Last week, MontrealRacing.com authored a story about a page that one of our users came across while browsing the SAAQ website. On the page, the SAAQ writes about a styling trend called hellaflush and how this practice is illegal. The story went viral throughout the internet, appearing on just about every automotive publication in North America including, Jalopnik, Road & Track, Autoblog, Guide de l’Auto and le Journal de Montreal to name a few.
We feel the need to issue this clarification because many people got the wrong impression after having read the article. In the article we stated that we didn’t think a ban on stretched tires was anything new. In fact, in the SAAQ guide for modified vehicles which has been around for many years, it states that tires must not be of a smaller size than the minimum requirement of the manufacturer unless the manufacturer has approved that size as compatible.
What’s new (and the reason why we published the article) is that the SAAQ used the term “hellaflush” to describe something. Hellaflush is a slang term used to describe tight wheel fitment. Here is the problem: not all tight wheel fitments are illegal by the SAAQ’s own definition. The SAAQ explicitly permits the lowering of a vehicle. Furthermore many tire manufacturers approve sizes that are quite thin for large wheel diameters and these can be considered “hellaflush” because it’s a subjective term.
Moreover, the SAAQ defines the term hellaflush as:
– Lowering the suspension of a vehicle;
– Installing larger wheels with positive offset (an error since negative offset means the wheel sticks out further from the vehicle and positive offset allows the wheel to sit closer to the body);
– Installing tires that are too thin for the wheel width (tire stretching).
As we mentioned in the original article, their description is accurate but by using a term with such a broad definition, the SAAQ has given the public the impression that almost any setup other than stock is illegal which is not the case.
We are lining up interviews with tire manufacturers to discuss what constitutes a stretched tire and at which point (if any) a stretched tire could become unsafe. Once we have this info, we could possibly approach the SAAQ for a modification of the page because as it stands right now, there is far too much ambiguity here.
Discussion: http://montrealracing.com/forums/showthread.php?874175-There-Is-No-New-Hellaflush-Law
