When it comes to car wheels and car tires, there’s a lot more to know than reading the tire sidewall. To be fair, if you can’t read the sidewall of the tire you probably have no business thinking about custom wheel offset. Changing the wheel offset of your tire will have major effects on your car’s handling and performance, not only the appearance of your rims.Want to get the skinny on custom wheel offset, and learn a little about other wheel aspects along the way? To get some traction on this topic, keep reading!
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How to Measure Custom Wheel Offset
Let’s be clear— when we’re talking about custom wheel offset we’re not talking about custom steering wheels. That said, it’s part of some of the most popular ways to modify your car. You’ll need more info to know how to get the proper wheel offset for your vehicle.
Offset is the distance between the hub mounting surface of your wheel and the wheel’s centerline. The hub mounting surface is where the lugnuts keep your wheel bolted onto your car.
If the hub is aligned center to your tire, it’s called “zero offset.” If the hub is closer to the outside of your wheel, it’s “positive.” If the hub is toward the backside of your wheel, that is, the side facing away from you, then it’s a “negative offset.”
A similar measurement that gets confused with offset is “backspacing.” Where offset spacing is based on the centerline, backspacing is the distance from the hub and the inner edge of the wheel rim.
Effects of Positive, Zero, or Negative Offset
If your wheel is incorrectly set within the wheel well you can have serious consequences.
If it’s too negative and the tire will be sticking outside of the wheel well, giving clearance issues or contacting your fender. If it’s too positive, the tire will be rubbing on the inside of the wheel well, shocks and other components, or the car body.
You also may not be able to turn your front wheels far enough, affecting the turning radius and possibly damaging your car.
Visually, wheels tend to look better the more flush the hub is with the outside of the wheel. This is especially true with custom spinning rims.
If you have a wheel that is too positive, you can use a wheel spacer to push the wheel to a more negative offset location, and closer to the OEM of your wheel.
Custom Wheel Offset Basics
There are thousands of factors to consider with custom wheels and custom wheel offset is only one part of it. Wheel diameter, wheel width, and wheel offset each have a bit of wiggle-room, but not much. This guide should have set the record straight on the basics of custom wheel offset.
Need more help with your tires, wheels, and other custom work on your car? Keep browsing our articles for the best in automotive news and guides!