again, offset for wheels...

[wolfswest]

Hi Guys,

I was wondering if I could mount following wheels on my early notchback. I'm european, so I will talk in cm's and mm's, if the USA guys want it in inches, please let me know.

BBT sells wide 5 steel sprintstar wheels: 5.5 ET 25 and 4.5 ET 15

The stock type3 wheel is 4.5 with an ET of 46. in the back I have a clearance of a few cm's so If I'm correct with the ET 25 the wheel will be 2cm's further then stock?

What about the extra inch? (5.5 instead of 4.5) where does the extra inch go? just in the backside of the wheel or in the front? or half/half? I hope you guys know what I mean... I'm affraid it goes half/half, so that's another extra 1.27cm further, so that's a total of 33mm and I'm affraid that's a no go if you want to mount 185 tires...

thx,

Dem

[BSQUARE]

[Mike Fisher]

I am not really up on sprintstar wheels or ET's etc, but I might advise just buying 4 of the 4.5 wheels to be safe on a notchback. Everybody wants to lower their cars eventually it seems and you might be asking for trouble with the 5.5 wheels. I've found ET 34 & ET 41 steel wheels on squarebacks I've bought. You have to wire wheel off the paint on the knobs between the lug bolts to be sure which ET wheels you actually have on your notch. The d dimension on this VW chart below is the ET (offset).

http://classicvw.org/gallery2/d/9347-1/wheel+offset.jpg
_________________
69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
two 57 oval ragtops sold
'68 Karmann Ghia sold

Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you end up with a lot of scum on the top! - Russ_Wolfe/Edward Abbey

[wolfswest]

Yeah, but if Bsquare his calculations' are correct and I think he's correct, the difference between 4.5 and 5.5 is just 2 mm ??

why oh why is it so hard to find a decent wheel for or beloved rides???

[sharkskinman]

http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp

[wolfswest]

[sharkskinman]

you can be not sure about whatever
but if you look at the link and put in the measurements
you will see that i am correct

i dont say this lightly
i have been a Wheel Whore since i can remember
check and take a look

stock to 4.5" ET15

stock to 5.5" ET25

4.5" ET15 -- 5.5" ET25

_________________
74 Mexi Swamp Thing. 70 square volksrod (Swamp Rat)..65 C10

[wolfswest]

what do they mean with rim lip? the front of the rim?
because in your calculation the rim lip (for the 5,5 vs the 4,5) is 34 mm.

So my thought would be it sticks out 34 mm.

don't get me wrong, I'm just trying to figure out how the program works, I really appreciate your help and the link you've posted!!

[sharkskinman]

and i didnt even think about this

WE are talking about offset of the new wheels compared to stock
YOU are looking at WIDE 5!

are the T3 Stock Wide 5 offset ET46??


and altho the overall width is 1"(25mm) wider
the offset being Higher on the wider wheel
it makes it a little difficult to get it visually untill you see it

Please take a look at the link i posted!
_________________
74 Mexi Swamp Thing. 70 square volksrod (Swamp Rat)..65 C10

[wolfswest]

in this article there is no difference between 4 lug and 5 lug: http://classicvw.org/gallery2/d/9347-1/wheel+offset.jpg

so I'm pretty sure the offset is the same for wide 5 as for 4 bolt.

[luckystiff]

i could be wrong but aren't 5x205 t3 ET41.5? not that 4.5mm makes a big difference...ken...
_________________
ITMC
Secret Service

[wolfswest]

[Mike Fisher]

A lot of good information/pictures in this Tire/Wheel/Suspension thread below, but in the end it's your car to Set-Up!

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=247735
_________________
69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
two 57 oval ragtops sold
'68 Karmann Ghia sold

Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you end up with a lot of scum on the top! - Russ_Wolfe/Edward Abbey

[sharkskinman]

the diff between ET41.5 and ET 46 is WAY Different when doing wheels and tires

if i was 4.5mm off my wheel/tires wouldnt fit

i could stand to loose 4.5mm on the outside on the Driver Front
then it would Never rub
_________________
74 Mexi Swamp Thing. 70 square volksrod (Swamp Rat)..65 C10

[luckystiff]

4.5mm = .177" so less than a quarter inch. if your breaking down to those fractions you can also get anal and figure running a narrower treadwidth tire can save you just as much. say going from a tire with a 165mm tread width to a tire with a 145mm tread width you cut 20mm. but you have to split that difference and you really only gain 10mm of clearance per side or .39" of clearance. it's not the wheel that actually rubs it's the tire so if you can shave a little room back on the tire as well then you are gaining some of you lost room back so to speak. so if the early wide5 type3 are indeed et41.5 and you use a 145/65/15 you are only talking about half or so of the increase listed above. so about 5/8" outward from stock. i have never taken a measurement but with the 5.5" flat4 fuchs with 145/65/15 on the front of my square lowered 3 notches i can stick my fist sideways between the fender and tire with no problem. so even if those wheels stick out an inch more than this combo you should still have a decent turning radius...ken....
_________________
ITMC
Secret Service

[wolfswest]

[Russ Wolfe]

Here AGAIN is how VW and the Germans calculate the ET offset.

_________________
Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up, you end up with a lot of scum on the top!--Edward Abbey

Gary: OK. Ima poop.

[grethi]

[wolfswest]

both, the baby fuchs and fuchs have both outstanding ET values for a type 3... don't know the numbers but I know people who run them with 205/70/15 tires on them, stock long axles, no problems...