Wheel offset
10-12-2003, 12:26 PM
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Wheel offset
Hi everyone!
Just got my first 914!! It came with Riveara (sp?) rims and VERY tall and skinny tires ( 165 R 15 ) I need to go to wider fatter treads but the previous owner actually had to bend the inner fender well rim in to get these tires to fit.
How do I measure the offset of these rims so I can tell people when I sell them? What offset do I need in a rim so I can put some "driving " tires on this car?
Thanks a bunch,
Bill C
Just got my first 914!! It came with Riveara (sp?) rims and VERY tall and skinny tires ( 165 R 15 ) I need to go to wider fatter treads but the previous owner actually had to bend the inner fender well rim in to get these tires to fit.
How do I measure the offset of these rims so I can tell people when I sell them? What offset do I need in a rim so I can put some "driving " tires on this car?
Thanks a bunch,
Bill C
10-30-2003, 01:24 PM
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I don't know how much experience you have, so let's talk offset for a moment. It's a lot easier to measure and visualize backset. Backset is the distance from the back edge of the rim to the surface that mates to the hub with the lug bolt holes in it.
To measure it get a stiff piece of something like steel or Aluminum. You can get square tube or angle from home depot. Cut it to approximately 15" so it contacts the inner edge of the rim and not the tire. Hang on to this little tool. Lay it across the back of the rim (you'll need the wheel off the car) and measure down to the back surface of the rim where the lugs go. That's your backset.
The Rivera rims you have most likely are VW Beetle/Karmann Ghia backset. I believe that measures 115mm, but check it because I haven't worked with that in a while.
914's originally came with 130mm backset rims
Your VW rims will push the wheels closer to the fender edges, but 165's should clear without modifying the edges. You might want to check if your car has additional spacers behind the wheels.
While it varies a bit from car to car due to manufacturing tolerances on the bodies I believe 195's should fit under stock fenders on 5.5" wide VW offset rims.
Good luck
Kelly
To measure it get a stiff piece of something like steel or Aluminum. You can get square tube or angle from home depot. Cut it to approximately 15" so it contacts the inner edge of the rim and not the tire. Hang on to this little tool. Lay it across the back of the rim (you'll need the wheel off the car) and measure down to the back surface of the rim where the lugs go. That's your backset.
The Rivera rims you have most likely are VW Beetle/Karmann Ghia backset. I believe that measures 115mm, but check it because I haven't worked with that in a while.
914's originally came with 130mm backset rims
Your VW rims will push the wheels closer to the fender edges, but 165's should clear without modifying the edges. You might want to check if your car has additional spacers behind the wheels.
While it varies a bit from car to car due to manufacturing tolerances on the bodies I believe 195's should fit under stock fenders on 5.5" wide VW offset rims.
Good luck
Kelly
