Wheels that dont fit cause of offset, what to do?

[crystalmeth3]

Is it as simple as adding a spacer between the wheel and hub while using different lug nuts. Or to have a machine shop shave off some of the hub mating surface of a shallow wheel?

I love a certain wheel that only comes in 40mm offset and would like to know how much it would cost to shave a centimeter off the hub. Are there any drawbacks to this method? What should i look for in the yellow pages when searching for a place to do this?

the wheels is 18x7.5 and i would use 225/40 series tires. the application guide says they are good for the rx-8 (didnt have speed3 option) but i assume the rx-8s have more room on the inner wheel fender to run a 40mm offset. any insight would be appreciated.

 

[ill_eagle94]

The 40 offset 7.5 width will give you 6 mm more clearance on the inside of the wheel and it will extend outward 18 mm.

Stockers are 18x7 with a 52.5 offset.

 

[Hirudin]

I've seen other people on other forums say that it isn't really safe to add a spacer. On that same forum someone said that "they" use spacers in NASCAR (or something) and therefor it is possible for them to be used safely...

The tire always sticks out from the wheel, so I think the width of the tire is more important than the width of the wheel. According to tirerack.com the "section width" of the stock tires is 8.5". If you took our 8.5" tires off our 7" wheels and stuck them on some 7.5" width wheels it probably wouldn't change the overall width very much (about 0.2").

The industry rule of thumb is that for every 1/2" change in rim width, the tire's section width will correspondingly change by approximately 2/10".

So, going from 18x7 52.5 mm offset to 18x7.5 52.5 mm offset would push the tires out approximately 2.5 mm on each side. Changing the offset from 52.5 mm to 40 mm will push the whole wheel out 12.5 mm making the final distances 15 mm out on the outside and 10 mm in on the inside.

The same brand tires as our stockers in 225/40 18s have a section width of 9.4" on a 7" rim. Move up to a 7.5" rim to make the section width ~9.6" (an increase of 1.1" or ~28 mm OR 14mm on each side). Going from the stock rims/tires to 18x7.5 w/ 40 mm offset rims with 225/40 18 tires will push the overall dimensions out 26.5 mm on the outside and 1.5 mm on the inside.

 

[Hirudin]

Here's a quote from another thread I thought was pertinent...

I messaged Subydude about machining a 48 offset wheel to a 50 and they would not even shave off 2mm of wheel. They claim it will compromise the integrity of the wheel too much.

 

[crystalmeth3]

thanks fot the knowlegeable answers. i talked to the wheel website and they said they could machine the wheel to definitely 43mm and maybe 45mm offset. i originally wanted a 225 tire but instead have to get 215 if i do this. i am guaranteed fitment and no rubbing issues even if i am slightly lowered or i will get a full refund when i return them. the cost to do this from the wheel website before they ship it to me is an extra $100 for the set. I will research the risks of shaving a wheel.

 

[Hirudin]

I looked at a few 225/40 18 tires on tirerack. They seem to all be 25.1" in diameter and the section widths varied between 9.0" and 9.4" when on an 8" rim. If you decrease the rim width 0.5" it should decrease the tire section width 0.2".

I'm using 235/45 17 tires on 17x8" 45 mm offset rims. According to tirerack they have a 9.4" section width and are 25.5" in diameter. I think the right rear may be rubbing, but only very slightly. So slightly I'm not entirely sure it's happening. I also don't drive like a maniac, I mean: I don't slide around corners and stuff.

It seems that the important measurement is the distance from the hub to the outside of the tire. First I figure it will make it easier to convert everything to millimeters...

My tire:
9.4" wide = 238.76 mm
Difference between recommended rim width and rim used: 0" = 0 mm
45 mm offset

So lets see...
238.76 / 2 = 119.38
119.38 - 45 = 74.38 mm from hub to outside of tire
Anything greater would probably be too much.

225/40 tire:
9.4" wide = 238.76 mm
Difference in rim widths 0.5" = aproximately 0.2" = 5.08 mm
Final tire width: 238.76 - 5.08 = 235.68
40 mm offset

235.68 / 2 = 117.84
117.84 - 40 = 77.84 mm not that much bigger IMO.

Start with a tire that has a 9.0" section width:
9.0" wide = 228.6
228.6 - 5.08 = 223.52
223.52 / 2 = 111.76
111.76 - 40 = 71.76 mm - probably a better fit than my tire.

Also, since the 225/40 tires are slightly smaller in diameter that should help too.

Keep in mind that I'm a total amateur at this... so, I hope you don't base your buying decision on my math and end up with something that doesn't work.

[edit]
Aw, what the heck...
Stock tires:
8.5" wide = 215.9 mm
Difference in widths and junk: 0 mm
Offset 52.5 mm
215.9 / 2 = 107.95
107.95 - 52.5 = 55.45 mm WOW, what a difference!
[/edit]

 

[brokenman]

What wheels are you looking at?

Shaving the hub could be dangerous dependent on the way the wheel was produced and what material it is made of. In addition to that, what if they don't shave it perfectly even, cause your wheels to have odd camber as they rotate.

 

[ForceFed]

I messaged Subydude about machining a 48 offset wheel to a 50 and they would not even shave off 2mm of wheel. They claim it will compromise the integrity of the wheel too much.

This is 100% not true..you just need the right people to do it...IF the particular wheel has enough material to successfully remove for the higher offset.
Most wheels have at least 2mm of material that can be removed..some have more..Some have less or none.
It al depends on the wheels.
If you are dead serious about getting it done..Contact me and I will Get you in touch with Professionals who do nothing but BUILD wheels for a living.
LMK

 

[ForceFed]

What wheels are you looking at?

Shaving the hub could be dangerous dependent on the way the wheel was produced and what material it is made of. In addition to that, what if they don't shave it perfectly even, cause your wheels to have odd camber as they rotate.

You dont really shave them....You machine them...and You will do nothing to the camber...you will make an "Un-True" wheel if the hub id not machined properly.
I guess you could call this a problem with the camber...but it would be a stretch.

 

[brokenman]

Forcefed has it right, even the wording!

Tons of people have had their wheels bored out to a larger size or had the hubs machined, even more so with Mazda owners do to our offset peculiarities and uncommon hub size compared to other makes.

 

[crystalmeth3]

Here is my version of the best looking MS3.
White, with these wheels. I already ordered the car, now i just need to get the wheels but they only come in a +40mm offset. Thanks hirudin for the info. a popular wheel website said they could machine the hub. im not goin to if i dont have to. i do want to lower the car with cobb springs, so thats about a 1.2 inch drop in the back. i dont mind a little rubbing but none at all would be better. forcefed, do you think i should trust this wheel website to machine the hub?

 

[BCMSP3]

Is it as simple as adding a spacer between the wheel and hub while using different lug nuts. Or to have a machine shop shave off some of the hub mating surface of a shallow wheel?

I love a certain wheel that only comes in 40mm offset and would like to know how much it would cost to shave a centimeter off the hub. Are there any drawbacks to this method? What should i look for in the yellow pages when searching for a place to do this?

the wheels is 18x7.5 and i would use 225/40 series tires. the application guide says they are good for the rx-8 (didnt have speed3 option) but i assume the rx-8s have more room on the inner wheel fender to run a 40mm offset. any insight would be appreciated.

H&R makes really nice spacers. I ran them on my turbo Nissan Sentra Spec V with absolutely no problems. I would definitely not recommend the $5 spacers from the local parts shop. Depending on how big of a spacer you need, you must consider if the stock wheel studs are long enough. I need to buy Nismo studs that were longer. The whole thing sounded simple but ended up costing much more than I planned. Make sure you consider everything.