Post car things that are illegal for stupid reasons.

"Tohru" (tohrurokuno) 06/08/2015 at 13:53 • Filed to: None

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Just like the title says. To start:

It’s illegal for street use only because it’s blue. US Federal law mandates brake fluid for road use to be amber or clear.

Not my pictures, though I have two cans of this in the shop.

scoob > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 13:56

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505Turbeaux > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 13:57

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Dip my tank, I dare you

1000 times better for old diesels than the new low sulfur crap.

Tohru > scoob 06/08/2015 at 13:57

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Well, yeah, but that’s reaching for low-hanging fruit.

SaveTheIntegras > scoob 06/08/2015 at 13:58

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came to post this

crowmolly > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 13:59

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There are a few exceptions. But mostly illegal since they are not DOT approved.

Granted, there’s no shortage of idiots out there with them installed very wrong, but if you have, say, a 10.x index racer that’s up to NHRA specs they are probably installed right.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 14:00

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Headlight covers: illegal at the time in the US because fuck you, that’s why. See also Jag E-type.

SaveTheIntegras > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 14:00

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Tohru > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 06/08/2015 at 14:01

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See also: how long composite headlights were illegal in the US but legal in Europe.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 14:02

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Yep. That’s “Headlight Idiocy Part 2: The Sequel”.

dogisbadob > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 14:03

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this is why it was illegal. You can’t say DOT 4 if it doesn’t meet ALL the requirements, even with a disclaimer. The law has been on the books since the early 70s, long before Super blue came out.

dogisbadob > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 14:04

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innovation in general

We need to just sign on to the UNECE harmonized standards.

scoob > crowmolly 06/08/2015 at 14:06

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I thought the main reason was because if you had harnesses you would need a bucket seat, and if you had those two things you wouldn’t be able to move your head much. Therefore if the car rolled over you were at risk of losing your head. So now you would need a roll cage. But to have a roll cage, you would probably need padding on the cage and a helmet. Now who would drive to McDonald’s in a car with buckets, a harness, and a helmet on?

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 14:09

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Ostensibly because global warming, but really because corn lobby.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 14:10

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Pop-up headlights.

Also, not paying property taxes on a car.

Spaceball-Two > SaveTheIntegras 06/08/2015 at 14:11

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And Oregon.

Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 06/08/2015 at 14:14

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What is wrong with Ethanol in gas?

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 14:17

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Here in HK, engine swaps are illegal. You can only install an engine that matches the specs of the engine that originally came with the car, otherwise they can’t tax you accordingly. So no dream LS3 swap into a Volvo 760.

BigBlock440 > crowmolly 06/08/2015 at 14:19

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To be fair, you really can’t look around too much with using them, so they are a hazard on public roads. Non-retractable belts make driving anywhere with cross-traffic a pain. It’s why I never use the shoulder belts on my old Charger.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders 06/08/2015 at 14:20

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Gums up carbs and injectors, eats through older fuel lines, engine doesn’t put out as much power, causes corrosion, etc. Ethanol’s pretty gross. There are advantages to running straight or mostly straight ethanol in really high compression or boost engines since it’s less prone to detonation, but the E10 combination is pretty horrible in street cars and bikes.

BigBlock440 > Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders 06/08/2015 at 14:20

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Lots, especially when the vehicle is not tuned for alcohol.

crowmolly > scoob 06/08/2015 at 14:22

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Whoa, hold on. A few things.

1.) A roll bar is not a roll cage. That’s a common mistake. A 6 pt bar with removable swing-outs (that you can remove completely for street use) is not an issue. If you have high back buckets and the restraints are tightened down properly hitting your head will have a low probability. There’s no law against roll bars that I am aware of. If you have a full funny car cage or halo you could end up like Mike Romeo (RIP).

2.) You can move your head just fine with a harness on. I guess you might be able to make a case that they are non-ratcheting, but then again there are still plenty of cars with non ratcheting seat belts.

3.) The big reason is that they are not installed under factory conditions in tested factory locations.

4.) I know plenty of people with professionally installed roll bars, proper seats, padding, etc in their partial/limited use cars. Going to a cruise night in your drag car can be a gamble if an officer might be sitting there writing tickets.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut 06/08/2015 at 14:22

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Technically, they are in parts of the US as well.

Gonemad > scoob 06/08/2015 at 14:29

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After 25 years, the car may become legal (I even like the color of that Skyline R34, thank you), but the engine is not. RB26DETT were deemed too pollutant, IIRC. So, if you get one of those, you can’t take its engine and put it anywhere else but the recycle bin.

D’oh.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 14:30

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My exhausts on my cars

Tohru > Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders 06/08/2015 at 14:31

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I had the ethanol in fuel dissolve the needle seats in the carbs of my Ninja 250 once.

dogisbadob > Gonemad 06/08/2015 at 14:36

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Emissions are exempt after 21 years, which is actually less than the 25-year safety ban

Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders > BigBlock440 06/08/2015 at 14:40

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Which is extremely rare in modern cars.

RallyWrench > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 14:54

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That’s such a pain in the ass, the blue dye made it nice & easy to know when you got all the old fluid out. You can get the same fluid now, but not dyed.

tromoly > scoob 06/08/2015 at 15:02

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I would.

Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 06/08/2015 at 15:08

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I don’t get all the hate for Ethanol. The power decrease is marginal and often compensated by injecting more fuel. The corrosion and other destructive effects only cause problems in old cars and the owners of those know about it and can always use E5 (atleast in Germany, no idea about Murica).

scoob > crowmolly 06/08/2015 at 15:09

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Yeah I know a bar is different from a cage. I remember reading somewhere that if your car rolled over and you had a harness and cage and you needed rescuing, you wouldn’t be able to move as freely as you would in a car with just a normal seatbelt.

I don’t know if there are laws, but there are definitely drawbacks. I saw a stanced Evo with bucket seats, Takata harnesses, a harness bar, but with no roll cage. It also had the normal seatbelts still installed. I assume it depends where you live?

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders 06/08/2015 at 15:15

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E10 is federally mandated in ‘Murica. “Old” is relative. It’s really only in the last ten years or so that cars started being built for ethanol, because that’s when the gas companies started putting it in due to federal mandates. It’s not like gramps’ Model T is the only car affected. It’s bad for cars over around twelve years old in the long term.

BigBlock440 > Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders 06/08/2015 at 15:33

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But there are lots of vehicles that are not modern cars that still need gasoline to run.

Also, ethanol has a lower energy density, so your mpg goes down. It also has such a high octane rating, that it can be (and is) mixed with some really crappy gas (like 40 octane stuff) to get to the required 87.

Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders > BigBlock440 06/08/2015 at 15:47

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Mixing with crappy gas is not a problem for me because that stuff is properly standardized around here. The lower energy density doesn’t make a big difference because you only use 10% Ethanol. Depending on who you ask the energy density of E10 is about 3-5% lower than pure gas (which you can’t get even in Europe) which is why it costs less in Germany than E5.

But I can see why it is a Problem for you over there.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > SaveTheIntegras 06/08/2015 at 15:54

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Have you seen how Jersey drivers drive? You trust them trying to dispense their own gas too?

WiscoProud > Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders 06/08/2015 at 15:56

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For me the kick is the loss in MPG. I get 1-2 MPG better with straight gasoline, which is significant when I only get 16mpg with ethanol. The price should be lower to make up for the difference, but who knows.

Gonemad > dogisbadob 06/08/2015 at 16:01

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Ohhh, engine swaps are A-ok after 21... well whaddyaknow. I thought the engine was legal as long it was inside the car that came with it.

Now, can you cram that engine in a Miata? Perhaps something a bit larger but just as lighter? Just asking... hipothetically...

ly2v8-Brian > Tohru 06/08/2015 at 16:30

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What a risk taker.

ly2v8-Brian > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut 06/08/2015 at 16:33

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How depressing

Ballzonya > Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders 06/08/2015 at 16:35

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If you use it in marine engines, it tends to bond with warer molocules causing major issues when the water gets into the fuel lines. At the marina I used to work at, we saw a spike in outboard engine failures the year they bumped it up to 10%.

SaveTheIntegras > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 06/08/2015 at 16:42

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Yes.

Gonemad > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 06/09/2015 at 07:38

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No, it doesn’t gum up carbs and injectors, (well, not in tropical weather). Yes, it eats older fuel lines because no matter how hard you try, it still has a few percent of water. Fuel pumps, tanks, everything must be tuned for water-corrosion. It actually improves detonation on gas, turning up the octane rating of gasoline, it is used as such in Brazil in all of our gasoline (it replaced Lead). Pure etanol can be used in engines of 11:1 compression ratios, which makes it an excellent fuel for turbocharged engines, exactly because of its anti-detonation properties, better than pure gasoline. But is has less energetic power per liter, so the consumption is a bit higher, a little worse mileage, and you need a bit larger fuel tanks to the same autonomy.

Now, every car that runs on “gasoline” in Brazil is actually running on 25% etanol... which you call E25. Sometimes it reaches 30%.. or E30. If you plan importing to here, consider this.

But yes, some problems with etanol, being corrosion the worst. Nothing that was not fixed 20 years ago.

samssun > Smoggi - powered by 3 cylinders 06/12/2015 at 06:55

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Corrosive, holds water, less energy (meaning mileage, power, & torque), expensive to produce so they have to tax us to subsidize it, while wasting farmland and driving up food costs.