17 x 8 inch offset question

[cleopatra]

I bought some second hand 17 inch wheels x 8 inch wide offset 45.

I wanted to check the fit before I fitted any tyres and they don't look quite right. The wheels protrude past the outside of the wheel arch.

What I wanted to know is if I fit 235/45/17 tyres will these rub? I've tried an offset calculator and it tells me that from a standard wheel with 6 inch width and an offset of 43 to my new wheel I have 27mm less inner clearance and extends 23 mm past the original wheel. Will this make it rub?

My car is a standard 96 Legnum VR4 (does this make it pre facelift)?

This is my first post so be gentle with me!

P.s. I have searched the forums for over an hour and I can't find any definitive information!

[cleopatra]

Or should I just sell the 8 inch wheels and buy some 7 or 7.5 inch wheels?

[Nutter_John]

Don't worry we will not bite

Not 100% sure but I have 235/45/17 on 8" enkei's from and evo and there is no rubbing but i think 45 may rub at the rear

cheers John

[Gly]

with a 45 offset the wheel sholdnt stick outside the arch,
it should be inside...
the higher/greater the number for offset the further it should be in towards the car,

the lower the offset the further out they should be...

i have 18" x 8.5" mags with a 35 offset and they stuck out a tiny bit on my prefacelift,
abd are fine on my facelift now coz of the factory arch flares.

your 17x 8s should be fine.
have you got the offset correct thou?
how do you know they stick out if it has no tyre on??

17x8s you ideally want a lower offest 35-40,

no greater than 40. really otherwise you will be coming to close to the rear suspension arms.

a 235/45/17 should be ok on this offset,
you may need to have the rear guard lip rolled a little, nothing major.

depends if you car is lowered aswell.

[bradc]

17x8 with a 45mm offset will probably be too high and offset and will have the wheels too close to the rear suspension arm in particular, you might hit something at the front as well.

EVO 7,8,9 wheels are 17x8 and have a 38mm offset. These will stick out a little bit more than your wheels, but they won't hit any suspension components. They will however rub on the rear wheel arch, especially when the car is lowered. Have a look at my gallery, I have a few pics there with EVO 7 wheels on the car.

Just so you know as well, the higher the offset, the closer the wheel will be to the inside of the car, the lower the offset number, the further out the wheel will be

[bradc]

Another option as well that I just thought of is going with 235/40/17 tyres. These are closer to the original factory 205/55/16 tyres, and will possibly let you get away with hitting fewer things

[cleopatra]

Thanks everyone.

I've just checked the actual wheels and the ET is 35 not 45! This would explain the wheels sticking out slightly. The guy who sold them said they were ET 45.

Does this mean they will be OK with the 235/45/17 tyres? Are these tyres the correct tyres to give the same rolling radius and keep the speedo the same?

GLY what does rolling the rear lip entail and is it expensive? Is it someting I only need to do if the tyre rubs?

Thanks again.

[Kenneth]

Thanks everyone.

I've just checked the actual wheels and the ET is 35 not 45! This would explain the wheels sticking out slightly. The guy who sold them said they were ET 45.

Does this mean they will be OK with the 235/45/17 tyres? Are these tyres the correct tyres to give the same rolling radius and keep the speedo the same?

GLY what does rolling the rear lip entail and is it expensive? Is it someting I only need to do if the tyre rubs?

Thanks again.

They should be fine. you will likely get some rubbing with 235/45/17 unless you roll the guards.

You will have sligtly bigger than standard rolling radius, I believe 235/40/17 is supposed to be closer, personally I would go 235/45 though as it will give more rubber to absorb impact and a better load rating

as for rolling the guards, see this post: http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showpos...8&postcount=15

It should explain what rolling the guard does and why.

[cleopatra]

Thanks for the explanation on rolling. Can I do this myself if so how? Do I need any special tools or is it brute force and ignorence like most of my work? Or do I need to take it to a garage?

[bradc]

35mm offset 17x8 wheels will be great. I have 17x9.5" 35mm wheels on my purple VR-4 and they look marvellous with 235/45/17 wheels.

As far as rolling goes, I guess it depends how confident you are doing it and not stuffing up the entire rear of the car

[Kenneth]

Thanks for the explanation on rolling. Can I do this myself if so how? Do I need any special tools or is it brute force and ignorence like most of my work? Or do I need to take it to a garage?

You could do it with a hammer, a piece of wood and a heat gun if you are confident. Use the heat gun to warm the metal/paint so it stretches better (dont burn the paint though)

if you take your time you should be ok. If you dont feel confident, its best to pay someone to do it for you.

[cleopatra]

Not very confident!

Can I fit the wheels and them wait to see if they rub? Then roll the rear arches?

Will they only rub when the car is loaded?

[Kenneth]

Not very confident!

Can I fit the wheels and them wait to see if they rub? Then roll the rear arches?

Will they only rub when the car is loaded?

sure, fit them first is always the best way.
Yes, or if you are significantly lowered.

[cleopatra]

Right decision made I'll fit 235/45/17 tyres tomorrow and see if they rub.

How far off will these tyres put off the speedo? I thought these were the correct size for 17 inch wheels?

Thanks to all the Kiwi's who have helped so far. (I spent 6 months in your beautiful country in 2002)!

[Kenneth]

Right decision made I'll fit 235/45/17 tyres tomorrow and see if they rub.

How far off will these tyres put off the speedo? I thought these were the correct size for 17 inch wheels?

Thanks to all the Kiwi's who have helped so far. (I spent 6 months in your beautiful country in 2002)!

It wont make a great deal of difference to the speedo, which are usually setup to be optimistic anyway.

I think both are somewhat out from the standard, however it is usually safer to go a bit smaller to make sure you still clear all your suspension bits.

[cleopatra]

Accoding to http://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyresize.html

going from 205/55/16 to 235/45/17 is only +1.7% out and my speedo is about 2.5% slow anyway according to GPS so this should even it out!

Can't wait to fit the new wheels!

[stuey]

I've got 35 offset 18 x 8.5's with 225/40/18 and don't hit anything, rear guards or suspension with lowered car too, you should be fine !!!

Put some pics up when they're on...

[bradc]

with 235/45/17 tyres my speedo was accurate to within half a second on a 5km stretch of road at 100kmh.

[ralliart-type-s]

I just fitted 18x8" tsw catalunyas with 225/40 tyres, they have a 40 offset and dont touch the arches at all. In fact I put 5mm spacers on the rear just to improve the stance! Standard ride height.

[cleopatra]

Pics are attached how do you insert them?

£330 all in with a set of brand new pirellis! Not bad if I do say so myself. Up close they don't look as good but how often do you look up close?

Now i think I need some new springs on the back as the car seems to be sagging at the back. The car rubs on the outer arches when cornering with weight in the back but is ok with no weight.

The new tyres stick out slightly but nothing too bad.

All these pitures were taken on level ground with nothing in the car.

Gap to wheel arch is twice as big at front then rear

Does everyone think new spings will fix this?