Are you planning to make some custom modifications to your car or attempt a restoration project? If yes, before you spend dollars turning your 3-series BMW intot an M3, you now need to abide by modification codes that sets limits on how much you can play with a car’s engine, exhaust system and transmission, among other things. Read on the details here!
The vrooming sound of cars with over the top modifications doing a round on the roads of the UAE is going to be a passé for the Government has now introduced new rules for modified cars.
On Tuesday it was revealed that cabinet decision 45 of 2016 had come into effect as of June 1 this year, meaning that modification enthusiasts now need to abide by a code that sets limits on how much they can play with their engine, exhaust system and transmission, among other things. This means that you no longer can tweak the horsepower of the car’s engine beyond a limit it is meant to carry.
The code will soon be distributed to car workshops across the country and people with existing modified cars will have to apply for a modification certificate from Emirates Authority for Standardisation & Metrology.
Unlike earlier where the code was unregulated, “a car now can be stopped at any given point by the police to say it is an illegal activity,” said Al Tareq Al Ameri, the chief executive of Yas Marina Circuit.
The code, which exclude motorcycles, trailers, caravans and tractors, also covers high-performance braking systems, bull bars, the vehicle chassis, suspension, engine air distributors but it excludes fenders, type of seats used, lights and entertainment systems.
Siting an example of an illegal modification, Mr Al Ameri said, “if you modify a car designed to have 200 horsepower to 1,000 without looking at the whole equation.”; you might run into trouble. Apart from fixing parameters on modifications, the code aims to take environmental safety into account too.
Having said that, if you modify your car before running it on the road, you have to first obtain a modification licence by getting your modified vehicle examined by the vehicle inspection modification centre.
Motorists should not look at this as a limitation, he added, but as a chance to express their passion within legal and safety limits.
What the code involves…
Engine, exhaust system, suspension system, change of the order of the vehicle’s seats, high-performance brake systems, gearbox, vehicle chassis, vehicle searchlights, fuel additives, internal entertainment system, air filters, engine radiator, engine ignition system, vehicle wheel rims, tyres (excluding racing tyres and sand tyres). A jail term and/or a fine of at least Dh30,000 is imposed on anyone who has violated the mandatory approved standards. The materials and products that are in violation will also be confiscated. The same penalty applies to anyone “who has introduced, offered or sold a material or a product as bearing the mark of the approved standards in contrast to the truth. In this case, all the materials subject to the violation shall be confiscated”.
So before you head to tamper your car with any modifications, abide by the code rules or best is instead of trying your own hand at it, approach a verified and listed garage that can help you go by all the rules. Find one such auto garage near you via MechaniCar.