OHTA.ca

Hi All,

I was putzing around on the net the other day and some guy said he got a ticket for improper tires 70(3)(a). Reason was the car was too low. I looked at the Act and Reg 625 that describes tires but didn't see anything. Is he full of it or did I miss something?

Thanks!

J.

O/Reg 625 s. 5(b): A tire fitted on a vehicle shall not...contact any vehicle component so as to affect the safe operation of the vehicle.

I take it the officer felt that the vehicle was so low that there was contact and that therefore the tire was improper.

It sounds like something was lost in translation.

My best guess is that this person received a ticket relating to his tires, and the cause was from improper lowering of a vehicle. The ticket itself isn't for being too low. There's many reasons this can happen.

- The tires are too wide for the drop. This can cause rubbing with the fenders if they aren't rolled from the factory or haven't been rolled by a professional. It's against the traffic act for the tire to make contact with the fender. Fenders can also cut into a tire from all the rubbing. Depending how deep the cut is, it would also be against the traffic act.

- The vehicle was lowered without the proper adjustable camber arms. When (if) an alignment is done, the mechanic wont be able to get the camber in spec because there is either no adjustment available on the factory arms, or the level of adjustment is only enough to make adjustments to factory height. This will usually leave the inside of the tire making the majority of the contact to the road. It's not uncommon for a brand new tire to be completely bald on the inside over a single season. Tread wear can land you a ticket.