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Wheel Offset Query


SiriusProjects

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Hi All, 

 

I've been thinking about possibly changing the wheels on my 2015 370Z Nismo. 

 

Having looked online I have seen a few wheels that I like the look of however, it's the offset of the wheels that I'm not sure about. My knowledge on the subject is not that great, so any help and advise would be much appreciated.

 

The owners manual says that the current offsets are 40mm (front) and 23mm (Rear). Do new alloy wheels need to match these offsets exactly or can there be a bit of variance?

 

For instance I've seen a set alloys online which would fit my 370Z Nismo, but the offsets are 35mm (front) and 20mm (rear). Would that work and even if it did, would the slight difference change how the car handles?

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I'm sure 35mm front and 20mm rear will be fine as others run offsets at least 10mm lower than that without problems.

 

As far as handling goes, my experience with the 350Z would suggest that if you drop the front offset a lot from standard you might notice the steering feeling different but it may not bother you. I'm happy with 20mm reduction, it's a bit like getting used to the slightly different steering of a different car. I'm sure I read somewhere that dropping the front offsets by 7mm would be maximum before any negative affects are felt due to increasing the scrub radius. If you're concerned about it then stay with 33mm or more, assuming the wheel width is the same. The rear offsets aren't affected in the same way so not so much to worry about.

 

If it was me I would much more concerned by the weight of the new wheels. I've tried both forged Rays and cast 5zigen wheels on my car, both being 19" and the same widths, with similar offsets, the ride and performance was definitely affected far more noticeably with the heavier wheels. As you have light wheels already I wouldn't recommend wheels significantly heavier but then some people will almost certainly disagree!

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No, you’re absolutely right about heavier wheels, it’s the worst place to add weight and is the one place where it’s massively noticeable. 

 

Go and have a read up about offsets and what it actually is, and then you’ll see why you may need spacers or why a given wheel may simply not fit. 

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1 hour ago, SiriusProjects said:

Thanks for all the info.

 

Here is a pic of the wheel that had the offsets I mentioned. It's called the Ultralite R5 Dark GunMetal.

 

It's made of aluminium and going by the name, I'm guessing that they aren't going to be heavy wheels. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wheels.jpg

I bought my 370z with these alloys on, I'm happy to have a look/tinker if you know what you need. 

 

I'm no wheel expert so can't comment but will say my speedo (and assume mileometer) all run with a 5%ish error and the ride is a little rough compared to stock. Handling is fine considering  I'm only running Hankook Ventus S1. 

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4 hours ago, SiriusProjects said:

Thanks for all the info.

 

Here is a pic of the wheel that had the offsets I mentioned. It's called the Ultralite R5 Dark GunMetal.

 

It's made of aluminium and going by the name, I'm guessing that they aren't going to be heavy wheels. 

Most wheels are aluminium alloy, it's how they're made rather than what they're made of that makes the difference. Those wheels look to be about £520 a set which in my mind means they're probably cast. I don't know anything about Ultralite but be aware that some cast wheels are prone to cracks and failure. They design them to look like expensive forged wheels, possibly Advan in this case, which means they're not as strong and possibly less likely to take the sort of punishment a forged one would.

 

It's obviously personal preference but I don't think the design of them is different enough to the wheels you already have to justify the significantly lower quality wheel. Have you considered just repainting your current wheels which would be both cheaper and less compromised?

 

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Weight of these is 10-12kg according to Tarmac in a post from a couple of years back.

 

However as pointed out these are not going to be of the highest quality nor of the lowest weight: You can expect them to look good for a bit but then I'd expect the finish to come off and the extra weight to be noticeable. However they're a brand new set of 19" wheels for £500, which is pretty much an absolute bargain if you like the looks :) Not everyone can afford or wants to spend £1500 on a set of wheels, certainly I bought cheap-ass Japan Racing wheels for my old BMW and they did the job for me perfectly, as well as being lighter than the heavy OEM ones :lol: 

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1 hour ago, roadtrip said:

Most wheels are aluminium alloy, it's how they're made rather than what they're made of that makes the difference. Those wheels look to be about £520 a set which in my mind means they're probably cast. I don't know anything about Ultralite but be aware that some cast wheels are prone to cracks and failure. They design them to look like expensive forged wheels, possibly Advan in this case, which means they're not as strong and possibly less likely to take the sort of punishment a forged one would.

 

It's obviously personal preference but I don't think the design of them is different enough to the wheels you already have to justify the significantly lower quality wheel. Have you considered just repainting your current wheels which would be both cheaper and less compromised?

 

I do need to get my current wheels refurbished as one of them has been curbed and there are a few scratches on the others.

 

I'd still like to look into maybe getting another set of alloys. If anyone has any recommendations and perhaps some pics, I'd love to see them. My only preference when it comes to alloy wheels though is that the spoke layout isn't too busy. 

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Here's a video which explains a bit about the main different manufacturing methods: WHICH TYPE OF WHEEL SHOULD YOU BUY?

 

If you want different size wheels or a different style then I agree with Ekona in that there are some reasonable and cheap wheels about that most people will be happy with. The wheels you have now would probably be at least 4x the price of the Ultralite ones if you were to buy them new. As you want the same size and similar style to what you've already got then a refurb would seem to me the better option and you don't have to keep the diamond cut edges either if you don't like that about them.

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Just swapped mine out as wanted a change too with dish. Invested in a set of work emotion T72RPs in asterism black from Driftworks. 16 week wait though.

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15 minutes ago, roadtrip said:

Here's a video which explains a bit about the main different manufacturing methods: WHICH TYPE OF WHEEL SHOULD YOU BUY?

 

If you want different size wheels or a different style then I agree with Ekona in that there are some reasonable and cheap wheels about that most people will be happy with. The wheels you have now would probably be at least 4x the price of the Ultralite ones if you were to buy them new. As you want the same size and similar style to what you've already got then a refurb would seem to me the better option and you don't have to keep the diamond cut edges either if you don't like that about them.

Thanks for the link to the video roadtrip. I've just watched it and it was certainly very informative. I always assumed that an alloy wheel was an alloy wheel, but clearly there is lot more to think about when you want to buy a set. I think you are right about just getting my original wheels refurbished to be honest. I would want a similar style and it does seem a bit daft to fork out for a whole new set of wheels when the set I've got are decent enough.

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So I'm no wheel/alloys/tyres expert but I've tried to use the interweb and the gogle to enlighten me. I'm now going to hijack this thread and clarify I'm on the right tracks.

 

I have the alloys pictured above, 19x9.5J ET 35 on the front and 19x10.5J ET 20 on the rear.

 

This means my front alloys are 19 inch diameter with 9.5 inches width with a "natural" 35mm offset and my rears are 19 inch diameter, slightly wider at 10.5 inches and a smaller offset.

If I'm replacing the rear tyres on my car, they will need to be a width of at least 10.5 inches or 267mm. I'm currently running 285/35ZR19 which means they are 285mm wide, a low profile of 35% (of the tyre width) and a diameter of 19 inches.

I'm also assuming my current tyres are stretched out and on willtheyfit.com it tells me the change in gaps and speedo if I change the tyre size so I'm happy with that. 

 

Where I need help. 


1. I'm not sure what the ZR stands for, supposedly the speed rating?
2. What is the minimum and maximum tyre width I can use on these alloys safely? 
 

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2 hours ago, Umster said:

 

1. I'm not sure what the ZR stands for, supposedly the speed rating?
2. What is the minimum and maximum tyre width I can use on these alloys safely? 
 

1. Yes it's the speed rating, Wikipedia explains it: Tire code

2. Depends on the manufacturer and despite the width number on the sidewall, the actual tyre width can vary significantly between brands. These are the sizes that Bridgestone suggest for your rear wheels: 275/40 to 285/40, 265/35 to 305/35 and 285/30 to 305/30.

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On 23/01/2019 at 18:28, roadtrip said:

1. Yes it's the speed rating, Wikipedia explains it: Tire code

2. Depends on the manufacturer and despite the width number on the sidewall, the actual tyre width can vary significantly between brands. These are the sizes that Bridgestone suggest for your rear wheels: 275/40 to 285/40, 265/35 to 305/35 and 285/30 to 305/30.

Thanks! 

 

Ended up reading up through the FAQ on tyreleader and learned a little more. 

 

https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/tyres-advices/tyre-zr-or-r

 

In case anyone else is a novice and wants to get answers to FAQs

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