NC vehicle laws ..somewhat pertaining to lifted and such type vehicles

the link to this was posted on Facebook by Cherokee Cruiser...i thought it would be good to post it up here...so all credit goes to him...


North Carolina Lift Laws and Vehicle Equipment Laws

North Carolina has very few street legal laws and, luckily, none of them restrict suspension lifts, body lifts, frame height, or bumper height. This means that in North Carolina it is perfectly legal to install suspension lift kits, aftermarket wheels and tires, performance shocks, aftermarket bumpers, and grille guards.



Code
The North Carolina General Statutes (NCGS) cover the street legal laws for the state.

NCGS Ch. 20

Dimensions
Vehicle size in North Carolina cannot exceed 102 inches wide, 13 feet 6 inches tall, or 40 feet long for a single vehicle.

NCGS 20-116

Tires
North Carolina requires that tires be in safe operating condition without any bulges or exposed cords. The minimum allowed tire tread depth is 1/16 inch. It is unknown if tires are allowed to be re-grooved.

NCGS 20-122

Wheels
The North Carolina statutes make no reference to wheels.


Brakes
Vehicles driven in North Carolina are required to have brakes capable of stopping the vehicle from a speed of 20 mph within 30 feet. A secondary, mechanical, parking brake is required.

NCGS 20-124

Steering
North Carolina's only requirement for a vehicle's steering system is that is be safe.

NCGS 20-123.1

Suspension
There are no suspension modification laws in North Carolina for trucks or multi-purpose vehicles with special features for occasional off-road use. Passenger vehicles cannot be lifted or lowered more than 6 inches without the written approval of the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.

NCGS 20-135.4

Frame
North Carolina does not have a vehicle frame height limit.


Bumpers
There are no bumper laws in North Carolina.


Fenders
It is not clear if fenders or mud flaps are required in North Carolina.


Lights
In addition to headlights and tail lights, vehicles in North Carolina are allowed to have a pair of auxiliary lights installed.


Light
Number
Min. Height
Max. Height
Headlights
2 min.
n/a
42 Inches
Tail lights
2 min.
n/a
n/a

Spot lights
2 max.
n/a
n/a
Aux. driving lights
n/a
n/a

( Height measured to the center of the light. )


NCGS 20-129
NCGS 20-130
NCGS 20-131

Windows
The North Carolina code does not specifically state that windshields are required, although, vehicles with windshields are required to have windshield wipers.

NCGS 20-127

Exhaust
In North Carolina, vehicles are required to have mufflers. Exhaust cutouts and bypasses are prohibited.

NCGS 20-128

Engine
It is unknown if North Carolina has any engine swap or engine performance modification rules.


Emissions
North Carolina currently requires safety inspections. Emissions testing is also required on vehicles that are model year 1996 or newer.
(Historic vehicles are exempt from safety inspections.)

NCGS 20-183.2




Feedback

Discuss North Carolina's street legal laws on the All Crawl Off-Road Forum
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that's good information to have. Peterson's 4wheel & Offroad had an article a few years back that contained similar information. The only difference from what they had verses what this source has is they claimed that while North Carolina had no laws restricting suspension, the vehicles headlights could be no more than 12" over factory height.

I never looked more into it, but assumed there was some merit to it because several excessively lifted full-size trucks in my area have relocated their headlights to bumper of the truck, bypassing the ones in the traditional locations. Then again, maybe they just get better vision from the lights being a tad closer to the ground. Never stopped and asked anyone, haha.

So from what I read, the dip **** high school kids running stacked lifts are, according to the law, breaking a traffic violation of some sort?

yeah if they are over 6"...lol...or under for that matter..

Yeah I've seen one truck that had a 6" block and a 3" body.

There is a Silverado around G'boro that i'll try to get a picture of tomorrow if i get to that side of town. It is way higher than anything ive ever seen

Dang, I wonder how they measure lifts. I'm guessing it's not just the lift kit but the total lift. I'm right at 6" above stock when the suspension lift, body lift and tires are factored in. I'm not too worried though, they'll get me for my lights before the lift.

in all my years of driving and interest in 4 wheel drive and 4X4s...i have NEVER ever heard of anyone getting cited for a lift kit...never have i read or heard of anyone getting a ticket for being too high...i guess if there was an accident involving a super lifted vehicle then it might happen...but so far i havent heard ...

bigdogdewey2 wrote:

never have i read or heard of anyone getting a ticket for being too high...

I've heard of a lot of people getting in trouble for being too high, but I think that's a different topic...

Speedrye wrote:

bigdogdewey2 wrote:

never have i read or heard of anyone getting a ticket for being too high...

I've heard of a lot of people getting in trouble for being too high, but I think that's a different topic...

haa haa....good one Sir Speed....

Im going to say thats a little over the legal limit!

FJ Derek wrote:

Im going to say thats a little over the legal limit!

and i bet has trouble going over a curb or even a speed bump...

oh yeah and look at that rear pinion angle!!