IVA results

[AshG]

to be honest i didnt think it was an unfair request. he did say i could add another bolt or weld it. i chose to weld it because its stronger and easier to do.

they are only concerned about safety at the end of the day. if his suggestions make my car safer then it cant be a bad thing. its not ideal that I cant take the roll bar off if i want to. but then again would i ever need to?

[Big Vern]

Hi Ash,
Does this mean the roll bar is essential and the two rear stays are a requirement? or are the stays required because you have a roll bar?
I couldn't see anything in the IVA manual that said you had to have a roll bar!
It had occurred to me that all that would be required would be a suitable brace across to mount the harnesses from would get the car through the IVA the you could have what ever roll bar you liked after that....

BV

[Bonzo]

I guess this is not a roll bar issue as such ??!!

The act of placing the top harness mounts on part of the roll bar structure, brings this into the area of: Seat belt mountings, structure & security !!

In this case, one can only assume that in the examiners view. the upper seat belt anchor point & it's associated structure was deemed unacceptable & lacked integrity or strength in a critical area

One thing to bear in mind is ..... Not all of the IVA requirements are set in stone.

As with the humble MOT test .... A lot of rules & regs are open to the examiners personal point of view as to how they should be implimented .... This is probably suplimented by memos from individual station managers, VOSSA head office & the department of Transport

I expect any MOT tester will tell you that it's not an easy job .... Dread to think how the IVA examiners cope !!??

[AshG]

nail on the head ronnie. he was looking at it not as a roll bar but as a seatbelt mounting point. if you dont have a roll bar they will assess the seatbelt anchorages where ever you put them.

i personally would prefer them to be on the roll bar than the rear frame as the roll bar is much stronger.

[flyerncle]

We have been down this road previously, IVA and MOT have methods of inspection and reasons for rejection and are available to anyone to read, add the human element and it all goes breasts skyward.
Brake pipes are failed for being rusty,not the criteria ! Excessive corrosion is the fail and the human interpretation of the criteria is the problem.
Nothing in the above has anything to with IVA but is merely trying to illustrate the problems with the human element of testing and I personally think Ash is to be praised for his attitude towards the tester and IVA as some would think its a personal vendetta when the guy is just doing a job and there are many horror storys to be told about certain VOSA stations who do have a problem with kit cars.

[Big Vern]

Oh I totally agree Flyerncle,
I was simply trying to establish whether it is a requirement of open top cars to have a roll bar, (my MX-5, as standard, doesn't and nor does the latest version!) and if a roll bar is a requirement does it have to have rear diagonal braces?
ie a bit like the windscreen - if you don't have one for the IVA then there's a whole bunch of stuff you don't need and therefore can't fail on

BV.

[flyerncle]

An opening windscreen needs no wipers.(For MOT purposes) Silly or what.

I have not read all the IVA manual but would think if its not there it cant be tested and safety items should be a fail if not there and rightly so.

[spud69]

Originally Posted by AshG

to be honest i didnt think it was an unfair request. he did say i could add another bolt or weld it. i chose to weld it because its stronger and easier to do.

they are only concerned about safety at the end of the day. if his suggestions make my car safer then it cant be a bad thing. its not ideal that I cant take the roll bar off if i want to. but then again would i ever need to?

I think you've just hit the nail on the head there Ash, my 3 minor failures where more related to safety of the car and i was actually pleased that he had pointed them out and i could rectify them.

Prior to the SVA my attitude was that the test was a chore that had to be gone through and get the car passed the satin's slaves but i was glad to go through the process and gave me confidence that the car was structurally sound and safe the examiner being a good down to earth bloke. At the time the SVA was a bloody good value and thorough safety inspection of the build, the only main issue now to me is the excessive cost.

After-all we'll all be racing around with our friends and family in the car and want it to be safe.

AndyH

[flyerncle]

I see where you are coming from Vern and cant remember seeing an open top car sports or otherwise wearing an out and out roll bar other than one that has been added cosmetically,they get thinly disguised behind the headrests of the seat's as roll hoops and work in conjuntion with the airbags system.

The only exception that comes to mind is the Boxster and that has a complete bar that is bolted to the floor but again covers the headrests.