ADRs, which are federal (ie nationwide, the same across all states). However, I'm told that we do a 5-gas test here in WA, which is easier than a full test. Apparently the factory cat is the one to have. The trick would be to find someone who has actual hands-on experience with this. It be be done. First step is to get a standard cat as hot as possible. If that doesn't pass then it's time to play with HP Tuners. I found a place here in Perth (Garage 101) that has both an emissions testing machine and HP Tuners. That's the combination to find, but it turned out that HP Tuners wasn't necessary in the end. Running E10 or E85 might also get the car half way there. Dunno. That's a question for someone who has experience with getting cars through emissions tests.

Just got off the phone with the automotive engineer. He's advised me to put absolutely everything in the application form (ie VSB14). If there's a problem with anything then it can easily be deleted later, but things can't be added. What the engineering process will cover: - The Plazmaman intake manifold and aftermarket injectors. This is what the emissions test was for. - I'm going to replace the standard 4-piston front Brembo/single piston PBR brake setup with 6-piston front Brembo and 4-piston rear Brembo calipers. This might not require certification, but the engineer will include a braking test anyway that will make them legal. - I've put Bilstein shock absorbers on the car, with standard height springs. He's going to measure the height of the car and certify that anyway. Modified suspension cannot lose more than 1/3 of the original travel. - There's a possibility that a noise test may be required because of the engine bay modifications. Everything on the car will be standard factory stuff (ie dump pipe, catalytic converter and mufflers). - I'm going to use 18" wheels instead of the original 19" ones. The engineer will photograph it all and write a report for DOT. Cost: $500 for the lot. Engineering costs: - Two Temporary Movement Permits (to and from emissions testing): 2 x $23.00 = $46.00 - Fitting standard dump pipe and catalytic converter, and emissions testing: $580 - Engineering inspection and report: $500 Total: $1,126 Ok, that's $1,126 that I wouldn't have had to spend if I could have snuck the car through an inspection with its current setup. But, now I know that was never going to happen, so money was going to have to spent somewhere on getting the car through an inspection. Even if I had put it back to standard I couldn't see that getting done for less than $500. To put a standard intake plenum on and then put the Plazmaman one back on after the inspection was quoted at $600 at one place. As much as I hate spending money, and I really don't have it to spend this year, I just don't have the mechanical skills or knowledge to put the car back to standard. Money was going to have to be spent, and it's turning out that doing it the legal way isn't so expensive or difficult after all. At the most, I've got a cost difference of roughly $500 between putting the car temporarily back to standard and getting it engineered legally. That's a no-brainer.

I thought that the $1,500 quote from one place was just a leeeeeeeeeedle bit much. People definitely didn't want to commit to getting this car through an emissions test. Ok, not a big deal... but if a place doesn't want to do the job then at least refer me to somewhere who will do it. Instead of just feeding me crap until I give up and leave. There was very little actual knowledge, and a hell of a lot of bullsh*t. And it turned out to be actually quite easy to get done. Talk about a storm in a teacup. I do think that workshops should get into the habit of at least suggesting this stuff to customers. We're getting away with things pretty well here in WA, but if too much dodgy stuff goes on then sooner or later the state government will spit the dummy and regulate the hell out of it. The last thing that we need is something like compulsory regular emissions testing (ie such as in California). If there was a little bit of self regulation in the tuning world then the govt would be much more likely to leave us all alone. It's like with vehicle inspections. I tried to find someone who would turn a blind eye to the modifications. Two years ago no-one would have been fussed about it. However, because of too many really dodgy inspections it all now has to be done exactly by the book (I heard some good stories). Mechanics/examiners don't get any leeway at all now, and if someone does let something get through then DOT prosecutes them immediately. Ouch. With these projects that I've been doing over the two years I've been learning a lot of new things as I come across each challenge. I come across something, research the hell out of it, work out a solution and get it done (and then document it on forums for others to see). My problem this time was getting accurate information, so I didn't know what to do. Hopefully other people will find this thread in the future, learn from it and be able to keep their Falcons on the road more.

Oh, the tuning shops didn't give a sh*t, and that pissed me off. Despite the mining downturn, they're all still overloaded with work, so no-one was interested in using my car to learn some new skills. Basically, I found most of them to be pampered princesses. Yup, for some of us, our purpose in life is show others how NOT to do things. But hey, on the positive side, if someone on here gets a defect notice some day then on they way home they can at least think of this thread, and how that idiot Phildo eventually got his car through legally. Yup, there's a bunch of other stuff to go yet. But the emissions test was the hard one that I couldn't figure out a solution for. From what I was told by an automotive engineer last year, as well as DOT several times, the rest is basically just paperwork. It's allllllllllllllllllllllll about that one piece of paper that says that the car with that VIN is emissions compliant. One stupid piece of f**king paper. It will be framed, and hung on the wall next to my desk.

Yep, it can still be stickered, but much, much less likely... and an engineering report makes it real easy to pass the pits the next day. It would still cost $92.55, plus the cost/hassle of putting a standard dump pipe and cat back on, but at least it would be resolved within 24 hours. Which would be just a leeeeeeeeeeeeeedle quicker than how long this project has taken me so far...

Yep. It might pass first go. If not, then rev the engine and get that cat as hot as possible. Surprised the hell out of me. The car could still get stickered, but at least it's less likely to. And, if it does get stickered, it would just be a matter of putting the standard dump pipe and cat back on for an inspection. If a cop pulled the car over and asked for the bonnet to be lifted then I won't be crapping myself. A cop can sticker any car he/she wants to, but at least now I'll have some degree of defence. And, with the car being engineered, it would just be an inspection the next day (with a standard dump pipe and cat put back on), instead of the nightmare that this project end up becoming. The problem was that I was getting different answers everywhere, and I wanted consistency before I spent the money on an emissions test. Most things that I was getting told were theory, but I wanted to hear it from people that had actually done it. Everyone had an opinion, but no-one had the actual hands-on experience and had done this before. One person would say one thing... I would ask somewhere else to confirm that... and get told no, that's incorrect. I got fed amazing amounts of bullsh*t from workshops in Perth. I'd driven to most of them with the Tornado and asked politely for solutions (ie face-to-face instead of frustrating phone calls). Everyone was too vague with their answers - they expected me to give them a sh*tload of money, but with no guarantee of results. Except for one place, that quoted $1,500. I think that one of the problems was that no-one knew for sure how to get the car to pass an emissions test, but instead of just admitting that they didn't know, people gave me vague responses. Which is why I'm documenting it here - hopefully a few other people can benefit from my dramas. I eventually spoke to Shannon at Plazmaman. He was the only one that explained things in the right detail. He explained about the effectiveness of the standard Ford catalytic converter, but also made it clear that I might need to get the cat as hot as possible. He did say to drive the car hard just before doing the test. Instead of trying to gloss over things, he actually knew what the process was, and how to get through it. I wish that I spoke with him at the start. One thing that Shannon pointed out was that a custom tune would actually be more efficient than the factory tune, which is why it would most likely pass with a factory cat. So, it turns out that getting a modified turbo Falcon through an emissions test isn't anywhere near as difficult or scary as most people believe. It had me freaked out for ages. This also means that getting a modded Falcon engineered isn't as overwhelming as most of us expect. However, for someone getting a test done, I would certainly recommend that it be done at a tuning place, by people with tuning knowledge. The place that I was originally going to go to didn't have tuning abilities, so that one would have been a big waste of money. To ensure a pass, I found a place with tuning knowledge and HP Tuners tuning software. Turned out that tuning wasn't required in the end.

Tuesday, 24th May, 2016 The Tornado has officially passed an emissions test! I had been undecided all this time on whether to put the car back to standard for a licencing inspection or to get it engineered legally. The first step to doing it legally was to get an emissions test done. I had been asking around about this for months but kept getting vague and misleading answers from various people in Perth. In the end I rang Plazmaman in Sydney, and eventually had a conversation with someone who knew a bit about this. He told me that getting this car through an emissions test would be a lot simpler than I was expecting. I was told to put a standard Ford catalytic converter back on. Apparently this is one of those rare times when the factory produced something better than any aftermarket place has. Regardless of the tune, it’s the catalytic converter that does the work in controlling the emissions. The first time my car was tested it failed. Cars often pass the first time, but this one didn’t. Catalytic converters work better when they’re hot, so to get them hot enough involves revving the engine a lot before the emissions test. The hotter the catalytic converter is, the more effective it is. When I picked up the car I asked how he got the car to pass on the second attempt. The answer was, “I had to rev the hell out of it.” This was done on the dyno. So, with aftermarket Xspurt injectors, a Plazmaman intake plenum and a custom tune, the car legally passed an emissions test with the standard dump pipe and catalytic converter in place. No tuning changes were required in the end. The car might have failed on the first attempt because the catalytic converter was old. I don’t know how old it is, or how many km it’s done. I think it came from a BA Typhoon, which would make it over 10 years old. I swapped it for something else last year, in case I ever needed one. That turned out to pay off. If I was going to do it again then I would track down the newest and least used original factory catalytic converter that I could find. For the testing, I chose a place called Garage 101, as they have both an emissions testing machine and HP Tuners software. HP Tuners would have allowed them to easily modify the tune if required. This involves altering the air/fuel ratios and ignition timing. However, this ended up not being necessary. Naturally, I’m rather pissed off that I didn’t know about this option back when I first got the car. I had asked around at various Perth tuning workshops, but got fed rubbish answers everywhere I went. The owner of one place refused to even discuss it unless I paid him for the conversation. One thing that I did check: workshops keep a record of this stuff. Although I had briefly pondered if it was possible to make up a fake emissions test, I figured that such a move would be way too stupid and risky. Sure enough, workshops keep a permanent record of these tests, so if an audit was ever done by the Department of Transport then it would quickly become apparent that someone’s committed fraud. Getting this done was expensive - I paid $580 to have the standard dump pipe and catalytic converter put back on, and then the emissions testing done until it passed. One place that I spoke to quoted me $1,500 to do the same job. Where I had this done: Garage 101 70 McDonald Street (East) Osborne Park, WA 6017 Phone: 9444 5977 Web Site: www.garage101.com.au My next step will be to start the engineering process, which will end up making this car 100% legal. Although ultimately more expensive than the option of temporarily setting the car back to standard for an inspection, getting it engineered will ensure that it won’t get a future defect notice (which would painfully restart the entire process). Getting it engineered will also mean that I can declare everything to whatever insurance company I end up insuring this car with. If the car is ever involved in any sort of insurance claim then I won’t have any concerns about it being properly covered. To pick up the Tornado, I drove my other one there, parked it and drove the green one home. I then rode my KTM enduro bike (ie road licenced) back, put it in the back of the blue Tornado and drove it home. Sooner or later I’ll remove the hard lid on the green Tornado so that it can carry motorbikes easily. That will happen when I’ve got a second person here to help me with that. After 11 months of stuffing around, and being stuffed around, I’m finally getting close to actually getting this car through an inspection and licenced. It’s about bloody time.

What I got told (from asking lots of people): - Put an original Ford cat on. Apparently it's one of the rare times when the factory has the best item. - Car might pass with factory cat on. If not then put car on dyno and rev the hell of it. Get cat as hot as possible - they work better when they're hot. - If it still fails... dunno... time for HP Tuners. My green Tornado has been passed, but I haven't picked it up yet. I'll find out some info about it tomorrow. Wasn't cheap ($580) and the car was there for three weeks. XFT quoted me $1,500 to pass an emissions test.

sh*t. Boganspeed's pulled the pin and decided to work on motorbikes instead. Everyone else bailed. So, what else is there to do tonight? Shame, FordXR6Turbo forum, shame!

I wanna drive. I can be contacted on 0418 922 500.