One of the most common modifications to a car is the type or size of its tires. Many off-road drivers look for better grip or more ground clearance. Some car owners seek larger tires, believing it will improve the car’s appearance, while collectors with sizes that are no longer manufactured search for alternatives so they can continue driving their vehicles.
However, finding alternative sizes for the tires currently listed on the vehicle registration is not simple, as not every tire approved abroad can be installed in Israel. Cardata, which provides automotive training software and services for licensing offices, has launched a new service to identify tire sizes approved for installation on thousands of car models sold in Israel, from Susita to Rolls-Royce. The database includes American and Japanese cars, both those imported officially and via parallel or personal import.
Yinon Greenberg, son of Cardata’s founder and the lead developer of the service, says, "It is difficult for drivers to know exactly what is approved for their car. Some tire sizes are approved for specific engine versions of a model, and not for others. Parallel importers or personal imports are sometimes registered with the Transport Ministry with different sizes for the same model than those that arrived with official imports. We encountered many cases—this week a Ford Focus owner came to us requesting a larger tire. Taxi drivers often request smaller tires to save fuel."
Cardata provides telephone consultation regarding approved tire sizes and can also provide an official document for licensing offices, allowing the new tire to be registered in the vehicle’s license.