What is Wheel Offset? (Quick & Easy Explanation)
By far and away, the MOST FREQUENT QUESTION we are asked here at KONIG is "What is Wheel Offset?". We find this really strange because OFFSET really is very simple to understand. Wheel Offset is the distance between a wheel's mounting pad, and the centerline of the wheel. Let's break this down together in a visual way so that's it's easy to understand!
Wheel Offset is an important thing to understand because it determines how a wheel will sit on a car in relation to the rest of the vehicle. We see wheels in a variety of sizes and offsets out there, the reason for this is because there are a lot of different cars out there to fit! Offset helps wheels of different sizes fit onto cars of different shapes and sizes. For more information on other terms like Backspacing, Load Rating, PCD, Bolt Pattern, etc... give us a Subscribe because we make tons of informative content like this every week.
00:18 - what is wheel offset?
00:34 - wheel width / centerline
00:41 - how to find the centerline
00:46 - fact about measuring wheel width
00:56 - mounting pad
01:14 - distance between mounting pad and centerline
01:31 - positive offset
01:40 - negative offset
01:57 - meaning of "ET"
02:13 - "ET"/Offset on a website
02:46 - from OE offset to aftermarket wheel offset
If you have more questions about Offset, we've done a bunch of videos on them, including these notable ones:
• WHEEL OFFSET FREQUENTL...
• OFFSET, LOAD RATING, P...
• Understand Wheel Specs...
• Achieving the PERFECT ...
If you enjoyed this content, LEAVE a COMMENT below and let us know what you'd like to see next! We appreciate the support and feedback!
#offset #wheels
This is probably the best video to explain it. Not stupid long. Has visuals. 10 out of 10
Appreciate you!
Finally, a video that is short and gets straight to the point! Appreciate the video!
Sweet dude that was soo easy to comprehend! Illustrated diagrams with dimensions, is all us new-to-the-scene crew need to understand the technical specs. Keep up the good work.
Glad it helped, we appreciate you! We make a bunch of these videos in the hopes of spreading solid information about wheels out there. Thanks for checking out the video.
Had to watch this a second time to grasp the off set issue. Too bad you didn’t show a rim animation scene on the mustang showing the fitment on the car displaying differing off sets as stated. Thank you for this tutorial
I agree, didn't actually help a whole lot.
Bravo well explained
well said and explained... Thank you for this! :D
Our dude!
@@konigwheels 🙌🙌🙌
Thanks for the explanation I kind of knew this anyway, for me I want to know what offset is acceptable for my car I have a 2020 CRV with 7.5 inch width wheels Offset 45 I want to start using a set of older Honda wheel I have to mount Winter tires on they are 7 inch wide with a Offset 55 this means their will be a negative offset of 10mm I just need to know if this would be safe acceptable without having to modify the Geometry of the cars suspension, or is it a bad idea to attempt this any ideas on this would be appreciated ?
Thank you buddy, great video.
Best explanation ever...thank you
Absolutely, glad we could help out!
I’m one of those easily confused types. I wondered if Backspace and Offset were different things. Sounds like they’re basically the same. Like do rims exist that in their specs or description they list Backspace And Offset?
Simple, straightforward, visual.
Hey thanks for the information, it’s actually makes really more sense right now for me I was looking for rims and wheels for my car and the option is 255/35 R19 8,5 ET 43 that’s what is recommended for my car but the problem is I have not found ET 43 I have found ET40 or ET45 are you really don’t know what to do
What car are you trying to fit?
@@konigwheels F30 BMW 318d 2015
$40 Et to 45 ET isn't much of a difference in millimeters 43 would be a sweet spot.. just make sure your offsets are the same all around Front 43 Rear 43 etc etc unless you want a wider stance in the rear
literally a GOAT for making such a simple yet understandable video
appreciate you for watching! Glad it helped!
Amazing!
glad we could help!
best animation to understand this omg finally
Glad it helped!
interesting. thank u so much!
Glad it helped!
Thanks
Wait I’m confused. You showed a mustang with ET+55. Based on the clip with the ruler I would have thought going from ET+55 (further out) to a lower ET+35 would move that wheel inward and NOT outward like the animation.
No, a lower offset would move the wheel away from the car, towards the curb.
Good Explanation. May be dumb question - My existence wheel has offset range of 35 to 45 , can I install wheel with the offset of +47 ?
You might experience some rubbing on the inner suspension components depending on what width you choose to go with. +47 will push the wheel into the car more (assuming same width), so just keep that in mind.
@@konigwheels Got it. Thank you !
Brilliant
Glad it helped!
Great video. Im thinking of getting Items 5x114.3 OFFSET 42 CENTER . Is 42 offset center safe for SUV ?
Thanks for watching! Offset isn't necessarily a safety concern, so sure ET 42 is fine. In terms of fitment however, that's a different story. What car are you running and what size wheels are you looking to go with?
@@konigwheels 17 " 2022 Ra V4
If the offset isn’t appropriate for your vehicle, it could fry your wheel bearings
Question please, I have an 2021 Impreza which came with 225/40R18 tires. I'm wanting an smoother ride. The same car came with 3 different wheel sizes 16" 17" & 18". I'm wanting to change to the 16" wheel and the 205/60R16 tires. It should be fine .....right 🤔?
the car came with a 16, 17, and 18 all mounted together? haha, that's bizarre. Firstly, changing your sizing to the same size all the way around (square setup) will improve your ride quality immensely. It looks like you can run 16" + 17" comfortably with a 205/55R16 (around that range). Also, grab some hub-centric rings to prevent any vibration.
Thank you well explained 👍 I was thinking 55 would do the opposite so if I want the wheel more out , less the number 👍
Correct.
Everything was going well until I saw how the lower number somehow expands more, honestly that confused me because the bigger the number the bigger separation it should be from the centerline, no?
@@rogeliorogel8690 Offset is the distance from the mounting pad to the centerline. So, the lower the offset, the lower the distance between the mounting pad and the centerline. Consider that, both width and offset determine how a wheel will sit in the fender.
Good video guys
thanks for watching!
Hey guys, looking to purchase VARIANT ARGON new set of wheels for my Nissan max seven GEN I have power stop big break set up and I’m looking to run some 20s x 10 x 15 mm all the way around do you think I have enough clearance? Do not want to make any modification ?
Oh, what size should I go? With in order to clear the big breaks?
So with the Mustang sample, its +55 offset, wheel moved outward with +35 offset....So with +15offset it will stick out even more? I have a Charger, +35 and +15 fit.
Yes. The lower the number the more it will push out.
@@konigwheels i dont know if +15 will be a good look on my Charger. Im not sure if i have +35 or +15 right now. They do sit flush with my fender though. However, im using hub centric rings now. So means i have 5x114.3(5x4.5) +35
@@7UpYors first step would be to determine the offset of your current wheels. You can find that by taking the wheel off and usually they will be stamped on the inside face somewhere. What year is your Charger?
@@konigwheels 2013 RWD HEMI
Nice music!
In your opinion, does et 25 makes the wheel too far out the fender? Or is it still acceptable
That totally depends on the car you're trying to fit and the type of fitment you're trying to achieve. It will be different for EVERY car.
So, if I understand this my car has a stock offset range of 32-36 mm. So the wheels I want to buy for it are described as Staggered Set 18x8/9 ET 31/35. So, the front wheels(18x8) with et 31 would NOT fit unless I use a spacer?? Correcttttt
That's not necessarily true. With a conservation size like that, you should be good to go, however it make affect the way the fitment looks visually.
My question is once you find out your offset then what is the calculation to figure out the minimum and maximum offset allowed?
Check out our video of Using Math to Achieve the Perfect Fitment!
It would be helpful to know what is the correct offset and whether changing it from stock is advisable. Would a change in offset affect handling for example?
Not sure I understand. There is no ONE correct offset, and people change offsets all the time when changing out your wheels to aftermarket. Offset is simply a measurement of the distance between your wheel's mounting pad and the centerline of the wheel. In terms of handling differences, with the width staying the same, any difference in handling after changing only offset would be negligible.
If it’s not appropriate for your car or in other words, if it’s too far from the factory offset, it will fry your bearings
People see ET as an issue cuz nobody really tells them the simplest thing about it- when does the wheel go out more, when you increase or decrease ET? You said that in the video but it took me 2 times to actually grasp it while the Mustang animation was shown.
It's very simple. Lower the offset, the more the wheel sticks out of the car. Offset is the distance between the mounting pad and the centerline of the wheel, which is also important to understand.
@@konigwheelshold on. You have a GERMAN name König meaning king. You even have the UMLAUT O aka Ö in the video at 2:45 on the license plate that shows Ö in the word König, but don't know how to pronounce German? So how did you come up with König as the channel name?
Would the wheel fitment be the same if let’s say all 4 wheels have +20 offset, but the rear ones have wider wheels like 11, while the fronts are 9
No, the fitments would look totally different. Fitment is determined by width and offset so if the offset remains the same in this example, the wider wheels would stick out the car roughly 1" more than the 9" (depending on where the mounting pad sits) In your example, it IS possible to get a uniform looking fitment by having the fronts and rear vary in BOTH width AND offset. .
Yalls should like totally make more wheels in a 18x8 wanted the ampliform but they won't fit my car.
Which car are you trying to fit?
@@konigwheels 2015 Veloster Turbo. I was gonna go bronze. A bold car needs bold wheels haha
So the if my stock wheels are 55 offset and the new rims im getting are 45 offset; that means they will poke out more?
If the width is the exact same, then yes - it will push out 10mm more.
It may ruin your bearings
How do you change 0mm offset to +20mm offset?
Unfortunately, you can't go MORE positive. You can go more negative by using a spacer, but more positive of an offset would put the wheel inside the car by 20mm more - which isn't possible.
I understand what offset is and what it does and all that. What i don’t understand is all these companies just put et35 or et40 etc, No + or - just the number? Is it just assumed that it’s usually positive offset?
ET stands for the German word for offset. If you see ET40 is a +40 offset, ET-40 would be a -40 offset. Simple as that.
@@konigwheels ah so ET stands for +
@@boostedsaab2757 Respectfully, no.... re-read our reply
@@konigwheels right well this is what im saying, companies never state weather its an et-40 offset or a an et+40. It just says et40? 40 what? Plus or minus?
@@boostedsaab2757 If it says ET40, it's a positive offset of +40. If it says ET-40, it's a negative offset of -40...
I almost understand it until the mustang comes along. The wheel move outwards further on a +35, than +55, shouldn’t a +55 be more extruded?
This is where a lot of people tend to mess up, when it comes to the actual application on a vehicle. Lower the offset, the more it pushes out toward the road. Consider that Offset is the measurement between the Centerline of the Wheel and the Wheel's mounting pad.
What happened to good old back spacing that's what it was when I was younger
We still use backspacing as well, but backspacing is more commonly used for trucks where you're more concerned about cleaning inbound, rather than outbound towards the cars fender.
So the higher the offset the more the da of the rim gets pushed out
The opposite. The lower the offset, the more the face of the wheel get pushed outwards toward the fender or road-side.
@@konigwheels I meant as in the higher positive number . Let’s say +38 vs +45 , the 38 will b more concave than the 45
So does offset matter?
yup!
Still finding the opposite explanation online? “A simple way to understand offset, is the lower the offset, the more the wheel will stick out, likewise, the higher the offset, the more the wheel will tuck in”
Correct. The lower the offset, the more it will stick out of the vehicle. So for example, a wheel with an ET25 will stick out of the car 10mm more than that of a ET35 (same width).
It took me a sec to understand too but That is not the opposite explanation. I'm having trouble explaining it in a simpler way but, if we were looking at the wheel in this video, imagine the mounting pad being super far left from the center of the rim. That's negative offset, now try to imagine actually putting that on the car. Try to imagine a ridiculous amount of positive offset like as if the mounting pad was at the face of the wheel and imagine putting that on a car. Hope that helps.
My bchh is Bad and Boujee
So +35 sticks out. So what about -35? It sticks out even more
Yes, assuming they are the same sizes, the -35 would poke out WAY more.
I still don't understand why you explain it this way if you have a 8 inch rim and you have a 5/3 to me that means you got 5 in on the inside toward your shocks and the 3" inches on the outside. Why can't it be explaining that way? That's how I see it.
Because that is not an explanation of OFFSET. We're not exactly sure what you're saying... perhaps it could be your view on backspacing? Either way, a wheel's OFFSET is the measured distance between the centerline of the wheel, and the mounting pad.
Haha. He said insertion depth.
haha, was waiting for someone to catch that.
🤦♂️
Need some help?
I’m the dummy
not anymore!
Zero Offset gang wya