vendredi 19 juin 2015

What It Takes In Right Hand Drive Conversions

By Freida Michael


In some countries like New Zealand, vehicles have to be driven on the right hand side, as such, upon importation of a car from the U. S or other LHD countries; it has to be converted to RHD. However, with a good reason, you can still have your vehicle converted even when you are in a country that uses the right side of the road for driving like the U. S. In some cases, you need the approval of relevant authorities to avoid getting into trouble with traffic offices. The right hand drive conversions are now done by big professionals as long as you pay for the service.

Most companies will ask for the vehicle documents and sometimes the documents that allow you to undertake the conversion process. When it comes to conversion itself, you can opt to buy a kit depending on the make and type of the car. The other option is to reassemble and rewire everything to avoid having to dismantle the whole structure.

The differences include the wipers being on the left while the turn signal is on the right. In the same way, the ebrake is now on the driver's side and the radio controls are now much closer. When it comes to driving, there are slight differences.

When overtaking, you have to be more patient and extra careful, you can't just take a peek and accelerate as it is normally done with the LHD. In this case, you have to slow down and allow the vehicle in front to cover some distance until you can see ahead clearly from your side. It is then that you can accelerate and overtake.

The average market price varies widely depending on the company, the kit and the type of the vehicle. For instance, converting a sport car from LHD to RHD can cost anything from $20,000 to $40,000 largely depending on the vehicle type. The other standards to be complied with are the ADR standards which include indicators.

The conversion process is beyond just changing the position of the steering wheel. It requires that most of the parts are taken down, and reassembled in a new way. If you give this job to a serious company, they will dismantle the car and store different parts in a dedicated facility with proper labeling to prevent mismatch and also use other mechanisms to prevent dust and rust.

The most significant factor with RHD is the difference in driving experience. Cutting corners and overtaking is not the same particularly in a country like the U. S where vehicles are LHD. In order to overtake the car ahead of you, you have to slightly slow down and allow for a distance through which you can have a clear view of the road ahead. The RH drivers have a limitation in terms of view.

After your car is delivered, you will need some times to get used to the adjustments. The important controls are however the same. The gear shifts are the same only that you have to use the left hand to for the shifting. The arrangement of the gas, the brake and the clutch remains right to left.




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