Police warning: incorrect wheel size on Audi A8L D2

[iGO]

Hi everyone
Today I was stopped by police and officer gave me warning for incorrect size wheels.
He told me that wheels are not manufacturer/AUDI ones, not designed for this vehicle and doesn't fit arch correctly :Confused:
Maybe someone know regulations and what does it mean CORRECT wheels?
How much I know tire tread should stay under arch.

Thanks for any help
Igor

[mattylondon]

How was the situation left, did the police only give a verbal warning? I assume you have a valid MOT with your current wheels on when tested. I remember watching Traffic Cops where they pulled a young lad in a Polo or Golf with massive negative camber as they thought it was unsafe.

[Conquistador]

Strange, your wheels/tyres don't look like they stick out too much.

Neither the wheel nor tyre tread can stick out past the body/arch but the 'bulge' of the tyre is allowed to but each case will probably be judged on its own merits by the officer which stops you.

[iGO]

He was saying that should be gap between tire and arch.
I told him its sport suspension. He said: no its not wright.
When I asked him what is wright he couldn't tell me.

[Dezzy]

He's obviously never had a Ford Zephyr or a Citroen CX

[iGO]

I thinking, maybe he mean that tires are stretched over the rims?
That's what I found:
Wheels http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_420.htm
Tyres http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_410.htm

Still can't see nothing related

[ainarssems]

It's a bit bit of grey area, the links you posted are for MOT but MOT does not cover every single rule and legislation. So just because it passed MOT does not mean it's road legal. Then there are rules for vehicle manufacturers when designing new models but there is not much certainty what you can and cannot modify or by how much.

I think that wheels and tyres can stick out of body by up to 30mm if there are no sharp or pointy bits on them. But I am not sure how it's measured as the body line is not vertical but slopes inwards at the bottom so obviously they are sticking out more at the bottom.

[Adrian E]

What's the wheel width and tyre size?

About the only things you can get pulled up on are an overly stretched tyre, or the whole wheel/tyre combo sticking out of the wheel arch, which would constitute an MOT failure.

[47p2]

What I've always been told is that if, when looking vertically down past the wheelarch any of the tread section of the tyre can be seen then this contravenes Construction and Use regs but is not an MOT fail.

[ainarssems]

This from individual vehicle approval regulations:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=11964&stc=1&d=1444666563

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=11965&stc=1&d=1444666563

[iGO]

Doesn't look that wheel sticks out to much
http://s15.postimg.org/cb6l31cnr/image.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/cb6l31cnr/)

[ainarssems]

As far as understand this part of tyre tread must be inside of wing and cannot stick out.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=11966&stc=1&d=1444667566

[iGO]

Tyre tread is under arch, just alloy stick out a bit, but nothing extreme

[Adrian E]

alloy should be flush with the top of the wheel arch

[tonupkid]

I'm thinking that you have met a gold plated a-hole, and if your car was illegal you'd now have a ticket.
However. Just to be on the safe side. Just in case something unpleasant drops through the post in the next few weeks. It may be worthwhile collecting some evidence yourself and photograph your car, wheels, tyres, arches, everything. Close up and long shots, and from every angle. Just in case.

[Adrian E]

There's some pics of mine on page 3 of this thread. The rear spacing is legal, as the top of the wheel is inboard of the arch. The fact more of the wheel is visible lower down (and hence all the crap that gets flung up by the tyre ends up on the back bumper!) doesn't matter

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6865&page=3

I get no rubbing issues even when fully laden.

I'll have to check my copy of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulatations, 1986 (as amended), which is at work, for the specific text but my understanding is that you can't have an external projection of a wheel beyond that arch line at the top. A lot depends on interpretation. If you've had any rubbing issues that have marked the tyre then they may have been picking up on that.

As above we really need pics to judge whether you're on sticky ground or not.

[Reffro]

My view and looking at the MOT regs and the photos, you do appear to have a problem. If you look how your wheel arch tapers in from the top of the arch towards the rear bumper, this appears to be the problem. the taper is smack bang in the zone Ainar has highlighted, thus your wheel/tyre is not cover by the arch. I assume looking from the rear of the car, you can see lots of exposed tyre/wheel, which needs to covered by a wheel guard/mudflap.

[Adrian E]

My view and looking at the MOT regs and the photos, you do appear to have a problem.

Reffro - you talking to me, or the OP? Wasn't sure....

[iGO]

Some pics.
Rear
http://s22.postimg.org/6k1ntrfwd/IMG_0042.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/6k1ntrfwd/)

http://s22.postimg.org/7jrypgv25/IMG_0043.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/7jrypgv25/)

Front
http://s11.postimg.org/pm27kl2rz/IMG_0045.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/pm27kl2rz/)

[Adrian E]

I need to double check when I'm back in the office - reading C&U I mentioned above I can't find any reference to it. Spray suppression only applies to HGVs in there. I would say you are borderline (on the wrong side of the border!) due to the rim sticking out past the arch on the front, so Reg 100 may apply (avoidance of danger), but need to check with a colleague if there's specific reasons to be considered legal/illegal. Are you running very low? Appears to be a lot of camber on the rear. You might get away with it in terms of wheel sticking out as the top edge is under the arch, but due to the camber a lot is sticking out at the bottom.

Of more concern is the apparent stretch to the tyre - post your wheel and tyre sizes and I can defo confirm if they are legal or too stretched. There is definitely guidance for that!

If you're running spacers I'd be tempted to go in 5mm all round just to prevent aggro.

[iGO]

I need to double check when I'm back in the office - reading C&U I mentioned above I can't find any reference to it. Spray suppression only applies to HGVs in there. I would say you are borderline (on the wrong side of the border!) due to the rim sticking out past the arch on the front, so Reg 100 may apply (avoidance of danger), but need to check with a colleague if there's specific reasons to be considered legal/illegal. Are you running very low? Appears to be a lot of camber on the rear. You might get away with it in terms of wheel sticking out as the top edge is under the arch, but due to the camber a lot is sticking out at the bottom.

Of more concern is the apparent stretch to the tyre - post your wheel and tyre sizes and I can defo confirm if they are legal or too stretched. There is definitely guidance for that!

If you're running spacers I'd be tempted to go in 5mm all round just to prevent aggro.

Will check wheels and tyres sizes tomorrow. Previous owner fit lowering springs (forget to ask, how many mm). And he put 10mm spacers on a front to clear brake calipers, didn't check rear yet.

[iGO]

Wheel and tire size.
Wheel R20x10
Tire 255/35/R20
ET 40

[Adrian E]

What's the offset, out of interest?

[iGO]

Et 40

[iGO]

I need to double check when I'm back in the office - reading C&U I mentioned above I can't find any reference to it. Spray suppression only applies to HGVs in there. I would say you are borderline (on the wrong side of the border!) due to the rim sticking out past the arch on the front, so Reg 100 may apply (avoidance of danger), but need to check with a colleague if there's specific reasons to be considered legal/illegal. Are you running very low? Appears to be a lot of camber on the rear. You might get away with it in terms of wheel sticking out as the top edge is under the arch, but due to the camber a lot is sticking out at the bottom.

Of more concern is the apparent stretch to the tyre - post your wheel and tyre sizes and I can defo confirm if they are legal or too stretched. There is definitely guidance for that!

If you're running spacers I'd be tempted to go in 5mm all round just to prevent aggro.

Any news?

[Adrian E]

Sorry - mad day at work yesterday and forgot to dig out my standards handbook. Will try and look it up today

[Adrian E]

Hiya

Have the printout in front of me :)

The manual works by considering profile first, then tyre width and then lists acceptable wheel widths

For 255/35R20 tyres the recommended width is 8.5" (J profile, but they all are basically unless they're very specialist)

The alternate approved rims are 8", 9", 9.5" and 10"

If you wanted less evident stretch the recommended tyre width in a 35 profile is a 285 but you'd need to check rolling radius to make sure that wasn't going up a lot (it probably doesn't)

If you pm me your email I can send you a copy to keep in the car in case you're stopped again? Won't deal with the bodywork issue but it should deal with any suggestion the tyre is too stretched

[iGO]

Adrian E pm send

[Adrian E]

I've been working from home today - will grab the info and mail you tomorrow +++