Max legal tyre size, lift, etc. (2 Viewers)

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A kid got run over and killed by a driver in a 4x4 in Sydney the past couple of days. Everything I heard in the media, emphasis was put on "4x4".
You can bet 4x4s will be under scrutiny by highway patrol for the next 6-12 months.

Just because you see other 4x4s with illegal mods, doesn't meen you'll get away with it for even a day, although you could also get away with it for years.
It's like being pulled up for speeding and saying "the guy in front of me was speeding too, why didn't you stop him?"

I see lifted Ford Rangers every day with tyres poking out well past the guards and wife flare kits. I often wonder how often they get pulled up. Lots would have exceeded track width more than the allowable amount as well as lift and tyre size infringements.

Attitude test can make a big difference too. Burr up at the police and argue, you're writing your own tickets.
Stay calm, ask questions, feign ignorance you might slide through ok.
I wonder, does a "Cops are Tops" bumper sticker make cheap insurance? :hmm:
 
Reading threads like these make me so glad I don't live there. I would end up in the gulag for sure.

Yeah, it's terrible! Worse than Montana. You should totally stay away.

Just yesterday (peak summer holiday period and 30⁰C) I drove my Ford station wagon that's fitted with illegally sized off-road tires 2 hours out of our largest city, spent an hour or so hiking up a river bed to a swimming hole with my son. We swam, we jumped off the rocks, my son climbed up a 70' waterfall, and we saw a total of about 12 people on the way up the river to the swimming spot, and no-one at the swimming spot.

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In terms of wheeling, build your rig within the law, and you'll find you can actually get out into the bush and enjoy it just as much on 33" tyres as you can on 40s.

People push boundaries a little, but you run the risk of being fined, vehicle ruled unroadworthy, and/or insurance likely to be void if you have an accident
 
Yeah, it's terrible! Worse than Montana. You should totally stay away.

Just yesterday (peak summer holiday period and 30⁰C) I drove my Ford station wagon that's fitted with illegally sized off-road tires 2 hours out of our largest city, spent an hour or so hiking up a river bed to a swimming hole with my son. We swam, we jumped off the rocks, my son climbed up a 70' waterfall, and we saw a total of about 12 people on the way up the river to the swimming spot, and no-one at the swimming spot.

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In terms of wheeling, build your rig within the law, and you'll find you can actually get out into the bush and enjoy it just as much on 33" tyres as you can on 40s.

People push boundaries a little, but you run the risk of being fined, vehicle ruled unroadworthy, and/or insurance likely to be void if you have an accident

Hey if you’re happy, that’s cool. I’m just saying, i would likely get thrown in the gulag.

Your spiders are too big and i won’t be able to defend myself with pew pews.
 
Hey if you’re happy, that’s cool. I’m just saying, i would likely get thrown in the gulag.

Your spiders are too big and i won’t be able to defend myself with pew pews.

Meh. The spiders are mostly friendly.

As we approached the river yesterday, first thing I saw was a 7-8' python exiting the water on the opposite bank :lol:

There were water spiders on the rocks around the swimming hole. Really common to see spiders within inches of the water waiting for bugs. Totally harmless.
 
Meh. The spiders are mostly friendly.

As we approached the river yesterday, first thing I saw was a 7-8' python exiting the water on the opposite bank :lol:

There were water spiders on the rocks around the swimming hole. Really common to see spiders within inches of the water waiting for bugs. Totally harmless.
 
I've fitted Bushranger flexy-flare rubber to the front guards today - no time to do the rears before work and it's too fricking hot and burning in the sun right now. They were quite easy to fit but also fiddly however I worked out a method to mark and drill holes for the screws.

I positioned screws every 75 mm or so (as per the destructions supplied) and used 5 mm mudguard washers with each screw as well to spread out the area compressing on the rubber.

About to cut and fit the spring wire for them and the front flare fit job is complete.

And voila it's done...



The kit supplies 3m of rubber material and I used exactly 1 m for each side at the front.

As least with the front ones the screws only go into one thing - the outer guard. With the rear ones it'll be more work as the screws will go into a spot-welded seam area.
 
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My option if pushed by the l.a.w will probably be to reduce the lift not the tyre size. One thing I've found with the 285/75r16 tyres is the speedo reads pretty much exactly correct (note being pre-8/92 it's the mechanical cable-driven speedo not the later electric signal driven one) when I've compared using a gps speedo app on phone (mounted securely).

It would mean new front arms (again) and replacement springs (simply) then a re-adjustment of panhards. Not difficult, but not cheap either. Arms about A$1500 for 3 inch (so that with 2 inch lift I keep the caster at around 4 to 4.5 degrees), springs would be Lovells made right here in Newcastle Australia.
 
Found a handy summary here from Jax Tyres with links back to the legislation in each state:

When it comes to choosing the right lift kit for your car, you'll need to consider the legalities in your state. You are responsible for driving your vehicle safely on and off the road. When fiddling with your suspension, you need to make sure it's legal.

Body lifts and suspension lifts are also limited in height, varying from state to state:


  • WA: you can only lift the roof of your vehicle 50mm total, a combination of the suspension lift, body lift and tyres.
  • VIC: Total lift of the roof must be less than 75mm from factory conditions. This includes the increase of the diameter of the tyre and suspension. The maximum lift from either the tyre is 25mm (50mm diameter increase) or the suspension is 50mm.
  • NSW: Like Victoria, any vehicle you register in NSW can now be lifted to 75mm with a maximum of 50mm diameter (25mm lift) and 50mm from suspension.
  • SA: Overall, you can lift the roof of your vehicle by 50mm, a combination of suspension and tyres. Tyres can be lifted to a max of 50mm
  • QLD: you can only lift to 50mm. Anything past that (up to 75mm) requires a certificate.
  • NT: Vehicles are allowed an overall lift up to 100mm that incorporates wheel/tyre, body and suspension modifications

EDIT: This doesn't list what you have to do to exceed these "limits" though. In most (all?) states, there are ways to go higher, which vary in complexity/cost. In SA for example, with a pre-modified vehicle from interstate, a "roadworthy inspection" alone was enough to get the rubber stamp on my 80, even though its total lift was closer to 75mm (50mm suspension, 25mm tyres).
That stinks. I guess if I was in OZ, it would be widen wheel wells, and airbag suspension to run low on the roads with oversized rubber.
 
Reality is, unless you go seeking impassable rocks, you can go anywhere in Aus with a Prado, 33' and a winch

That's not really the point though... I can have a mall crawler on 37's because I want it, and that's plenty good reason. I could also get anywhere walking... or on a donkey...

 
That's not really the point though... I can have a mall crawler on 37's because I want it, and that's plenty good reason. I could also get anywhere walking... or on a donkey...



I'll think about you mall crawling on 37s the next time I'm out in the bush on my 33s with not a soul in sight for days at a time :meh:
 
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I'll think about you mall crawling on 37s the next time I'm out in the bush on my 33s with not a soul in sight for days at a time :meh:
Really big tyres are illegal here. Beadlock wheels are also illegal here (for public roads). Pretty much everyone I've asked says 285/75/r16 is perfectly legal (in itself) for an 80 series, but anything bigger is not.

NSW has very anally retentive rules but 99 pct of the time you don't get challenged unless you come across an anally retentive cop (such as I did recently) who wants to have a go at you but can't think of anything so he (or she) draws the longest bow possible because I'm a nice person and don't argue and I'm in work uniform less than a km from arriving at work and I'm 54 with a beard and my work box sitting next to me not 24 with a blonde bimbo sitting next to me. :cool:
 
Really big tyres are illegal here. Beadlock wheels are also illegal here (for public roads). Pretty much everyone I've asked says 285/75/r16 is perfectly legal (in itself) for an 80 series, but anything bigger is not.

NSW has very anally retentive rules but 99 pct of the time you don't get challenged unless you come across an anally retentive cop (such as I did recently) who wants to have a go at you but can't think of anything so he (or she) draws the longest bow possible because I'm a nice person and don't argue and I'm in work uniform less than a km from arriving at work and I'm 54 with a beard and my work box sitting next to me not 24 with a blonde bimbo sitting next to me. :cool:
Why don't you speak to an engineer about the possibility of getting your current mods engineered? That tire size and 3" of lift shouldn't be that hard to get past, might need to upgrade the brakes but you'll be similar in cost by the time you but new arms and springs. At least consult one, that isn't going to do any harm.
 
Why don't you speak to an engineer about the possibility of getting your current mods engineered? That tire size and 3" of lift shouldn't be that hard to get past, might need to upgrade the brakes but you'll be similar in cost by the time you but new arms and springs. At least consult one, that isn't going to do any harm.

Could be a good option.

There used to be a good automotive engineer in Newcastle that would help with this stuff
Athol???? Can't remember his surname. I consulted him on a chop top ute project years ago, no idea if he's still around.

I believe RMS publish a list of suitable qualified engineers.

Or keep it clean and looking like a sleeper, and fly under the radar
 
Athol Mullen is the go-to automotive engineer. Somewhere at Cardiff I think. Does having an engineering cert attached to a vehicle rego make it more of a 'red flag' for the police, etc. who are enforcing the laws?
 

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