suspension law update

Interesting, I am about to fit a 2" lift kit in my patrol.

Don I saw that article in 4x4 monthly as well.Ive been doing a suspension makeover and naturally you look at everyone elses lift and I noticed nearly all the BIG lifts had work orders on them. A good sign someone is out there enforcing it.
This is in Perth, but I suspect with the trend towards standardising transport rules it will spread to other states.

2 inch (or 50mm) Suspension lift is considered normal. RTA and Insurance Co's accept that. I believe a 2 inch Body lift can also be done, cause that about the max , that standard parts can be used before , increasing brake lines etc etc.

You can get bigger lifts engineered , but I don't know exactly what each state allows.

As for tyres, you can only increase the tyre size by 15mm over the max tyres size shown on your tyre placard. You can also get it engineered to run bigger tyres , but that can be an insurance nightmare.

There is a lot of guys running bigger tyres then that, and technically they are illegal , which then voids your insurance , even if your insurance co has agreed to cover larger tyres.

Whether the guys doing this , don't know , or just take their chances, I don't know , but its somethign you need to be aware of.

PS, I'm aware NSW are cracking down on oversize tyres.

The 15mm tyre rule is pretty stupid when you consider it applies both to the smallest and largest tyres running on the road.Allowing a modest 25mm increase would make most cars roadworthy with very little effect on car safety
Regards Charlie.

I don't think it is a case of the laws being changed, but that they are going to be enfoeced a little more rigidly.

Here in WA it is (or is going to be) the case that a 2'' lift is OK but anything above that will require an engineers certificate, including an expensive "lane change test".

The laws are indeed different from state to state. In WA you are not allowed to increase the rolling diameter of your tyres from what is supplied as OE, bit other states have plus or minus 15mm or 25mm.Cheers, Jim

"Lead, Follow.....or get out of the way!!"

How does limiting the amount of rubber someone wants to put on the road making cars safer?Should probally go do some work instead of playing on this forum!

Here in WA I rang the transport dept a couple months ago about this issue and was told the max you can go was 50mm higher. that is combination of suspension,tyres and body lift. If you want to go higher you will have to present the vehicle for examination and maybe lane change test.

wizzer

So obviuosly we at the hands of the authorities.And all of the 4wders who have
had the mods done have to be weary,for one day we and our vehicles may be taken off the road. Obviuosly a touchy subject depending on who you talk too.Can then the fitters or the 4wd shops who do this, are they liable for the lift kits they put in when they know that what they have done may conflict with the law. A
lot more homework and research needs to be done to set a lot of people straight.
Thankyou for your responses

So all the above makes the popular 205x16 swap to a 30x9.5 or 245x16 illegal, eg a 30-35 mm width increase. The popular 31X10.5 (about 265mm) would be out of the question even if some models variations come out with 265x16's or wider.
Hey, its gone mad.

My car is fully engineered for bigger tires, and suspension, and body lift..

My car, my choice..

WTF should some fat piece of bleep in Canberra, or a Melbourne polly etc that DONT EVEN DRIVE VEHICLES THEMSELVES, make a law that affects me? What experience do THEY have? Just a bunch of wanks trying to appease the minorities. AGAIN..

You can drive any modded car if its engineered to state the mods are safe... Mate had his car engineered with 37inch tires, and 9inch lift all up... suspension and body lift. yea he does competitions.

Folks,

My understanding of the laws in WA is that any suspension modifications which changes the original ride height of the vehicle must be certified. Anything over 50MM gets the swerve and lane-change test. Anything under 50MM the inspection is pretty painless but it costs you.

I'm now driving around with nicely laminated "Motor Vehicle Modification Approval" issued by the transport (licencing division) of the Department of Transport in my glovebox. The certificate details exactly what was done to the car, by whom, the new eyebrow height and the tyre size. My insurance company has a copy of the certicate and my wallet is a little lighter than it used to be...

Personally I wouldn't give the insurance companies any excuse to dishonour an otehrwise legitimate claim.