Pod filters and their legality has got to be one of the most talked about topics on forums, especially in NSW where the rules are some what "fuzzy".
Determined to find out the truth, I went in search.
Email to the NSW police was ignored, the second was answered by them effectively saying: "We don't know, ask the RTA."
The RTA have never responded to an email from me yet, so I went up the line.
I called an Authorised Inspection Centre, and they put me on to the RTA Technical Enquiries hotline on 1300 137 302, and after calling there, I was told the following:
The law states that modifying the intake at all is illegal without an engineers certificate to prove it still meets the environmental standards. As such, pod filters are technically illegal, but if put in the original air box, they will pass because neither the police or RTA inspectors look in the air box.
Also, the Victorian EPA document that states that dry element pod filters are legal on EFI cars is NOT proof for NSW drivers.
They also said that the more likely reason that a pod filter will get you in trouble is the noise increase they cause. The car still has to pass a drive by noise test.
Those are the facts as told to me by the RTA. Take from that what you will and hopefully its helpful. I know for me it has helped change my mind off changing the intake as drastically as I was going to, instead I may just put a pod in the stock box.
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