New Tyres - Advice and guidance

[Matty80 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Matty80]

265/65r17 are legal (factory standard fitment)

265/70r17 are not, 275/65r17 are not, 285/65r17 are not, or any size greater than those. There are differences between manufacturers and tyre styles/types, which allow some of the larger sizes to still come under the maximum 1" increase in diameter. But carefull selection is required.

If it is required to go over a pit for inspection on arrival back into australia, best bet is to have a set of standard sized tyres fitted at the time.

[GB Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close GB]

Thanks for that.

I am flying out to Oz next week so just doing the research now for the Mrs so that she knows exactly what tyres to put on if and when needed when I leave the UK and so that it will comply with WA laws also when imported back to Oz.

I think the safest and available options in the UK are either Cooper ATR or Yokohama Geolander A/T-S but in the standard original size. The Coopers are the cheapest at £119 about $178 Au dollars. Not sure which would be the better as I would want to run with them until needing to replace again.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

...275/65r17 are not...

M&L. Sorry I beg to differ. Rules in Qld (which were the same in WA last time I looked) you are allowed to increase overall tyre diameter by +15mm and reduce it -25mm. A 275/65 17 is +14mm. Irrespective of the actual diameter of the tyre that was on the car compared to what has been fitted. The Cooper ATRs I had originally were also 265/65 17 as per the Grandtreks and those were also a little larger in diameter than the Grandtreks. The other considerations with regards to changing tyres/wheels are that the entire tyre/wheel much be within the guard and the track can be increased +25mm but not reduced at all (-0). And finally load and speed ratings must match or exceed that specified on the tyre placard or OEM tyre. As for needing wider rims I have 275/65 17s fitted to my Toyota Phoenix wheels and also my Toyota steel wheels. Both 17 x 7.5. This is a legal fitment.

The discussion regarding a spacer for the spare is just that if you put 265/70 17s or 275/65 17s on the Prado spare tyre holder on the rear door the tyre will rub on the door and foul the rear wiper so pretty much all of us use a spacer which is mounted between the holder and the door. The spacer I have is 20mm thick and is fitted with longer bolts and gives a bit of extra clearance. One of the PPers (amts as above) here gets batches cut and drilled and anodised and they are superb. This will clear the air:

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...carrier-spacer.

The other comments on here about NCOP refer to a National Code of Practice (?) which is said to be adopted in all states which will allow tyres to be increased to +50mm (thus making 265/70 17 legal) in conjunction with other restrictions on the amount of suspension lift. This code of practice has been circulating for as many years as I have had a 120 (4 years ish) and is no closer to being adopted that it was all those years ago but according to some it will be certified to supersede relevant ADRs soon...

I would fit 265/70 17s if they were legal but they aren't so I have gone for 275/65 17 in BFG A/T. The extra width is of no consequence and actually the tread width is pretty much the same as the 265/65 17 BFG A/Ts at 235mm but the extra legal height is worth it.

Michael

[GB Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close GB]

M&L. Sorry I beg to differ. Rules in Qld (which were the same in WA last time I looked) you are allowed to increase overall tyre diameter by +15mm and reduce it -25mm. A 275/65 17 is +14mm. Irrespective of the actual diameter of the tyre that was on the car compared to what has been fitted. The Cooper ATRs I had originally were also 265/65 17 as per the Grandtreks and those were also a little larger in diameter than the Grandtreks. The other considerations with regards to changing tyres/wheels are that the entire tyre/wheel much be within the guard and the track can be increased +25mm but not reduced at all (-0). And finally load and speed ratings must match or exceed that specified on the tyre placard or OEM tyre. As for needing wider rims I have 275/65 17s fitted to my Toyota Phoenix wheels and also my Toyota steel wheels. Both 17 x 7.5. This is a legal fitment.

The discussion regarding a spacer for the spare is just that if you put 265/70 17s or 275/65 17s on the Prado spare tyre holder on the rear door the tyre will rub on the door and foul the rear wiper so pretty much all of us use a spacer which is mounted between the holder and the door. The spacer I have is 20mm thick and is fitted with longer bolts and gives a bit of extra clearance. One of the PPers (amts as above) here gets batches cut and drilled and anodised and they are superb. This will clear the air:

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...carrier-spacer.

The other comments on here about NCOP refer to a National Code of Practice (?) which is said to be adopted in all states which will allow tyres to be increased to +50mm (thus making 265/70 17 legal) in conjunction with other restrictions on the amount of suspension lift. This code of practice has been circulating for as many years as I have had a 120 (4 years ish) and is no closer to being adopted that it was all those years ago but according to some it will be certified to supersede relevant ADRs soon...

I would fit 265/70 17s if they were legal but they aren't so I have gone for 275/65 17 in BFG A/T. The extra width is of no consequence and actually the tread width is pretty much the same as the 265/65 17 BFG A/Ts at 235mm but the extra legal height is worth it.

Michael

Michael, thanks for the input.

I have just checked the tyre plate/sticker on the Prado and it states tyre size of 265/65 R17 112S rating.

If as you suggest going to a 275/65 R17 is still legal how will that be so if the vehicle sticker indicates 265/65.

Also am I right in reading your post that going with a wider tread of 275/65 this will not require changing the actual original alloy wheels.

[Matty80 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Matty80]

265/70r17 are not, 275/65r17 are not, 285/65r17 are not, or any size greater than those. There are differences between manufacturers and tyre styles/types, which allow some of the larger sizes to still come under the maximum 1" increase in diameter. But carefull selection is required.

Quoted me, like a tabloid newspaper... i accept your detailed response, as correct and better than my generalisation.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Michael, thanks for the input.

I have just checked the tyre plate/sticker on the Prado and it states tyre size of 265/65 R17 112S rating.

If as you suggest going to a 275/65 R17 is still legal how will that be so if the vehicle sticker indicates 265/65.

Also am I right in reading your post that going with a wider tread of 275/65 this will not require changing the actual original alloy wheels.

OK the wider tyres are legal because they are within the modification rules as the increase is less than the +15mm maximum. And they are the same or higher load rating and speed rating. I have actually fitted 295/30s on my road car up from 275/30s but that wasn't for height it was for width (read grip) and as an aside it made the overall diameter closer to the fronts which are 245/35s. To be totally honest I doubt whether there would ever be an issue with 265/70 17 on a Prado but as it is strictly not legal it is possible to be defected and also to have insurance reject a claim (I suppose if the insurers thought the bigger tyres contributed to the cause). I don't think there has ever been a report on here or other sites about being defected with tyres so close in size to standard. But it is possible.

The standard alloys are fine for 275/65 17 tyres. Tyre shop was fine, I think I checked BFG site which also indicated that this was fine. I am happy to email you the Qld Department against Transport rules for light vehicle modifications (pm me an address) or you can google this brochure easily enough. I think WA has something similar but it has been 15 odd years since I lived there (temporarily!).

And M&L just clarifying the situation here in Qld as I know what it is, 1" (25mm) is not the maximum increase allowed; which is only 15mm.

[Matty80 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Matty80]

Be nice if australia could come up with something thats consistant between the states!!! Make it a little less confussing and less complicated!!

GB, there are a number of threads on PP already in the tyres section that cover a very broard range of information regarding the individual state requirements, links the the ADR pdf files and various other bits and pieces that are along the lines you are asking. Most tyre options for each state have been covered well. using the PP search or google search will crop them up.

mjrandom, are the QLD and possibly NSW laws on lifts and tyres the worst in australia? I vaguely recall something about some rigs being classed illegal once they crossed those borders, mine included?

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I would think that the NSW enforcement is the worst in Oz. A few years ago we had a job just across the border and one of our guys had a ridiculously lifted 80 series that was mainly his informal comp beast but due to circumstances became his to and from work transport. All legal in Qld and within a week of heading across to NSW he was pinged and the Qld Engineers certificate deemed not to apply. So a trip further South to go over some pits and get a new certificate (the first one was free, the second quite expensive) and then it was all good in NSW provided he re-registered in NSW. Fair enough since the job was going on for about a year BUT he still lived in Brisbane and was travelling to and from during the week. Anyway a few weeks later when he crossed the border in Qld with NSW plates guess what happened? So the beast stayed in NSW and he bummed lifts with mates home. Ended up selling the thing in NSW because it was just too much trouble.

It would be nice for some standard legislation to apply. I had to modify my 4wd when we went to WA years ago because of some dumb thing like the spotties couldn't be on a separate switchable circuit (though still controlled with high/low beam) and when I came home it had to be back on a separate circuit. At least that is the same now.

The only real thing to do is to get the relevant info from the corrent department but even then it won't necessarily prevent being defected. I rang a contact who is a fellow engineer in the Dept against Tport about some mods I wanted to do to the Clubbie. As far as he was concerned all good and no inspector would bother but he warned me that the Police are able to defect as they see fit (if they feel they have due cause) and force visits to the inspection pits even if the Inspectors then just wave you away.

Michael