Hello hello,

I'm in the process of lowering my TE and fitting her out with 17' mags and 235/45 tyres. I have already discovered that the NRMA will not insure me but it seems RACQ will as long as it passes Queensland Road Rules. Has anyone done a similiar mod in QLD?? Any advice??

PS: Hello Everyone, I'm a newbie....

Welcome. NRMA should insure you. I'm with NRMA and I've got 17x7's. What wheels do you have now and what are you going for? We can only go to 7 inch wide rim and if you're car only had 15's then you can only go up 2 inches.

The problem we have is tyre loading.

The problem we have is tyre loading.

What reading on the tyre relates to tyre loading. I.e are 17" tyres rated 215/40 sufficient for a TE ? :confused:

Welcome. NRMA should insure you. I'm with NRMA and I've got 17x7's. What wheels do you have now and what are you going for? We can only go to 7 inch wide rim and if you're car only had 15's then you can only go up 2 inches.

The problem we have is tire loading.
In Queensland, I'm pretty sure we can only go 1" wider then the biggest factory option, both with tires & rims, but i don't think there is a limit to rim diameter increase (definately is in some other states)... the little guide book I got from Queensland Transport 'recommends' a max. tyre increase of 16mm.

Everyone seems to have conflicting ideas on what the rules are but don't trust anyone outright... go into the QTransport pits & ask the guy whos job it to actually say YES or NO.. even tire shops can't really be trusted.. I've seen too many cases where mates have specified new mags & tires MUST be road worthy & assured of it, only to be pulled up & defected for it!

I contacted the modificiation department at queensland roads and they helped and cleared me to fit 17' mags 7.5inch wide with 235/45 tyres. I must say that this just keeps getting more confusing as the guy there said i must get rims a least 7.5' wide which seemed to be the stalling point with the NRMA who couldn't see past me getting 6' wide rims, so now i am with the RACQ who don't care as long as it passes the QLD Road benchmarks. I even asked the guy if I should bring the car in just to double check and he assured me what i was fitting was OK. So now I can go and get the suspension lowered and new wheels, roll on the weekend here I come.

Check out this site for a start, guys:
http://www.transport.qld.gov.au/qt/driver.nsf/index/vehiclemods


What reading on the tyre relates to tyre loading. I.e are 17" tyres rated 215/40 sufficient for a TE ? :confused:

Well, you need to check the manufacturers specifications as they can vary a little. My 235/45R17's have a rating of 97W or 740kg.


In Queensland, I'm pretty sure we can only go 1" wider then the biggest factory option, both with tires & rims, but i don't think there is a limit to rim diameter increase (definately is in some other states)... the little guide book I got from Queensland Transport 'recommends' a max. tyre increase of 16mm.

Yup, 1 inch wider but there doesn't appear to be a dia increase restriction. NRMA however do stipulate 2 inches only. You need to be careful because you're trying to fit in with two sets of standards: 1) QT to be roadworthy and safe and 2) the insurer to be insurable. Just because you meet QT standards, doesn't make it insurable. Some mobs only allow two or three mods or use a points system. I've found NRMA to be the most accomodating as far as volume of mods are concerned however they are strict on a few things.


Everyone seems to have conflicting ideas on what the rules are but don't trust anyone outright... go into the QTransport pits & ask the guy whos job it to actually say YES or NO.. even tire shops can't really be trusted.. I've seen too many cases where mates have specified new mags & tires MUST be road worthy & assured of it, only to be pulled up & defected for it!

Amen!


I contacted the modificiation department at queensland roads and they helped and cleared me to fit 17' mags 7.5inch wide with 235/45 tyres. I must say that this just keeps getting more confusing as the guy there said i must get rims a least 7.5' wide which seemed to be the stalling point with the NRMA who couldn't see past me getting 6' wide rims, so now i am with the RACQ who don't care as long as it passes the QLD Road benchmarks. I even asked the guy if I should bring the car in just to double check and he assured me what i was fitting was OK. So now I can go and get the suspension lowered and new wheels, roll on the weekend here I come.

Strange. You should have 6' stock which allows 7' as your max size.

NSW RTA:
One inch up from widest optional rim. So in your case 7" is max - not 7.5" 235 tyre in most cases requires 7.5" rim - that's what they are on about. Hence - u really should find a tyre which is recommended for 7" rim and meets other regs. Not easy!
Total diameter of the wheel may not exceed +/- 15 mm
Load 95 or higher.

DavidR I'm doing the exact same as you with insurance. Apparently NRMA have been losing alot of customers recently. I've found RACQ cheaper and more reasonable with mods

As far as i interpret it, we can have 1.3 times the largest width available from factory, which is the VRX 7". But i might have that very wrong.

I'm in the progress of finding new wheels at the moment too.

QLD Transport rules, AFAIK....
1. No more than -26 / + 15mm rolling diameter difference
2. No more than 1.3 times wider. (wider than stock, or biggest mitsui option, I dunno)

Confusing++ still.

DavidR I'm doing the exact same as you with insurance. Apparently NRMA have been losing alot of customers recently. I've found RACQ cheaper and more reasonable with mods

As far as i interpret it, we can have 1.3 times the largest width available from factory, which is the VRX 7". But i might have that very wrong.
I ended up going with RACQ instead of NRMA because of the rim width thing, but RACQ was over $300 dearer then NRMA.. even thought they were still the 2nd cheapest!

By the way, do u know what NRMAs problem with the wider rims is? Aqua-planing.
The weird thing is, they'll let u have the same size tire on a 8" rim(235), as on the 7" rim that they'll allow! U'd think would be what would affect the aqua-planing characteristics rather then the RIM size!

I just rang NRMA asking about rims etc... He said pretty much the only limitation is that the rim must only be 7" wide. Diameter can be as big as i want.... "I repeat the guy said as big as i want... Then I said wot about Load rating, he says doesn't matter, I says so they can have any load rating he says yep any load rating only thing that matters is that they aren't wider then 7 inches. lol :badgrin: lol :dancin: lol. happy happy joy joy... happy happy joy

Don't trust one guy from NRMA, get it in writing just to make sure last thing u would want is to be screwed by your insurance company if your tyres are determined to be the cause of an accident and you won't have any proof of NRMA stating that load rating doesn't matter. NRMA is NSW when I rang em up bout 2 months back they told me load rating has to be whats on the placard, and i gotta a similar response with the Roads and Traffic Authority in NSW as well. Below is the link of what i found out when I talked to NRMA.

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6444

Good Luck wif it though!
Sen2