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 Aftermarket Ecu In Qld, Legal?  

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aaron.
  • aaron.
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  • Joined: 16-February 12
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  • From: Brisbane, QLD
Post #1 post 13th May 2012 - 08:21 AM
This has probably been asked to death, but all I can find on the web is info about SA and NSW and "mate told me/brother's passed/engineer told me" etc..

Are aftermarket ECUs legal in QLD? Even if someone could point me to the appropriate legislation I'd be appreciative.

I can tell there are plenty of people running them, but I'm really not sure if it's legal. If not it wouldn't be too hard to stuff one into a stock ECU case, I'm handy with electronics.

Thanks.
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Riverside
Post #2

Illegal. By fitting an aftermarket ECU, you are changing the tune and the emissions of your vehicle. It therefore no longer complies with the relevant ADR's.

TwinCam16
Post #3

.. Unless you can prove a closed room emissions test has been passed.

A task that is thousands of dollars and only a few high end ecu's have made it through.

No, your microtech, power fc, ems, early haltechs and adaptronics won't make the grade.

alpharx7
Post #4

QUOTE (aaron. @ May 14 2012, 02:21 AM) *
This has probably been asked to death, but all I can find on the web is info about SA and NSW and "mate told me/brother's passed/engineer told me" etc..

Are aftermarket ECUs legal in QLD? Even if someone could point me to the appropriate legislation I'd be appreciative.

its federal, not state laws, that being EPA, that using aftermarket ecu's breach. ADR27C according to my engineers report.

McGnarly
Post #5

Wow, i never knew any of this myself, seems they can ping you for anything sad.gif

vk134
Post #6

aaron,

have a look at this Link.

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/env...s_1972_2018.pdf

In-Service Emissions
The emissions performance of vehicles once they are on the road (in-service) is the responsibility of the state and territory governments. However, the Australian Government undertaken a number of studies to improve the understanding of emissions performance of the in-service passenger car fleet.

extract from : http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/env...sion/index.aspx

Queenslands take on it all:
http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Community-and-en...ns-testing.aspx.

I had a quick look though the current online acts and regulations, I didn't see any wording specific to aftermarket ECU's, only comply with applicable ADR's, so year specific I guess. But as twinCam15 said, probaly only the topshelf ones may have a chance.

Here is some blurb off another forum:

Most ECU's will have some sort of "Narrow band" closed loop feed back.

I know most of you probably know this but for the people that don't I will give you a quick run down for what they will be looking for (in basic terms)

One thing they will be testing for is Hydrocarbons. This is unburnt raw fuel out of your tail pipe.
Now we all know 14.7:1 is optimum a/f ratio for emissions. This is because at 14.7:1 all the raw fuel is burnt. So is all the oxygen.
This is in laboratory testing, however in a car there are sooo many containments normally its far from the truth but we will run with it any way.

There for... at 15:1 there is now no hydrocarbons, but we have oxygen left over, so we generate heat.
(think oxy acetylene when you add oxygen it gets very hot)
and opposite goes for 14.2:1 we have no oxygen left over but we have raw fuel.

Now here is the clever bit, For a CAT to operate, it needs to by cycled from 14.6:1 to 14.9:1 or there abouts.
This cycles the mixture to the cat to be excess oxygen, then excess fuel. This cycle is what generates the heat in a CAT and burns all the remaining Hydrocarbons out of the engine.

This is exactly what the narrow band 02 feed back does.

Now this all well and good. Except, what if your injectors are so big, or so lazy at idle you cant get 14.7:1 you can only get 12:1. Well then you fail your test. Maybe your ECU cant do full sequential injection or has poor injector control. Well then you fail too.

I wouldn't be too worried about the testing, provided you pass and have obviously made an effort when they do probe your tail pipe im sure they will just let the numbers do the talking.

aaron.
Post #7

Thanks for the information guys.

QUOTE (TwinCam16 @ May 14 2012, 07:29 AM) *
.. Unless you can prove a closed room emissions test has been passed.

A task that is thousands of dollars and only a few high end ecu's have made it through.

No, your microtech, power fc, ems, early haltechs and adaptronics won't make the grade.


I was planning on getting either the Haltech Sprint 500 or Sport 1000, are they part of the few high end ECUs?

I'm building an engine that I don't have the ECU for and buying one of those would be a hell of a lot better than getting the stocker Toyota ECU and disabling the fuel/boost cut etc.

alpharx7
Post #8

motec is, not sure on any others.
TwinCam16
Post #9

QUOTE (alpharx7 @ May 14 2012, 04:31 PM) *
motec is, not sure on any others.



Yep. Correct.

As you can see there it states on the report that the vehicle had to undergo the emissions test by the EPA.

Would have cost quite a few dollars im sure.

Not sure of the era that report was done but a while back the motec ecu was pretty much the only one with the ability to get the hydrocarbons down far enough to make it pass. all the other ecu's fail on this section.

Could be different now however. I dare say that Vipec etc would be able to do it easy enough.

alpharx7
Post #10

QUOTE (TwinCam16 @ May 14 2012, 05:00 PM) *
Yep. Correct.

As you can see there it states on the report that the vehicle had to undergo the emissions test by the EPA.

Would have cost quite a few dollars im sure.

Not sure of the era that report was done but a while back the motec ecu was pretty much the only one with the ability to get the hydrocarbons down far enough to make it pass. all the other ecu's fail on this section.

Could be different now however. I dare say that Vipec etc would be able to do it easy enough.

report was signed off in Feb 1999. took the better part of two years, 15k (estimate) to get passed.

test was $2,200-2,500 pass or fail. failed (just) 3-4 times due to hydrocarbons being emitted through the sidewall of the aftermarket fuel lines that had been installed. also failed due to the fuel cap venting with fuel returning to the tank that was to hot. eventually sorted everything out.

aaron.
Post #11

That's bloody expensive, they love making you jump through hoops just so they can feel like they're doing something good for the environment don't they?

Having read all this though, there'd be plenty of people running hidden AM's I'm guessing. I've seen plenty of street builds using them.

S2krazie
Post #12

No one is going to pull you up for it.
Fuck I ran a Test Pipe for 4yrs.

aaron.
Post #13

I was thinking more along the lines of when I get everything engineered and checked over by DoT, no ordinary copper is going to pull my dash apart just to check I have the right ECU.

TwinCam16
Post #14

QUOTE (aaron. @ May 14 2012, 07:33 PM) *
I was thinking more along the lines of when I get everything engineered and checked over by DoT, no ordinary copper is going to pull my dash apart just to check I have the right ECU.


You say that...

Until you get pulled over by State Traffic Task Force and the notice your air flow meter is missing.............

aaron.
Post #15

Who says i cant have a gutted AFM?

aaron.
Post #16

And it wouldnt even be too hard to have my non-OBD2 diag port respond to being tested.

TwinCam16
Post #17

If you want to go to that effort, sure.

There was a bunch of lebs in sydney that used to do similar on VL turbos. until they found the cable to the gutted afm was cut and poked into the split tube.

aaron.
Post #18

I usually do things quite overkill, so ill probably end up leaving most of the stock sensors in place and having a stock ecu recieve all the signals, just not control the engine.

Street Tuned
Post #19

Like it has been said on a fundamental level yes they are illegal.

However the chances of being pulled up about it are very slim. Again there are many things you can do to help prevent getting pulled up about it. And the best being keeping a clean car that doesn't look over the top modified.

If you are going to drive around in some loud, lumpy gas machine that makes your eyes water every time you stand behind it. Eventually you will come into some problems.

But if you car is suitably muffled, you have a cat and your engine bay is tidy with no dangerous fuel lines then 999 out of 1000 times no one will give a shit.

I know plenty of people who have been defected over the years, dozens in fact. And none of them ever had any dramas because of their ECU. It is usually bald tires, too loud, too low, unsecured PODS, illegal window tint and BOVs that get most people defected.

aaron.
Post #20

See this is where i dont think ill have much trouble. Im not building some piece of shit fart can machine, i despise cannon mufflers.
Im going to have a proper nice free flowing, but quiet exhaust system.
Im going towards a respectable street car with a decent amount of go.

Not going to be skidding or anything like that either, just attending track days every so often and occasionally making ricers feel inadequate.

eXo
Post #21

QUOTE (TwinCam16 @ May 14 2012, 10:25 PM) *
If you want to go to that effort, sure.

There was a bunch of lebs in sydney that used to do similar on VL turbos. until they found the cable to the gutted afm was cut and poked into the split tube.



where's that uleh VL doing a uleh burnout at a uleh wedding with a uleh leb holding a photochopped uleh kebab when youleh need it

thumbsup.gif



/got uleh?

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