snow tyres new rules

Forums › Off topic › snow tyres new rules

yuxek

147 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#59274 31-Mar-2010 15:03

new rules for snow tyres:

http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/new-rules-winter-tyres-1-april/5/43517

so do many cars come with snow tyres thesedays? how deep is the tread depth on brand new snow tyres? the new requirement is a minimum of 4mm tread depth. I thought brand new non-snow tyres are 6mm. Can you actually buy snow tyres in new zealand from most tyre shops?

yuxek

147 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#313494 31-Mar-2010 15:13

update:
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/rules/tyres-and-wheels-amendment-2009-2-qa.html

$150 or $370 fine for non-compliance on mixing snow and normal tyres. does this apply to vehicle importers and dealers only? pretty harsh if it's for members of the public because they'd have to spend lots of money making sure they don't have a mix of tyres.

rscole86

4999 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 462

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#313499 31-Mar-2010 15:18

They are standard fines for infringements. And will be for the owner and operators of the vehicle.
I am not sure why there is $150 and $370 variations, it could be for operator vs owner or normal vs HMV. There is a $500 maximum penalty for summary conviction, this may be enforced on dealers selling unfit/roadworthy vehicles.

wellygary

8811 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5288

#313511 31-Mar-2010 15:42

yuxek: new rules for snow tyres:

http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/new-rules-winter-tyres-1-april/5/43517

so do many cars come with snow tyres thesedays? how deep is the tread depth on brand new snow tyres? the new requirement is a minimum of 4mm tread depth. I thought brand new non-snow tyres are 6mm. Can you actually buy snow tyres in new zealand from most tyre shops?

Snow tyres arrive mostly on second hand vehicles from Japan, the vendors in Japan will slap snow tyres with enough tread on them to met the import standards here. ( Snow tyres ony have a 3-4 year life as the soft rubber tends to harden on prolonged UV exposure, which lowers their snow grip).

Because the rubber is generally softer, the tyres wear reasonably quickly on NZ chip seal roads, but people tend to only replace each tyre as they wear out and fail WOFs. It this mixing of snow and regular tyres that causes the problems,

You can buy snow tyres in the Alpine regions (Otago, central north island), but most people dont bother and just use chains.

JonC

425 posts

Ultimate Geek

#313598 31-Mar-2010 20:20

Snow tyres are only meant for people driving in the snow reguarly - so unless you work on a ski-field, not a lot of people would have use for them in NZ. The recommendation in Japan is you're supposed to take them off in summer anyway because they're not as safe as regular tyres. So IMHO they shouldn't be allowed on imports at all.