Alloys, offset help :(

[Aragorn]

GAH, my luck is always the same

i was wanting a nice shiney set of wolfrace urban racer 7's for my xmas - so after phoning about 10 dealers i find out they dont have ANY stock in the UK at all and wont have till jan/feb time

so i started looking at others and found the BK238 and this looks almost the same

so i phoned a few places and they are about the same price the only difference is the offset

the Wolfrace are 45mm the BK's are 42mm (or possibly 38mm according to the folks at demon tweeks, if someone could confirm this i'd be grateful)

so 42mm... will this be ok? they are 15" and 6.5" deep

what are the issues with fitting lower offset wheels anyway apart from the obvious problem of them hitting the arches (ive got a saloon so that shouldnt be an issue)

thanks

[neiloakley]

saloon?

[burgessovsalford]

apart from them hitting the arches, your car will have sh**er handling...

For perfect you want the offset as 49, but 45 will do on 15" rims, but wiv ya avin a 'saloon' I wouldnt know about the archs on them mate.

[mikeoxford]

id go for it mate, what size are they?

to be fair on a saloon all you will have to watch is rubbing from the INSIDE, so offset obviously does matter, but only if it is very far from the et 45-49 because they will rub the shocks etc etc

although you could buy wheel spacers.................?

gu on treat yourself! it is chrimbo after all!

[Aragorn]

um, yeh a saloon - a 4 door one at that

and a 42offset will mean the wheels stick OUT more not in the way

which is why when u fit 17's u need to get 45mm because most 17's are 7" wide rather than 6.5" and if u use 7" wheels with 49mm offset the WILL rub the shocks

ive been warned off 40-42mm offsets by a few dealers who've all said stick with 45mm+ so i wanna know exactly HOW the offset would affect the handling

more under/oversteer? less traction? excess tire wear?

[mikeoxford]

well IN MY OPINION (as i have been slagged in another forum recently for saying in acrurate things)

i would have thought increaseing the amount your tyres stick out will help with handling as you are widening the track of the car.

i would have THOUGHT the only thing that will be affected in the long term - or maybe short, depends how far of the offset you are, you will get through wheel bearings, as there will be more strain on them

[jon_boy]

this would make sense as this is why they do widening kits for the front and rear axles yes? wider wheel base, corner better?

[dan16v]

more stress on wheel bearings etc tho! should be ok tho imo 45mm is the best off set as opposed to 49mm :wink:

[Ste_Nova]

the wide track will improve handleing... but it will be outweighed by the shit steering etc

stick to 42-49

round arch novas can run as low as 40 without problems

[Aragorn]

um, ok the original question aint really been answered

if i fit 40-45mm offset alloys to me car what EXACTLY will happen

i was told it would make handling shite, but in what ways?

ste_sa says the handling would improve but the steering would deteriate, is this the "tramlining" i keep hearing of? if so what is tramlining?

thanks

[mikeoxford]

eek - sorry i wasnt much of assitance then :|

[burgessovsalford]

id class it as a grey area really... because it might improve road handling, but will put strain on ya bearings, steering, etc.

:arrow: If I was you id just get a set with an offset between 42-49 & you should be ok with that.

[pete22]

ive got a saloon with 16s off the mk 4 astras but not sure of offset and mines lowered 40 mm and theres no rubbing and the steering is still the same and the handeling is mint so go for it

[neiloakley]

if the wheels are off an astra they will be ET49. How wide are they?

[pete22]

they are et49 and their 6j x 16 with 205/50/16