Wheel frustration

[stevo1210]

The other night my friend got his very stock ZZE Corolla defected. Yes, I said defected. There were no engine or body (or bodykit installed) modifications at all which makes everything seem suss.

Basically the cop pulled him over for a random breath test (which was all fine) on the Friday night and then another cop did a vehicle inspection at the same time... to look for those unforgiving turbocharger/supercharger mods us P-platers love to bits. :)

All was well under the hood of his car since she was a stockie. Then the wheels were inspected. Tread was okay, no issues there. Then they had a quick look at that placard thingy in the glovebox. Largest tyre listed is 195/60/R15 (15x6J) *looks down at wheel*... Sportivo rims with 205/55/R16 tyres... Seeing as the 16" listing wasn't on the placard he was screwed. I ended up picking him up to his house since I live a few streets away from where the RBT was taking place at midnight.

I was stunned because I thought anything from the factory was okay right? I went onto the RTA website today and it says "the outer diameter and wheel must not exceed 15mm of the largest wheel on the placard"...

15" to 16" is another 25mm... even with lower profile tyres.

I told my friend to dispute this matter in court but I dunno how far he'd get. What do you guys think? I don't think it's fair at all.

Edited August 8, 2010 by stevo1210

[Ronnyboy]

I'd Dispute this in court, This is total bull.

Im pretty sure your friend will win.

195/60/R15 is what these cars come as stock.

Legally you should be able to go 2 inchs high in Diameter and 1 inch extra in width without a defect. So 215/40/R17 is the max

Before your friend disputes this, get him to type out a letter, take it to a Toyota Service Centre and get it signed and Stamped

Edit: Sorry, I Just relised, he has the wrong tyre size. he should have 205/50/R16. :(

Click here to see the RTA regulations

Edited August 8, 2010 by Ronnyboy

[Ronnyboy]

Hope this helps too.

[stevo1210]

I'd Dispute this in court, This is total bull.

Im pretty sure your friend will win.

195/60/R15 is what these cars come as stock.

Legally you should be able to go 2 inchs high in Diameter and 1 inch extra in width without a defect. So 215/40/R17 is the max

Before your friend disputes this, get him to type out a letter, take it to a Toyota Service Centre and get it signed and Stamped

Edit: Sorry, I Just relised, he has the wrong tyre size. he should have 205/50/R16. :(

Click here to see the RTA regulations

Damn just a 55 and a 50 in tyre size makes all the difference to the RTA. :(

OMG. wait. my ZZE has 185/60 (or 65?)/R14 Falken Ziex tyres at the moment. Factory spec say 175/70/R14. Does that mean I can be defected too?!

[Ronnyboy]

OMG. wait. my ZZE has 185/60 (or 65?)/R14 Falken Ziex tyres at the moment. Factory spec say 175/70/R14. Does that mean I can be defected too?!

I thought all the ZZE's had 15 inch wheels?(as the smallest) my AE112 has 175/65/R14. Sure they arnt 15's? LOL

[1stKill]

That sounds very unlucky...did your mate pass the attitude test towards the coppers,if not they will search for something.

inside tip from my copper mate,be polite and act humble and answer honestly,9 times out of 10 they will just focus on the matter at hand and just give the car a quick once over without going into huge detail (unless it looks unroadworthy or your caught hooning) what you say and how you act can determine what they do,but this is just common sense. :)

[Hiro]

I thought all the ZZE's had 15 inch wheels?(as the smallest) my AE112 has 175/65/R14. Sure they arnt 15's? LOL

Post-facelifts have 15" steelies, pre-facelift are 14"

[dwee.]

Damn that blows...

Ok, this might be a stupid question but I'll ask anyway (I'm sure at least someone is thinking this as well).

What if you have slightly stretched tyres (not mega stretched) in a way that it's legal, would you get done too?

And I agree with Lee on the attitude test. It does makes a difference.

Peter.

[IMB055]

Agree 100% re: attitude - Cops are generally reasonable if you are not an a55. Yeah, there are always exceptions to this, but always start any conversation thinking they are decent, (until they prove otherwise).

Also, there is nothing to stop you getting a Sportivo tyre placard for your ZZE, or better yet, a custom one to dodge this problem.

Sheesh, I run 18's and have never had a problem.

Man, your friend must have found a picky cop, or pi55ed them off bad somehow!

Edited August 8, 2010 by IMB055

[Ronnyboy]

Post-facelifts have 15" steelies, pre-facelift are 14"

Ah ok, If thats the case here are the results. (185/65 is ok 185/60 would be a defect)

[stevo1210]

I thought all the ZZE's had 15 inch wheels?(as the smallest) my AE112 has 175/65/R14. Sure they arnt 15's? LOL

Post-facelifts have 15" steelies, pre-facelift are 14"

It depends on the pre-facelift year too. The pre-facelift models (Ascent only) after 2003 but before the facelift in 2004 have 15" steelies. My ZZE Ascent has 14" cause it's a late '02.

Edited August 9, 2010 by stevo1210

[Ronnyboy]

It depends on the pre-facelift year too. The pre-facelift models (Ascent only) after 2003 but before the facelift in 2004 have 15" steelies. My ZZE Ascent has 14" cause it's a late '02.

Ah ok, thats sounds right. I do kinda recall the 01/02 Ascents having 14"s. Atleast 15's are now available as stock..

[Delvance]

dwee,

Depends on the level of stretch - each tire manufacturer will have recommendations to rim size for each of their tires (and these will be different across brands and even same brand but diff. models as it depends on the construction of the tire). The recommendation will be given as min width wheel to max width wheel and also with a recommended width wheel.

Attitude test helps yep.. pretty damn unlucky to get picked up for that though but there are stories of brand new commodores being defected for a loose hand-brake or modified cars that the cops can't get anything on so they do the windscreen washer fluid trick/defect.

Guys, it's really bad out there at the moment with defects and what not, be careful. Though not officially, i reckon it's the state trying to raise more revenue. My old man's rolla got defected too..who would think a cop would bother to pull over an ae101r hatchback.

[Delvance]

Oh and to add, generally parts from a same model (eg stivo to ascent) is permitted but check the nature of modification. i.e. if it is something owner certifiable, or if you need to have it engineered to be almost 100% safe (i say almost 100% safe because there's been cases of owners with engineering cert's still getting defected). There's a list of owner certifiable mods/allowances on the rta website and a list of authorised engineering signatories if you are inclined so.

[Damnfuzz]

Stevo1210,

Oh well, lesson learnt then. At least you have a better understanding of the VSI now. Heaven knows there must be an awfully large number of cars out there in NSW with wheel sets that don't comply with RTA VSI. *Pulls sad face, as some of them look so good...!*

But Ronny Boy, good luck with the suggestion of "taking it to court." First of all, technically speaking the cops were, once again, correct. And secondly, it sounded like the punishment was a defect notice only, not a Traffic Infringement Notice for "Vehicle not comply with standards - wheels/tyres," which carries a small fine. Who would you suggest Stevo takes to court about a defect notice? And to which court?

IMB055 - "there is nothing to stop you getting a Sportivo tyre placard for your ZZE, or better yet, a custom one to dodge this problem." Except for the fact that this would be illegal. Then again, if you plan on fitting illegal fitting wheels in the first place, then why not go the whole hog and dodgy up a fake placard too?

Remember everyone: drive safely and not like a tool, be polite and honest, and you will be amazed how things can turn out. Stevo, no suggestion there that your mate wasn't driving responsibly. It was a general comment. B)

[Ronnyboy]

But Ronny Boy, good luck with the suggestion of "taking it to court." First of all, technically speaking the cops were, once again, correct. And secondly, it sounded like the punishment was a defect notice only, not a Traffic Infringement Notice for "Vehicle not comply with standards - wheels/tyres," which carries a small fine. Who would you suggest Stevo takes to court about a defect notice? And to which court?

Thats right, the cops were correct. After i relised the incorrect tyre size that was on the rolla i edited my post.

He would have received a fine aswell for the defect but theres no use fighting it as its pointless.

[stevo1210]

But Ronny Boy, good luck with the suggestion of "taking it to court." First of all, technically speaking the cops were, once again, correct. And secondly, it sounded like the punishment was a defect notice only, not a Traffic Infringement Notice for "Vehicle not comply with standards - wheels/tyres," which carries a small fine. Who would you suggest Stevo takes to court about a defect notice? And to which court?

Thats right, the cops were correct. After i relised the incorrect tyre size that was on the rolla i edited my post.

He would have received a fine aswell for the defect but theres no use fighting it as its pointless.

Yes he received a fine as well. As for attitude that night from what I've been told, he was his normal self... like me and you on any other day. He was calm and co-operative as in his mind A. he hadn't been drinking B. He thought he did nothing wrong as to the car.

So the lesson for me is that my ZZE can't be modified at all... oh great. *Sighs* guess I can only upgrade to 15" alloys and not those 17" I always wanted. O.o

Did someone mention washer fluid up there? What's that got to do with a defect? My fluid tank is always full of water (no detergent).

[Delvance]

Yes people have been done for low washer fluid before (when they get desperate to pin something on you). It has to do with safety i'll imagine by having a really dirty windscreen and unable to clean it posing a visibility/safety problem.

From memory you can go two inches larger in diameter..i dunno pretty hazy on it. Just d/l the rta documents and keep them in the glove box for if you get pulled over and quizzed about it. If your wheel upgrade is within rta acceptable sizes, i'm quite sure it's an owner certifiable mod (i.e. you don't need to have an engineer cert. done for it).

[Delvance]

Check this out for your mate

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/downloads/vsi/vsi09_rev4.pdf

It has the wheel upgrade guidelines in there and mentions that while it is recommended to follow the tyre placard sizing, you DON'T have to. Read the sizing carefully and determine if the stivo wheels are ok (my guess is they would be, being a toyota item that is fitted on another corolla). Then just get an engineer/rta to pass the item and that's it.

And print the document and keep in the glovebox for future ammo if they try the same thing again.

[Ronnyboy]

Check this out for your mate

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/downloads/vsi/vsi09_rev4.pdf

Yep, posted this above for him, and yes, its a great idea to keep this in the glovebox :)

[ponstar]

I'm confused why ppl are saying you can only go 2in above std. In NSW the RTA does not care how big the rim is. As long as the diametre of the entire wheel/tyre is not more than 15mm. I have 205/55 16's atm stocky. I can easily upgrade to 225/40 18's and this will be legal. If I was up for a more bumpy ride I could go for 225/30 20's and still be within the 15mm diametre. Obviously you need to watch the width of the rims as they can't exceed 25mm (1 Inch).

Any thoughts or comments.

[123R-Prozak]

always get pulled over, yet nothing said about tyres, they checked the tread, i got a fine for 1 tyre, they allowed the rest. so i got a fine for that, yet they didnt look under my bonnet for pod or cai, nothing said about eyelids and h.i.d's, and this was after i got caught speeding.. i was just honest, yup i did a bad mistake, im an idiot.. i get let off the speeding but did the tyre...

good luck with the dispute.

[Longdan]

I've just fitted 17" rims and 215/45 tyres to my ZZE123. It previously had 195/60/15 on it. The interesting thing is that the speedo used to read about 5 km/h too fast at 100 ks. Now, with the new wheels and tyres, it reads bang on. I've checked this with 2 different GPS units and here in NZ, we have these signs that display your speed as you pass them which are handy for checking your speedo.

[123R-Prozak]

I've just fitted 17" rims and 215/45 tyres to my ZZE123. It previously had 195/60/15 on it. The interesting thing is that the speedo used to read about 5 km/h too fast at 100 ks. Now, with the new wheels and tyres, it reads bang on. I've checked this with 2 different GPS units and here in NZ, we have these signs that display your speed as you pass them which are handy for checking your speedo.

ive also got 205/45R17..