Suspension lifts and tyres not legal in NSW

[upthetigers]

Ok so after seeing a jacked up 3 inch navara running bigger tyres the other day I decided I had to do something with mine. I planned to go from the stock 255/65r17 to some 265/70r17 tyres and get a 2 inch suspension lift on my D40 as this seems pretty common on here but the first thing I noticed after speaking with the RTA is this actually isn't legal in NSW. I think the max you can go overall tyres and suspension combined is 50mm. Bigger tyres would be 20mm and a 2 inch suspension lift would be another approx 50mm or more which makes 75+mm.
This set of tyres alone without the lift is already 20mm increase which is bigger than the 15mm increase allowed for tyres.

Seems that so many people on here have these kind of tyres and also lifts so my question is how many of you looked into this first or did you just decide to run the risk and go ahead with it anyway?

You could get it certified by an engineer which is expensive but I'm somewhat questioning now if I really want to be paying over 1k in insurance every year if I'm driving an illegal vehicle. Your insurer may tell you they will cover it but end of the day if its not roadworthy legally you probably will void your insurance unless you can somehow change the tyres back before it is checked to stay under the 50mm.

 

[steve1961]

I think I would dig a little bit deeper if I was you , it's supposed to be Australia wide now , and iam pretty sure a 2 inch lift and 265 tires are legal

 

[upthetigers]

I think I would dig a little bit deeper if I was you , it's supposed to be Australia wide now , and iam pretty sure a 2 inch lift and 265 tires are legal

I've spoken with two Tyre shops and the RTA which all told me the same thing.

265/65/r17 up from 255/65/r17 legal yes. Go up to 265/70/r17 no as its over 15mm diameter. Combine either of these with a lift and your over the legal height increase of 50mm over standard.

The RTA provided two articles on it. VSI09 and VSB14

Thats why I'm curious if anyone is aware of this before they do it.

 

[steve1961]

Sorry iam not sure , I know we went through this in Vic some years ago , and iam pretty sure we got 2 inches and 265 tires , and I was told it was going Australia wide

 

[Old.Tony]

Steve it depends on the increase in axle height. A 265/70 tyre gives 7mm of diff lift over the 255/70 tyres that came standard on my truck. Add 45mm of lift on the front and my car was 2mm over height (max of 50mm of any combination tyre + suspension).

The law's been like that in NSW for some time. Some people ignore it completely, and if you don't hoon about and act stupid, you're less likely to be pinged for it. If you're being a goose and attracting attention to yourself, then you shouldn't be surprised of the outcome.

Insurance companies won't always play the "unroadworthy" card. Consider the situation where you're stopped at a pedestrian crossing and some idiot rams you from behind - they're the ones that get to pay the bill. Your insurer will cover the repair/replacement of your car and just send a "we paid it now cough up" message to their insurer.

Of course if YOU are in the wrong, the scenario changes.

 

[nathand22]

Personally i think if you dont go ridicules you will be fine.
A D40 with a "2' lift (which with 90% of suspension companies id actually 35-40mm) and 32' tyres does not look out of place, the tyres dont stick out past the guards and the thing isnt so high it towers over everything on the road.
So as Tony mentioned if you actually measured the car after the lift is done and the tyres added you will be so close to the 50mm mark who would pick it, i mean you could let a bit of air out of the tyres and loose 2mm easy and because the car has to be over 50mm AS IT SITS to be deemed illegal you would be fine anyway,
we all talk about getting 2 inch lifts but in reality most of those kits are allot less and most companies will tell you that from the start anyway, and due to the D40 lack of camber adjustment thats all they want to do anyway.

 

[herb89]

Mine is lifted 4 inches in the front and 3 in the rear. Had 2 insurance claims through NRMA for roo damage and they've never said anything about it. NRMA rekon they automatically cover any modifications to your vehicle without having to notify them.

 

[Aussie Frontier]

Mine is lifted 4 inches in the front and 3 in the rear. Had 2 insurance claims through NRMA for roo damage and they've never said anything about it. NRMA rekon they automatically cover any modifications to your vehicle without having to notify them.

I seriously wouldnt believe that .Insurance companies love to deny a claim due to the vehicle being different to what they have on paper.
Plus if its not legal or roadworthy then they have yet another way to deny your claim

 

[nathand22]

Im insured with NRMA and have been for many years, BUT they will NOT cover illegal mods they will cover any mods that are legal with out you having to list them as long as the policy "pay out figure" has been agreed on by both parties.

Having said that when my D22 went swimming it did so with tyres that could have been classed as not legal and were actually boarding on being roadworthy in the way of tread depth, BUT they paid the claim with no hassle at all.
Since then i had a few claims on my last D40 and they were also cool, BUT i was not asking them to cover suspension ect it was just minor panel damage.

 

[herb89]

ah well the assessor mustn't give a **** which is fine with me

 

[nathand22]

ah well the assessor mustn't give a **** which is fine with me

I think sometimes they also let things go if the mods are not the cause of the accident , like hitting a roo, were the tyres or lift responsible?? prob not but if you were running a full 5' calmini kit plus the extra 2" kit and 2" body lift with 33' tyres and rolled it,,,, then they might be tougher to deal with