Wheels outside arches?
Discussion
Just looking at my new car I purchase on Saturday morning. My friend says he got pulled over by the cops as his 16" Alloys and tyre slightly overlap the arches by a few mm. They asked him to take them off. He didnt and hasnt been caught since. What is the repercussions of this nad can I get away with it? What is the law about tyres or Alloys being slightly wider than the arches of the car?
Just because it passed the MOT it doesnt make it anything, and anyway the amount a tyre sticks out from the body is not tested.
I used to help out on MOTs in our garage and once got a complaint from a woman who had just got her car done then picked up a puncture
The MOT checks specific things and then is only really valid at time of issue.
I used to help out on MOTs in our garage and once got a complaint from a woman who had just got her car done then picked up a puncture
The MOT checks specific things and then is only really valid at time of issue.
But I thought MOT's were basically a safety test on your vehicle and if the wheels are too far out from the bodywork, it would be deemed dangerous and therefore the car would fail it's MOT. The car passed the MOT with these wheels on so shouldnt that in theory say the car is safe and roadworthy?
The MOT test is for a set list of particulars.. it doesnt include every option of mods that someone might have made to the car... in short some responsibility for roadworthiness rests with a manufacturer and how they design the car.. its only when people add aftermarket wheels that this issue arieses, therefore the MOT test doesn't cater for it.
Cheers
Matt.
Cheers
Matt.
On my TVR Taimar, I ran 9" rear rims, the tyre tread used to be proud of the arches at the rear of the arch (shape of wheel arch), the tyre bulge was probably proud of the arch most of the way round. I used to Sprint this car as well.
I was never pulled up by:-
The Boys in Blue
The MOT Tester
Any MSA Scruitineer (it is specifically excluded in the regulations). It was suggested by a fellow competitor that I may get pulled if I won a class and another competitor may then complain.
There was never any danger of the wheel hitting the arch as the suspension was so hard and with so little travel.
If it proud by only just a tad, then I would live with it. You are unlikely to be pulled by the BiB unless you are doing something else wrong or they don't like some other aspect on your car (noisy exhaust, etc). But make sure that the Tyre is not going to hit the wheelarch at any point on the suspension travel. Not only will this cause tyre wear on that part but can be very dangerous if you are cornering hard and suddenly the suspension stops moving!
If you haven't bought the car yet, examine the tyres v.carefully for ant damage, if its hitting, then its time to walkaway, they are plenty of other cars out there to buy
davidy
I was never pulled up by:-
The Boys in Blue
The MOT Tester
Any MSA Scruitineer (it is specifically excluded in the regulations). It was suggested by a fellow competitor that I may get pulled if I won a class and another competitor may then complain.
There was never any danger of the wheel hitting the arch as the suspension was so hard and with so little travel.
If it proud by only just a tad, then I would live with it. You are unlikely to be pulled by the BiB unless you are doing something else wrong or they don't like some other aspect on your car (noisy exhaust, etc). But make sure that the Tyre is not going to hit the wheelarch at any point on the suspension travel. Not only will this cause tyre wear on that part but can be very dangerous if you are cornering hard and suddenly the suspension stops moving!
If you haven't bought the car yet, examine the tyres v.carefully for ant damage, if its hitting, then its time to walkaway, they are plenty of other cars out there to buy
davidy
Cheers davidy, The car is running Eibach shocks and springs and is solid. The tyres dont touch the arches so it should be ok, I was just wondering on the laws of overwidth wheels. If I get pulled can I get fined or given a producer, if so I will have to get a spare set or original wheels that will fit correctly.
AnarchyStorm said: Cheers davidy, The car is running Eibach shocks and springs and is solid. The tyres dont touch the arches so it should be ok, I was just wondering on the laws of overwidth wheels. If I get pulled can I get fined or given a producer, if so I will have to get a spare set or original wheels that will fit correctly.
As previously stated they must not protrude, but you missed one other option - widen the arches.
M@H said:
AnarchyStorm said: The only problem with that is... it looks a bit Max Powerish. I suppose if I do it subtley enough, I could get away with it.
And the 16" Alloys don't ?
Matt
It's so annoying not having a pic of my new lil car. I am going to put a pic of both my cars on here in a weeks time. The 16" Alloys just make the Golf look aggressive not ladish!
I know you were half joking but still, it definately isnt a Max Power machine.... more like a box with wheels
bah, if the wheels have been widened, then its totally max powerish as it has probably compromised the handling/ride to give that fat tyred look.
Not necessarily, why do race cars run with bigger wheels/wider tyres. If the job is done properly then the handling can be improved, especially the levels of grip (though you must be careful not to assume that because you have more grip the car will handle better, it just has moe grip).
My TVR Taimar was originally 195/70s all round on 14" wheels, over the years it gained significant suspension setup/corner weighting and 15x7" fromts 205/55s and 15x9" rears 225/50s. Overall the handling was dramatically improved and the levels of grip attained were astonishing (compared with the old setup).
After it had been modded I could go through the Cramer curves at Donington at over 100mph (genuine), so please don't assume that everyone who mods cars is a maxpower junkie who doesn't know what they are doing
davidy
I modified a Suzuki jeep and put 31" tyres on it with over 12" worth of suspension lift.
Obviously, the tyres protruded from the arches just slightly (well, over 2" actually) but it passed an MOT.
I ran around in it like that for months, but eventually I got pulled and was told to rectify the problem and issued with a producer and a vehicle defect form thing.
I just stuck some plastic to the underside of the wheel arch got the defect form stamped at an MOT station and sold it - cos it looked shite with the plastic on it. I could have done a max power job and flared the wheel arches but I couldn't be arsed.
Obviously, the tyres protruded from the arches just slightly (well, over 2" actually) but it passed an MOT.
I ran around in it like that for months, but eventually I got pulled and was told to rectify the problem and issued with a producer and a vehicle defect form thing.
I just stuck some plastic to the underside of the wheel arch got the defect form stamped at an MOT station and sold it - cos it looked shite with the plastic on it. I could have done a max power job and flared the wheel arches but I couldn't be arsed.
Not necessarily, why do race cars run with bigger wheels/wider tyres. If the job is done properly then the handling can be improved, especially the levels of grip (though you must be careful not to assume that because you have more grip the car will handle better, it just has moe grip).
Definitely true, but there are a few other factors :
a) race cars don't have to be set up to work well on the road. They can assume pretty flat tarmac.
b) people setting up race cars ought to know what they are doing.
c) people doing this aftermarket often can't prevent the wheels fouling the arches on full compression with a good amount of lock on, as this would require ridiculously stiff springs for road use. Thats gonna give you some nasty on limit handling problems if you are unfortunate enough to be in that situation.
d) Overtyring the front tends to bugger up steering feel and encourage tram-lining. In a race car where absolute grip is essential that may be a worthwhile compromise. For blatting from home to the mcdonalds car park to do burn outs, thats not likely a sensible compromise.
Race cars aren't designed to be easy/safe to drive. They are designed to be quick in a very specific set of circumstances.
Randomly chucking on fatter tyres at the front is more likely to screw things up than improve them. I can sympathise with wanting new suspension though if its a golf mk III - the vr6 was like a boat.
Anyway I don't really care, so put 225s on the front for all I care
It's a construction and use offence, I think the exact condition is if any tyre tread is visible outside the width of the bodywork when looking downwards from directly above the centre line of the wheel....... I am sure it's on the grounds of safety vis catching the hand of a passing pedestrian, and that it harks back to the days of old.
Anyway, you're right, that's why us mini owners have a vertible multiplicity of wheel arch extensions.
Anyway, you're right, that's why us mini owners have a vertible multiplicity of wheel arch extensions.
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