Wheel Offsets

[rex2ce]

I have found a set of wheels that I like for my V35, 18x8.5 front , 18x9.5 rear + 38 offset allround. Is this offset OK? Will it cause "tramlining " or other problems?

Any help appreciated

[rs73]

tramlining is mostly caused by wider than std rims and tyres - causing not enough time for water to escape from underneath the tyre...

if you want to eliminate tramlining alltogether, stick to factory 8" width because that's what the car is designed for.

or choose a performance tyre with aggressive pattern to make sure water is expelled quick enough... at the expense of increase road noise.

[n15m0]

I have found a set of wheels that I like for my V35, 18x8.5 front , 18x9.5 rear + 38 offset allround. Is this offset OK? Will it cause "tramlining " or other problems?

Any help appreciated

For a sedan they would be fine, for a coupe no.

Tramlining in some cases is a neccessary evil...u learn to live with it at the expense of wider track and improved handling.

[Oaksey]

tramlining is mostly caused by wider than std rims and tyres - causing not enough time for water to escape from underneath the tyre...

if you want to eliminate tramlining alltogether, stick to factory 8" width because that's what the car is designed for.

or choose a performance tyre with aggressive pattern to make sure water is expelled quick enough... at the expense of increase road noise.

Wouldn't that be aquaplaning? and tram-lining be when the straight cuts in the tyre tread catch on things like or if you're in Melbourne actual... tramlines?

[rs73]

u're right - mind block...

although wider tyre and some pattern also can cause that too...

[n15m0]

Tramlining is the tendency of a vehicle's wheels to follow the contours in the surface upon which it runs. The term comes from the tendency of a car's wheels to follow the normally recessed rails of street trams, without driver input in the same way that the train does.

Tramlining can usually be blamed on tires, and its incidence depends greatly on the model of tire and its state of wear. Although not normally dangerous, at very high speeds it can become a source of instability.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramlining"

[scathing]

I have found a set of wheels that I like for my V35, 18x8.5 front , 18x9.5 rear + 38 offset allround. Is this offset OK?

No. The offsets are higher than stock (which is +30). That means your track is narrowed, which is illegal. It also decreases handling. It also sits in, which means it'll look ugly. These threads come up all the time, and its always the same response with higher-than-stock offsets.

Your V35 coupe comes with massive wheel wells that you can put fat rims into. Why squander it by sticking narrow rims with weak offsets on the car?

[rex2ce]

No. The offsets are higher than stock (which is +30). That means your track is narrowed, which is illegal. It also decreases handling. It also sits in, which means it'll look ugly. These threads come up all the time, and its always the same response with higher-than-stock offsets.

Your V35 coupe comes with massive wheel wells that you can put fat rims into. Why squander it by sticking narrow rims with weak offsets on the car?

Thanks for the info, I admit I didn't understand "offset" .No I dont want to make the car worse than stock , so I will keep looking, armed with better information.

[fcruz3r]

in some cars you can get away with aggressive offsets by having a slight toe-in and negative camber (not that the negative camber helps but usually helps when u have a positive toe)... not sure about the alignment specs for the V35 though. Also go for lighter wheels to reduce unsprung weight as this plays a bigger factor to cause a "tramlining feel" than the actual offsets.

[scathing]

I admit I didn't understand "offset".

Have a read of this.

To paraphrase it, for a given wheel width the lower the offset:

1. The further out the wheel sticks

2. The wider the distance between the centres of both wheels

The first point gives you a better stance, for appearance.

You know how most OEM cars, and sex spec cars, tend to have the wheels deep in the arch? In my opinion, it looks weaksauce and gives the impression that the wheels either don't fit, you stole them off a shitbox that can't run fat wheels, or you can only see in 2 dimensions.

The second point, theoretically, improves handling. The wider the car sits, the flatter it should corner. In reality its a lot more complex than that, since your suspension has been engineered around a certain wheel offset generating a certain force in a certain position and throwing that out too much can actually make your car handle worse, but it should still be better than increasing offset.

Wheel track is the distance between the centres of both wheels. The law states that you can not decrease your track at all, and you can only increase it by 25mm. This means you cannot legally run a higher offset than stock, but you can lower your offset by up to 12mm.

No I dont want to make the car worse than stock , so I will keep looking, armed with better information.

The accepted "maximums" for our cars with stock suspension and unrolled guards is that you can run a 9.5" wide wheel on the front and a 10.5" wide rear wheel, with approximately +20 offset (give or take, most Volks only come with +22 offset in those widths). Roll the guards and get aftermarket camber arms, and you can go to a wider wheel or a lower offset.

The thing is, do you want to look like this?

Or do you want to look like this?

Or maybe even this?

If you assume they all have the same width of wheels on the car, the latter two have a lower wheel offset.

In a more practical example to illustrate, the 350Z has basically the same wheel arch clearances as a V35 coupe. Here's what my old 17x8.5 +30 & 17x9.5 +30 look like:

That's already sticking out almost 1cm more than your selected wheels and, to be quite blunt, it looks shit (even if you ignore the too-small 17" diameter). The narrow tyre from the small rim widths, and the high offsets, look like they're off a lesser car.

Compare that to my current setup (which is 18x9.5 +22 / 18x10.5 +22):

You can see I'm not running a great deal of camber, and my rear guard is un-rolled. I don't get rubbing issues, no matter how hard I corner.

Honestly, if I could drop a few more millimetres out of the offset I probably would. I am getting quite tempted to dial in some negative camber, and fit 5mm spacers.

Remember, wheel are like tits - you always want them huge, and sticking out.

Edited September 1, 2009 by scathing

[siglapian]

that's a brilliant explanation with great pics too...

Previously I would have disagreed, but now I can totally see your point with having wheels look like tits!

[rs73]

Though, keep in mind, if you change the offset than the OEM wheels, you will potentially wear out your wheel hub prematurely...

The reason is due to change of weight centre that your wheel hub has to withstand with the aftermarket wheel, increasing the 'twisting' inertia each time the wheel bounces...

having a cost-you-arm-and-leg-japanese-lightweight-forged-rims does help the hub and shocks not keep getting pounded by heavy unsprung weight, but not all rims out there are lightweight forged and not everyone can fork the money to buy a set...

[rex2ce]

Scathing, thanks for the help, BTW love your car!

[Oaksey]

Sweet looking car there scathing.

My car as gone the other way, had some pretty chunky spacers in Japan but to get it complied here they got removed. By the sounds of it they altered things to get them on in Japan which got sorted out while complied here. To be honest I'm not looking to get any spacers put back on. If I had it dumped I guess I probably would so it met the guard a bit better but since it's not (speed humps, what speed humps?), I think it perhaps makes the dish look slightly deeper?

Japan with spacers

Here, similar angle, shadow, without spacers:

If you prefer the Japan shot though, well get spacers