chuck 0 Posted February 8, 2003 Hi I'm thinking about putting bigger wheels on my C. I have old GTI 14" wheels at the moment. 185/60/R14. ( they really look undersize in those big arches) I'm also going to lower it by 40mm soon too. I don't want to put 17" on it as I would regularly have to take it down a rough lane and don't want to damage them - have also heard that they can affect turning circle when lowered. So I'll go for 16" rims, 195 or 205 wide. Though I don't understand the other dimension is - 60 on mine at the mo. I know this is to do with the depth, but what should it be with 16" rims. Options new are from 45 to 55. If I buy second hand, I don't want to put ones that are too big on. eg, I would have thought that if i buy ones that are 55, and they should have been 45, then performance will suffer, what with the wheel being too big a diameter, and the speedo will read incorrect. Or does it matter. I dunno. Any help is appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe M 0 Posted February 8, 2003 There are 2 choices for 16's on a C 205/45/16 or 215/40/16, both are pretty much the same diameter as standard so shouldnt affect the speedo. The 215's are harsher though so go with the 205's and take the rough lanes easy and they will be fine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vr6storm 0 Posted February 8, 2003 hi m8, whatever you do make sure you get the correct offset.....i think its et35-38.......check with some of the other guys on here though hth Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banana Man 0 Posted February 8, 2003 I would go with 195/45/16's with an offset of 35-38 as Roddy says you shouldn't any problems with them. 195/45 is the average tyre width for 16's which means that the tyres will be cheaper to replace if you ever have to. You will find if you fit 205's they will roll with the road alot more because of the width of them thats just my opinion though!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck 0 Posted February 9, 2003 Ok, now, just when its all falling into place and i'm headin down the road to buy a set of 195/45/16s or 205/45/16s, y'all throw another unknown onto the fire. Whats offset. Is that like a spacer? Where do you get longer wheel bolts etc... Does insurance need to know about that? nowts ever simple. :| Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sefton 0 Posted February 10, 2003 I have 7.5x16 brock b2 on mine with 25off set on the rear and a 35off set on the front (you can fit a wider wheel under the rear arches, I just stayed with the 7.5 but had a lower off set so it pushed the wheel outwards a little, this gives a flusher look)! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banana Man 0 Posted February 10, 2003 OFFSET The offset of a wheel is the distance from its hub mounting surface to the centerline of the wheel. The offset can be one of three types. Zero Offset The hub mounting surface is even with the centerline of the wheel. Positive The hub mounting surface is toward the front or wheel side of the wheel. Positive offset wheels are generally found on front wheel drive cars and newer rear drive cars. Negative The hub mounting surface is toward the back or brake side of the wheels centerline. "Deep dish" wheels are typically a negative offset. Your local wheel and tyre centre will be able to sell you wheels with the right offset its between 35 and 38 for VW's make sure you buy wheels with 1 of these offsets it is usually stamped on the back of one of the spokes or on the inside of the rim if you get it wrong you can end up with allsorts of problems!!! If the offset of the wheel is not correct for the car, the handling can be adversely affected. When the width of the wheel changes, the offset also changes numerically. If the offset were to stay the same while you added width, the additional width would be split evenly between the inside and outside. For most cars, this won't work correctly. We have test fitted thousands of different vehicles for proper fitment. Our extensive database allows our sales staff to offer you the perfect fit for your vehicle Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sefton 0 Posted February 10, 2003 Is my offset on the rear not right then? as its 25? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banana Man 0 Posted February 10, 2003 It should be the same on all the wheels I think so 25 is probably wrong it should be somewhere between 35-38mm have you found that the tyres are wearing uneaven on the rears at all??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sefton 0 Posted February 11, 2003 No not that I know of? I've only had them on about a month though! I bought them from Style dynamics and the guys there surggested having diffrent off sets on the front and rear! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
longman 0 Posted February 11, 2003 banana man, i bought my car back in october and they bloke had just put some 17" oz racing wheels on it which i think he bought from halfords. The thing is im not sure if they have the offset or not? Would you know? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GazzaG60 0 Posted February 11, 2003 offset would not necessarily be the same. in general wheels are sold in sets with the same offset. however it would be better to have 25 offset than to use 35 with a 10mm spacer in my opinion. most of us arn't lucky enough to have this option and need spacers for wide rears Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluslc 0 Posted February 11, 2003 Is my offset on the rear not right then? as its 25? don't worry m8 you don't have to have same offset for front and back. i am runing ET 0 at the front -6 at the back... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sefton 0 Posted February 11, 2003 What surspension set up have you got bluslc? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluslc 0 Posted February 11, 2003 What surspension set up have you got bluslc? H&R coilovers, with uprated springs.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sefton 0 Posted February 11, 2003 What width are your wheels? Just asking because I want to lower my car say 30-40mm, but at the moment on the front wheels theres very little room between the tyre and shocker! I'm just worred if I go lower etc I will get rubbing problems and I have to fit spacers to give more room between the shocks and tyres! How low have you gone? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
G60Jet 1 Posted February 11, 2003 isn't Wheel ofset about loading the wheel beerings correctly so that the load is in the center of the bearings. Your front and back offset will be the same from the factory as the wheels are the same. The offset should not change with the width as you still need to be 35-38 mm from the wheels inner face. If you a having suspension clearing brake caliper clearing problems then the offset is wrong. If your having suspension clearing problems then the wheels are to wide for the suspension and would would need to replace the suspension to run those wheels. Am i right or talking shit!! and totally confused!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
