Stuart Walker
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| posted on 5/5/22 at 03:04 PM |
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IVA: a fail but an adventure!
Thought I'd share a few photos and thoughts from my IVA at Exeter yesterday, in case anyone is interested.
It was always going to be a fail, I knew this but hoped the experience would be valuable. I had a few questions for the tester and wanted to highlight
any potential major problems as early as possible. The test was booked at Exeter for Wednesday morning, so I headed up from Cornwall after work on
Tuesday. I'd found a campsite nearby so me and Ron (the car) headed up. It took me almost an hour to squeeze the car on the trailer out of the
drive so it was dark by we arrived. The farm track up to the campsite was muddy and overgrown - not what I'd expected but we made it.
The proximty of the M5 meant I was awake at 5:30 anyway. It was a lovely morning
We then headed back down the dodgy track, across the stream(!), and promptly got stuck. With the trailer, wet grass uphill and a rocky track at the
top there was no way I was getting out! In the end I found there was an alternative better track, which the guy from the campsite was able to give me
the code to get out through.
We cruised over to the test centre and arrived there about 7:30. Not the first time I've arrived at an important meeting late and covered in mud,
but just time to upload, reverse off the trailer and get ready for the 8am test. As the tester opened the doors I was just about ready.
The test was great! I told Byron (the tester) we were here to fail and to learn, he told me to relax and that he would decide whether I failed or not!
He gave me lots of really helpful advice from experience, over and above the test. At each point in the test he explained what we were looking for and
suggested solutions.
Ron started on the button which was a relief! I drove round to the back of the building and through into the testing area. We started in the engine
bay, then with me in the car to go through the lights. Then onto the four post lift for an inspection of general construction. I was really chuffed
when he said everything looked really good under there (except a loose alternator bolt).
The view from the top of the lift:
Next we did interior and exterior projections which were all good. Byron even liked my horrible camping mat dashboard! After that things didn't
go quite so well, when during our attempt to do the speedo test we realised that Byron couldn't fit into the car. This meant we couldn't do
the test but also that he wasn't happy with the driving position. The Sierra wheel is great as it's type approved, but it's bigger than
ideal. That scuppered a few tests but Byron was keen we should do the brake test. I knew the balance was wrong but wanted to see if the brake power
was sufficient. It turned out to be surprisingly good, with four locks and good consistency across the axles. However the backs are too good relative
to the fronts, so a fail but balance adjustment will sort that.
We went through various other tests, which I can't now recall but it was soon about midday. After we finished Byron wrote up the report and I
loaded the car back onto the trailer.
Overall it was a good experience. There were a few things I didn't expect (we didn't look at a single photograph or receipt, didn't
take any fixed panels off, and he didn't ask for documentary evidence of anything)
I expected most of my failures but there were a few unexpected ones:
- My repeaters on the headlamp bowls failed. I had measured the sideways angles and thought I was OK, but at the lowest vertical position (-5 deg) the
rear arch blocks them. Moving them to the rear arch seems to be the solution.
- The inside edge of my middle mirror failed. I'd totally missed this!
- Because one of my seats has been repaired and the pad is bigger than it was, I failed on the seat base to upper anchorage distance.
Overall I have two pages of failures, including the tests we weren't able to do. I think it's a couple of weekends worth of work and I think
it was absolutely worth doing the test early to get a definitive list and to have the opportunity to talk throught the requirements with the tester.
I've got a trip to the rolling road booked to get things running nicely too, so I look forward to driving to the next test.
Hope that might help someone one day. Now I just have to do all the DIY I've neglected for weeks before I'm allowed back in the garage!
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Schrodinger
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| posted on 5/5/22 at 04:42 PM |
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Interesting, but how are you going to get round the items that he couldn't do because he didn't fit in the car?
Keith
Aviemore
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Stuart Walker
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| posted on 5/5/22 at 05:02 PM |
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With a smaller wheel and the seat moved back slightly he will get in no problem, so we'll test them next time. The things we couldn't test
were obviously fails, so they are all on the list. The smaller wheel means smaller exempt dash area so I'll need to change or protect one switch
too.
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myke pocock
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| posted on 5/5/22 at 07:32 PM |
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Not that this make any difference now as you have had a fail but it seems that you had a fail party because the tester couldnt fit! Is that mentioned
in the IVA Manual anywhere I ask myself.
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Prof_Cook
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| posted on 5/5/22 at 07:46 PM |
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Query re Fail
Hi, very interesting post. I am also intrigued re physical inspection problem. I am designing and now constructing my own special "Challenging
Project" and I can't find any trace in the IVA manual specifying user dimensions. Obviously I am designing and will construct the seat and
steering wheel and other control locations so I can comfortably drive the car.
Did the examiner give you reference numbers/paras on your "fail" paperwork?
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Stuart Walker
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| posted on 5/5/22 at 07:57 PM |
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I think him not being able to get in was an indicator that the driving position was not suitable, rather than that it failed because he couldn't
fit in. With the Sierra wheel it was tight, even for me, and perhaps I always thought I would fit a smaller wheel in time, so this wasn't a
problem until I realised the tester needs to drive the car during the test (I had always thought the owner drove). So I would think if your car can be
safely driven by you, even if the tester couldn't get in, you would be OK.
There was no actual reference to "couldn't get in", just a general comment about difficult driving position and the stuff we
couldn't test. I am sure that if the driving position is deemed acceptable then even if that means the tester can't get in then it should
pass. I also can't see anywhere saying you have to design to the average person, or percentile etc.
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ianhurley20
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| posted on 5/5/22 at 08:57 PM |
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I expected most of my failures but there were a few unexpected ones:
- My repeaters on the headlamp bowls failed. I had measured the sideways angles and thought I was OK, but at the lowest vertical position (-5 deg) the
rear arch blocks them. Moving them to the rear arch seems to be the solution.
Don't forget that the repeaters must not be more than a certain distance from the front of the car. In the case of my Haynes Roadster the rear
arches were too far from the front of the car. My solution was to get some small LED repeaters and put them on the outer curve of the front wheel
arches
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Stuart Walker
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| posted on 5/5/22 at 11:42 PM |
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Yes good point, thanks. This is an original book Locost so a little shorter so they can go on the rear arches. I think the distance you mention is
2.6m from the front of the car.
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kitcardirect
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| posted on 6/5/22 at 03:05 PM |
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some usefull tips here on iva
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiOPbJQsPI4&t=100s
http://www.kitcardirect.co.uk/
Follow Us On Facebook : http://on.fb.me/1KYgL8N
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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TimC
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| posted on 6/5/22 at 03:58 PM |
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That's really interesting regarding the ability to fit. I'm close to booking my IVA and have built the car, with fixed seat, specifically
to fit 5'7" me.
Hmmm.
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