two newb questions

[HangOver]

Hi All

A newb with a couple of questions


What is the maximum suspension lift allowed in WA without having to get engineers reports etc to keep it legal?
I have heard everything from 2” to 4”.
Anyone know for sure?


I have 15” rims on my RR with tyres, (235/75/15) that could do with replacing. It was recommended that I go for 245/75/15 instead.
The question is; everyone seems to run 16” is it even worth it?
I have a standard lift at the moment, if it is worth going for 16” would I need any mods?
My RR is just for off-roading so I don’t really care about the ride quality/noise on-road.

Thanks for any help.
Steve

[RichardK]

Hi Steve,

Welcome to a fellow WA Aulroian. The legal lift in WA without a special permit is 2", there are some who run around higher than that without the necessary but sooner or later.....................

I run 16" 245 75 A/T's, 16"9 1/2"x 32 1/2 super swampers and 2"lift Kings that does me for all the heavy 4wding around the Harvey area. After that some serious money needs to be spent if the lift goes higher.

Put another way I've drawn the line at that and we have all the fun we need

[disco95]

I think if you look around you'll find that 15" tyres are cheaper than 16"

[LandyAndy]

Hi and welcome Downunder Steve.
2 inch is max legal without any certification.You can go plus 2 inch in the suspension and 2 inch in the body with an engineers certificate.If you go over the 2 and 2 you will need to comply with a "lane change test",which basically is driving between road cones at 110kmh.The test is very hard to pass and very expensive.You will need to hire Wanneroo raceway or the Speed dome in Midvale,hire a proffessional driver and pay for your engineer and transportWA inspectors to supervise the test.Your vehicle has to ballasted @ 100kg per seat,carry a full load of fuel,spare wheel and tool set.When the engineer inspected my "Toy" Ser3 with a ford V8 he was very happy with the work but doubted that I would pass the test,which he estimated would cost between $5000 and up to $10000 to conduct.He also added that if I went and bought a brand new toyota or nissan 4WD station wagon and conducted the same test THEY WOULD NOT PASS in standard form.
Andrew

[Caveman]

If a standard car wouldn't pass, then what is the point of the test.???? :?

That just seems like a stupid idea........just a way to put people off modding their cars, without the gov actually saying you can't do it. :roll:

I wonder if anyone has actually paid and arranged for that test to be carried out.

[tombraider]

My last beast is alive and well living in WA.

2 1/2" suspension lift, 2" body lift and 35" tyres...
5.0L V8 etc... Running Haltech.

ALive, kicking and Legally/compliantly registered in WA https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

So it CAN be done!!!!!

Cheers
Mike

[HangOver]

Originally posted by LandyAndy
my "Toy" Ser3 with a ford V8 he was very happy with the work but doubted that I would pass the test,which he estimated would cost between $5000 and up to $10000 to conduct.He also added that if I went and bought a brand new toyota or nissan 4WD station wagon and conducted the same test THEY WOULD NOT PASS in standard form.
Andrew

my god what a laugh! $5000 ! THAT'S MORE THAN THE WEEKENDER (RR) IS WORTH.

Thanks for the info though.
I think I'll stick with the 2" sus lift for now. Maybe down the track I'll get the 2" body lift but as I only paid $2500 for my new weekend ride I'll be having a hard think about that.

OK that's one decided the 2" lift,
What about the rims & rubber?
Is it worth me buying 16" rims & tyres? That would make it a 3" lift in all wouldn't it?

How would that be legally?

Is it worth me spending the extra cash for a 1" tyre lift? I'd get extra traction though, right?

Ouch my head is hurting.

Hi Mike, thanks for the answer but what's this about 30, 31, 32" tyres? How can a 15" or 16" rim be a 30 odd inch tyre??Does that mean a 15" rim has a 30 " tyre?
Sorry to be so dim, but I am.

Steve

[JDNSW]

Originally posted by downundersteve
(snip)

Hi Mike, thanks for the answer but what's this about 30, 31, 32" tyres? How can a 15" or 16" rim be a 30 odd inch tyre??Does that mean a 15" rim has a 30 " tyre?
Sorry to be so dim, but I am.

Steve

The yanks have a weird system of denoting some tyre sizes by overall diameter, width, rim diameter, all in imperial units - hence the 30", 31" etc. You see it commonly on 15" offroad sizes since these originate from there, rather than the usual metric width, %profile, imperial rim diameter, which when you think about it is really just as weird.

[Maggot4x4]

Originally posted by downundersteve
What about the rims & rubber?
Is it worth me buying 16" rims & tyres? That would make it a 3" lift in all wouldn't it?

How would that be legally?

Is it worth me spending the extra cash for a 1" tyre lift? I'd get extra traction though, right?

Ouch my head is hurting.

Hi Mike, thanks for the answer but what's this about 30, 31, 32" tyres? How can a 15" or 16" rim be a 30 odd inch tyre??Does that mean a 15" rim has a 30 " tyre?
Sorry to be so dim, but I am.

Steve

15" to 16" rim change won't give you any lift assuming the same tyre size, unless you have no tyres on it at all, and then it would only be half inch lift as the extra inch is spread around the rim, not just on the bottom.

Imperial tyre sizes are quoted as the outside diameter of the tyre(30,31,32,33,34,35 inch etc), rim size is the hole in the middle of the tyre(15,16,17,18 inch). All the things between the OD and the rim is called sidewall.

IMHO 15" tyres are better off road, because of the bigger sidewall, allowing more flex in the carcass, which, in turn, allows the tyre to mould itself over rocks and other objects better when at low tyre pressures. It also provides more impact absorbsion due to the larger sidewall.

16" rims are probably a better all round combination for on and off road as they will provide better handling on the road due to the lower sidewall height for a given size, and for the type of off roading most people do, the difference will be barely noticeable off road. They will ride slightly firmer, but you should hardly notice it in a Rangie.

So there is my opinion, what you need to do is work out what you will be doing with the Rangie and then work out if new rims are worth the money. Something to also consider is the 16" tyres then to cost more in a like for like situation.

[RichardK]

Fitting 16"wheels won't give you a lift over the original RR setup as that was standard, it will depend on the tyres you fit, and then if you fit over a certain dia then you will need a body lift.

[Sith]

I have contacted the Tech Officers at Welshpool RTA about lifts ect ect .... this is what i was told .....

2 inch lift is it , that includes wheels , suspension , and body lift ....but they will accept up to 75 mm as the max lift whilst the law is still being worked out ...nothing is actually been drafted as yet .The old 4x4 Act he said was from 1962 when Landrover didn't have a hope in hell of over taking a turtle let alone be lifted .... he said https://www.aulro.com/afvb/
The new 4x4 Act [ which still hasn't been drafted ] will have a lane change test , but this is only compulsary if you want it all engineered at this point ....he said that he has heard of 3 inch lifts in 4x4's going straight over the pits at this time [ i know mine did 4 weeks ago ] 2inch over springs and 32 inch tires one inch body lift and i have the paperwork to prove it :wink:

The lane change test will cost you around $1500 inc of engineer , C.A.M.S driver and hire of track and pit pass of RTA ... even less if you can arrange more than 2 of you to go thru on the day :wink:

The main thing they check for is braking and body roll he said .

He aslo said if I have any further questions or want to know the in's and out's of it all to ring a guy called Russell at Oppisite Lock Balcatta as he has put a heap thru ......

Hope this helps you out .....I don't know who was more confused me or the Tech at Welshpool RTA https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

[HangOver]

Well thanks for all the info, at least I won't look quite as dumb when I go get some new tyres :-)

I will go for the 2" sus lift and keep the 15" rims and go for a slightly higher sidewall (245).
Am i right in saying I won't need to get it inspected as long as it's only 2"?

I have two pretty decent (60%ish) font tyres (hankook, AT's) so I will only need to get a couple of new ones for the back.

Come to think of it, the front tyres are 235's and I want 245's on the back, apart from looking a bit bigger would this have an impact on anything? safety, handing etc?
I know it seems a bit tight fisted only getting two new tyres but if I can save three or four hundered bucks for now it can be put towards my sus lift :-)


By the way this is not my daily ride so as long as it's safe & legal and will do the job I'm happy.

[Maggot4x4]

Originally posted by downundersteve
Well thanks for all the info, at least I won't look quite as dumb when I go get some new tyres :-)

I will go for the 2" sus lift and keep the 15" rims and go for a slightly higher sidewall (245).
Am i right in saying I won't need to get it inspected as long as it's only 2"?

I have two pretty decent (60%ish) font tyres (hankook, AT's) so I will only need to get a couple of new ones for the back.

Come to think of it, the front tyres are 235's and I want 245's on the back, apart from looking a bit bigger would this have an impact on anything? safety, handing etc?
I know it seems a bit tight fisted only getting two new tyres but if I can save three or four hundered bucks for now it can be put towards my sus lift :-)


By the way this is not my daily ride so as long as it's safe & legal and will do the job I'm happy.

Are you sure they are 15's? It's just 15's are normally an imperial size (31,32,33 etc) where as 16's are normally metric (235, 245 etc). This is not always the case, but is more common with4x4 tyres.

I would change all 4 myself, not just because you then have the same tread pattern on each corner, but then the tyres should be the same diameter on all 4 wheels for a number of reasons. One of which is looking after your centre diff.

Having said that, when quoting a metric size tyre, just cause one is 235 and one is 245 it doesn't me they are different rolling diameter, it also depends on the next number, so it could be 235/85/15 or 245/75/15. The first number is the width of the tyre, the next is the height of the sidewall as a % of the width, the third is the rim size.

Clear as mud??? :roll: :wink: https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

[bigbugga]

Unless I am mistaken you need to have the front and rear tyres matching in size.

I think you can even be booked if the tread pattern is differant.


I lifted my old Disco 2 inches and added some spring blocks to the rear end (1 inch) worked great for me, ran 245's all round.

[George130]

I beleive the new laws they are looking at for all of Aus is a max of 2 inches in total or you need an engineer. Don't know when that will be brought in though.

[HangOver]

Are you sure they are 15's? It's just 15's are normally an imperial size (31,32,33 etc) where as 16's are normally metric (235, 245 etc). This is not always the case, but is more common with4x4 tyres.
===============================
Tyres are def. 235/75/15's so I am assuming they are 15" rims or they wouldn't fit. I have only seen these rims once before on an oldish defender, they are alloy with a centre cap that covers all of the wheel studs and square holes around the outside of the rim nearest the tyres.

Looks like I'd best buy new tyres all around (bigbugga) I don't want to get booked.

I guess I'll get the 2" lift sorted and when I HAVE to get those new tyres I'll get 245's.
Maybe when this new law thing comes in I might have another look at the lift options.
To be honest though the few times I've been off road the RR have has exceded expectations so any lift would just be a bonus https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Can't wait to get it back from the mechanic!!

[Maggot4x4]

Just remember, lift of it's self doesnt do much except help approach and departure angles. You only need enough lift to fit the tyres you want to run.

You may net need a lift or only a minor one to accomodate the new tyre size.

To give you and idea, I have a total of 3 1/2 inches of lift, which is all I need to fit 35x12x15 on my rangie (1985 4 door).

The truck looks in proportion, so I don't get hasseled by the cops (it's engineered anyway), and by keeping it low(ish), it is a lot more stable off road.


http://www.aulro.com/albums/album192/DSCF0218.jpg

[HangOver]

well I don't really need a lift I expect the 245's will fit no problem but I need new shocks and springs anyway.
It rolls around like a boat and does the noddy dog if you break slightly harder than normal.

I thought if I was getting replacements then a 2" lift woudn't do any harm, would hardly cost anymore and it's legal so I though why not.

I hope that I won't get any hassle with just a 2" lift.

By the way my 235's are nowhere as big as the tyres you have on you RR and 245's (which is what I'll get) I think are only a touch higher.
It's good you have a pic of you RR dirty, to me they just don't look right all shiney and clean https://www.aulro.com/afvb/