01-03-2021, 09:37 AM
Oddly enough, the auxiliary cable tensioner Bob alludes to used to have its own little picture in the NZ WOF Guide [aka VIRM], as an illustration of prohibited equipment for service brakes, was often seen in the wild, and is in fact still available.
With the disappearance of mechanical brakes, the picture has gone and the only place auxiliary tensioners get a mention now is in the parking brake section of the VIRM [section 8-1-27b if anyone's interested].
However, the inspector could most likely fail them as a modification [section 8-1-41].
We were told that the reason they were specifically prohibited was because of the perceived likelihood of them distorting enough to drop off the cable as a result of the 'U' in the cable produced by the adjustment, collapsing due to the tension forces in the cable under heavy [panicky?] pedal application. This would of course produce some interesting and possibly fatal results, depending on how many and which ones dropped off the cables. Never heard of it happening but...
With the disappearance of mechanical brakes, the picture has gone and the only place auxiliary tensioners get a mention now is in the parking brake section of the VIRM [section 8-1-27b if anyone's interested].
However, the inspector could most likely fail them as a modification [section 8-1-41].
We were told that the reason they were specifically prohibited was because of the perceived likelihood of them distorting enough to drop off the cable as a result of the 'U' in the cable produced by the adjustment, collapsing due to the tension forces in the cable under heavy [panicky?] pedal application. This would of course produce some interesting and possibly fatal results, depending on how many and which ones dropped off the cables. Never heard of it happening but...