MOT CHANGES

[Dave Adams]

i don't know if any of you out there are aware but from 1/1/2012 there were some changes to the mot regs some will impact on a good few of us.....
vehicle wiring must be in good condition and properly secured. loose dangling wires (insecure) are a fail
battery condition and security is now checked.
spare wheel brackets are now part of the test, if the tester deems the bracket is not up to the job its a fail. spare wheel tyre condition is NOT PART OF MOT but if the spare is not fitted securely i.e. not by temp means like rope then it is a fail.
tow bar electrics must now fully work.
headlight washers and self leveling systems where fitted must work...if you have HID lights these items MUST BE fitted and in working order.

[Big Vern]

Can see nothing in the testers  manual about tyre age, sounds like BS.....If rubber is degraded it cracks and that's already a fail. Though I can well believe Michelin pushing the eu to adopt a tyre age limit.

[2zb8cfd8f5ygm]

I would never consider using tyres over 10 years old. I think the general belief is that tyres last 7 before the rubber starts to degrade.

[Big Vern]

It's important to differentiate between servicing advice such as is offered by the motoring orgs and what is law!

The mot fails tyres on visible damage and deterioration and has nothing to do with tyre age. 

Tyre 'shelf' life so to speak is entirely down to storeage and use, not how old the tyre is. Caravan insurers may require frequent tyre changes as caravan tyres are not usually stored/used in a way the affords long tyre life. Save for wear, tyres last much longer when they are in regular use!  and degradation in storage is reduced if the tyres are stored in the dark, away from UV light. The loft is often a good place to store tyres.

As for having to replace tyres after a set amount of time it must be remembered when you buy them they could already be upto a year old....that would only leave you four years to use them up before they'd have to be scrapped!

Forcing people to replace perfectly good tyres in such a way is just a certain tyre company putting pressure on the eu for its own finacial benefit. The environmental impact of making and then scrapping perfectly good tyres would be huge and in my opinion unacceptable. Tyre manufacture is a filthy operation and disposing of the waste tyre even more so.

BV.

[Adrian Southgate]

Even though I have brand new tyres on the Legerra I have a stack of 'legal' tyres which will be used to roll stuff around and even a special set for putting cars through an MOT with.

I also have tyres that are well over ten years old, probably stretched and out of round but still legal tread.

Sometimes it seems the EU do things just to piss us off, 

[Adrian Southgate]

The tow bar on the ambulance is going to be fun as I made it. 

The HID thing really gets my goat as if you read the regs it says they must not dazzle oncoming drivers. I even signed the petition to get them banned, hate them with a passion. so many cars seem to have them fitted these days and none of them seem to be very well adjusted. 

We've all had that Range Rover on the bumper situation where one glance in the rearview will give you arc eye.

[Dave Adams]

there is more......here is a link to some details, the seat one does not apply to our cars apparently.....

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/car-servicing-repair/mot-chang...

[Dave Adams]

Battery security testing is new....i am an MOT tester and whilst my own manual is not bang upto date no mention whatsoever is made of the battery anywhere in it.

[Dave Adams]

since it is a C+U requirement to have washers and levelling on HID lights there was talk of it being checked via the MOT......odd that it is not included. but it is worded as "may" and therefore need not be present.....just now.

[Dave Adams]

Graham....No need its always been an advisory just not in its self a fail. unless the tester felt that it was a safety risk.

[Dave Adams]

Coffee break and sulk......my front end missalign turns out to a evil bodge by ex owner he fitted the top wish bones out of alignment and compensated by drilling the bottom bolt on the wish bone for the trunnion to allow it to twist out of true to allow it to align with the top....
it looks like i may need new wish bones.....unless they will repair

[Paul Sheridan]

How did he fit the tops out of alignment? I thought they could only be fitted one way! or have I missed something that could be detrimental to my redesigned, adjustable ones !!!

[Dave Adams]

He welded the new top shocker mount and the wish bone brackets in place square to the bottom chassis rail. once the bottom wishbone was fitted it leans back a few degrees for the castor, but trunnions must be fitted at 90° to the wish bone so to make the top align he drilled out the bottom bolt to allow the up right to swivel to meet.....so the wish bones are right but the castor is not....