BANGOR (AP) – Automotive buffs can get the bling-bling look from their oversized alloy wheels and still meet state inspection requirements as long as they don’t alter the tire circumference.

But there is still a lot of confusion among motorists a year after the state revised the rules on tires.

Under Maine’s 1993 vehicle inspection law, it was illegal to raise or lower the body or suspension or change the tire size of vehicles with rear-wheel or all-wheel anti-lock brakes.

Maine updated the state inspection law a year ago allowing motorists to modify their rim size and install lower-profile tires as long as the changes don’t affect the tire’s circumference.

“You can actually put on larger-sized rims as long as the circumference of the tire stays the same,” Sgt. Donald Pomelow of the Maine State Police traffic division said. “The 1993 law states that anti-lock brake vehicles cannot be altered. That means no suspension, or body lifts. This (new law) kind of brought it up to date to allow after-market rims and tires.”

Putting smaller or larger circumference tires on a car can throw off speedometers and affect anti-lock brakes, he said.

Raising the vehicle height with a lift kit also can have adverse effects, so it remains illegal to install a lift kit or to install tires that are larger than what the manufacturer recommends, he said.

“According to national safety reports, vehicles with larger tires and lift kits are more prone to rollovers and longer braking distances because of the larger tires,” he said.

Some businesses say the confusion arising from the rule has forced them to turn some customers away.

“Just this morning I had three customers leave very agitated because they wanted to put on bigger tires than what the manufacturer recommends,” said Al Belanger, owner of Tires, Batteries and Accessories Inc. of Bangor.

“Everybody’s blood pressure goes up, and they say, “It’s my car and I’ll do what I want with it.’ It makes it hard for us to do business. The normal public does not know about this,” he said.

At VIP Discount Auto Parts in Bangor, manager Todd Dumond agreed that people are not educated about the laws.

“I’ve had to tell them we can’t put them (larger tires) on,” he said. “What we try to do is find a tire that meets the circumference of the vehicle.”

Lt. Chris Grotton of the Maine State Police traffic division said confusion over the law has cut down on enforcement over the past decade, but the department has made an active effort this year to reduce the number of illegal vehicles on the road.

“One of the things we’re doing is creating a training piece (for inspection stations) to increase knowledge of what’s allowed and what’s not,” he said. “We need clearer laws.”

Drivers who change or alter their vehicles after receiving an inspection sticker could face a fine of up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail or both. They also could face a $132 fine for a defective motor vehicle.

Inspection stations that issue illegal inspection stickers could be issued a warning or lose their license to inspect.

AP-ES-08-25-04 1452EDT