Maximum legal lift and tyre/wheel sizes in Oz

Biesel

Biesel

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Just check your states laws Qld just raise the legal tyre size increase limit to 50mm from 15mm. WA is normally even more laxed.... The National plicy is 50mm but whether the state follows that is up to them. QLD just came in line with the national policy hopefully NSW will soon as well. WA being WA i'm sure the limit is a 300mm increase :p.
 
Biesel said:
Just check your states laws Qld just raise the legal tyre size increase limit to 50mm from 15mm. WA is normally even more laxed.... The National plicy is 50mm but whether the state follows that is up to them. QLD just came in line with the national policy hopefully NSW will soon as well. WA being WA i'm sure the limit is a 300mm increase :p.
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i believe VIC just changed to the 50mm policy earlier this week i soar a post by a aussie 4wd on facebook about the change :monkeydance: gonna get me some real rubber now :lildevil:
 
Really? apparently the federal gov has been trying for 19 years to get the national regulations across all the states.
 
Gidday Biesel

Biesel said:
Really? apparently the federal gov has been trying for 19 years to get the national regulations across all the states.
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They have. The rules are under the ADRs - somewhere ...

50 mm maximum lift from all sources for our kind of vehicles (soft-roader SUVs). Tyre sizes must be the same or less than the maximum size offered by the OEM for that make and the specific model ...
 
this is the picture that i soar on the 4wd facebook page

BTW sorry for the thread hijack :p

EDIT: sorry cant make the image and larger but with good eye site you can read the first two lines :lol:
 

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Yeah the national policy i remeber listing the forester as a vehicle the the 50mm wheel size applies too, i don't know about each specific state. seems suv's are excluded though.
 
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Gidday All

Given the on-going discussions about what is legal, or not, regarding the maximum amount of lift allowed under Oz law (and a whole lot of well-hidden miscellaneous regulations and publications ... ), I have located what I believe to be the definitive rules for allowable lift height, tyre sizes etc.

It is here:

VSB 14:
https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/vsb_ncop.aspx

Particularly this document:
https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/pdf/NCOP11_Section_LS_Tyres_Suspension_Steering_V2_1Jan_2011%20v3.pdf

Specially pages 19 to 28.

I will happily retract if I am wrong ... :poke: :rotfl: :cool:
 
What defines a car as soft roader? subaru advertise the forester as off road capable, all the damage and warranty issues we've had from off roading have never been question by the dealer.
 
the forester is considered a soft roader. I'm pretty sure Ratbag is correct these laws have been in for a while for proper 4wds.
 
I think that national laws/regulations override State laws for this sort of thing.

A State law could make a lesser modification legal, but not extend it, IMHO.
 
ok for a vehicle to be considered offroad it must have atleast 200m ground clearance, tick for SH foz 215mm for diesel. must have 28degree approach angle, SH has 25 degreee fail, must have 14degree rampover /SH foz has 21degree tick. must have 20degree depart SH foz has 26 degree depart. must have 175mm axel clearence. this subaru don't list, apparently if you meet four of these you fall into the off road not soft road class so i just need to find out the axel clearence if it's more than 175mm the SH foz might be a go for 50mm tyres. I can't speak for other models sorry.


OFF-ROAD PASSENGER VEHICLE (MC)
A passenger vehicle having up to 9 seating positions, including that of the driver and being designed with special features for off-road operation. A vehicle with special features for off-road operation is a vehicle that:

has at least 4 of the following 5 characteristics calculated when the vehicle is at its ‘Unladen Mass‘ on a level surface, with the front wheels parallel to the vehicle’s longitudinal centreline, and the tyres inflated to the ‘Manufacturer‘s’ recommended pressure:
(i) ‘Approach Angle‘ of not less than 28 degrees;
(ii) ‘Breakover Angle‘ of not less than 14 degrees;
(iii) ‘Departure Angle‘ of not less than 20 degrees;
(iv) ‘Running Clearance‘ of not less than 200 mm;
(v) ‘Front Axle Clearance‘, ‘Rear Axle Clearance‘ or ‘Suspension Clearance‘ of not less than 175 mm each.
 
Hate to disappoint you Biesel, but the definition of an off-road vehicle specifically excludes "Passenger or passenger derived vehicles" here:

4.2.4 Overall Nominal Diameter​
The overall diameter of any tyre fitted to a passenger car or passenger car derivative must not be more than 15mm larger or 26mm smaller than that of any tyre designated by the vehicle manufacturer for that model.

At p.21 of the document referenced above.

This phrase, with slight variations is repeatedly used throughout VSB 14 (and elsewhere) and is specifically worded to include vehicles of the kind made by Subaru (and many other manufacturers).

Unfortunately, one cannot simply play mix-n-match with legislative instruments - they must be read as a coherent whole.

Trucks and truck-based vehicles are also covered in VSB 14, but they are defined to specifically exclude passenger cars or derivatives.​
 
Very good Ratbag, I have made this a sticky.

I will also note, that why these are the laws it is our own personal choice to abide by them or not. I myself run an illegal setup and anyone else who does should not be judged so on this forum but it is all well and good for people to be aware of the rules.

With lifting Subaru's. Legally 2" or 50mm is all that is allowed whether it be spacer blocks, raised springs, tyres or any other form of lifting a car.
Tyre sizes in WA, you can legally go 25mm wider than the factory specifications. Nothing is mentioned about height for the WA Laws. I have personally looked this up. I myself run 225/70R15 while stock is 205/70R15. These are around 3" taller in diameter giving me 1.5" of lift. This is included in the total 50mm you can legally lift your car.
 
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Gidday Taza

taza said:
Very good Ratbag, I have made this a sticky.

I will also note, that why these are the laws it is our own personal choice to abide by them or not. I myself run an illegal setup and anyone else who does should not be judged so on this forum but it is all well and good for people to be aware of the rules.

With lifting Subaru's. Legally 2" or 50mm is all that is allowed whether it be spacer blocks, raised springs, tyres or any other form of lifting a car.
Tyre sizes in WA, you can legally go 25mm wider than the factory specifications. Nothing is mentioned about height for the WA Laws. I have personally looked this up. I myself run 225/70R15 while stock is 205/70R15. These are around 3" taller in diameter giving me 1.5" of lift. This is included in the total 50mm you can legally lift your car.
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I have made no comment on what others choose to do.

However, driving an illegally modified car almost certainly voids your TAC insurance (State government personal injury insurance - called different things in each State and Territory); and does void your comprehensive insurance.

Not having either of these covers is enough to destroy one's financial life completely.

This must be understood. If it goes to court, there is no leg to stand on.
 
So what for example makes a subaru a passenger car but a prado an off road vehicle?
 
NSW was the only state that will allow you to go larger provided you have an engineering certificate. I researched it for ages and talked to vicroads the act rta and nsw rta. I was quoted around $650 for the eng cert. in the end it was better to just for standard geos and leave my car registered where it was
 
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