Increasing your turning circle

[Whatmot]

now i was dismantling my first vit about half an hour ago when i noticed to bolts on the steering arm (not sure what it called). i then realised that these stop the steering from moving too much either way. i was thinking about winding the bolts in when my dad said that he did it on his van, got a great turning circle, but it failed the mot. i was reading the haynes manual, and all it says on mot steering checks if that the wheels or tyres must not touch any brake lines, pipes or body structure. does that mean if i bung some wheel spacers and offset rims on i can get away with increasing the turning cirlce? has anyone else tried it?

[StuartL]

yes and no!

If you put wheel spacers/offset rims on the tyres stick out further.  This might mean they hit the arches even earlier, or later.

Additionally cars are supposed to have body work extended out past the wheels (this is why kit cars have the daft mud guards on exposed wheels) and this is supposed to be checked in an MOT.

There are also valid concerns about the strengths of wheel spacers and the effect of offset wheels on on-road performance.

Body and suspension lifts can be a very effective way of increasing the clearance between the tyre and the bodywork allowing more room for movement.  Then you have to start worrying about CV joint action at extreme suspension travel etc...

You could always buy a Haflinger?

[Evilgoat]

There have been a few posts about wheel spacers failing catastrophically.

[Whatmot]

has anyone increased there turning cirlce by 'winding' in the bolts and got away with it on the mot?