Offset

[Snuff]

hi
i have an 03 S3 with 17 inch wheels . i want 18's but im confused as to what offset i need for my car
keep reading different posts and im no wiser

help me obi wan your my only hope

 

[Benjiman46]

Anything from ET38 to ET42 I guarantee will fit. I have had both on my 2000 S3.

Ben

 

[Tricki]

It is ET32 on the original 17" Avus rims. I've got ET35 on my 18" + spacers to push them a bit further out in the arch. This tool is helpful when playing around with offset (and spacers): Wheel Offset Calculator

 

[Snuff]

will these fit

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

 

[superkarl]

Anything from ET38 to ET42 I guarantee will fit.

Ben

whilst et42 might fit, JUST clearing the front struts, they will look quite gash if you're using an 8j rim (common size for 18's), they will sit very far inside the arches.

will these fit

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

no. these are off a brand new car and the newer shape audis (about 2004 onwards) have a bolt pattern thats 5x112. you need 5x100.

id recommend, to look good i.e not too far inside the arch, nothing lower than the standard offset of et32.

for an example, my car has wheels that are et45, i run a 15mm spacer on the front, effectively reducing the offset to et30 with an 8 inch wide rim, it looks like this:

and my back wheels, again et45 8j, i run a 20mm spacer, effectively giving an offset of et25, and they look like this:

(best pic of the rear i could find)

now i personally wouldnt want to go any lower than my et30,et25. i wouldnt want mine to sit any further in the arch.

hope that helps your decision

 

[S3 Paul]

I ran the standard S3 rims with 15mm spacers on the rear and 12mm up front for about 2 years, no problems at all
so thats ET17 rear and ET20 on the front?
Im now running porsche wheels that are ET57 with 40mm adapters front and rear.
The car is quite low but nothing catchs at all. ever
I would not go higher than say ET30 as they will look lost in the archs

 

[Snuff]

sorry lads this is total confusion for me . i havent got a clue what all these numbers mean. ask me about tattoos and im the man but wheels etc im ****** lost lol. think i will go see my mate in the garage trade so he can explain it to me really slowly

thanks for the info tho really appreciate it

 

[superkarl]

this will really help you understand offset, with the diagram:
Wheel Offset Calculator

offset being the distance from the wheel bolting face, to the centre line of the rim.

et30, meaning the bolting face is 30mm from the centre of the wheel.

lower the number, more the wheel will stick out. and looking at that diagram, its fairly easy to see

and in adding spacers to wheels, you lower that distance from bolt face to the centre of the wheel. so a 10mm spacer makes an et30 rim, et20.

 

[S3_Olly]

Superkarl what suspension are you running as yours is looking rather sweet, as I will be needing something when I put my new wheels on.
I'm still sorting mine out and don't fully understand it but that calculator is pretty easy to work out even for a spaz like me lol.

Cheers

 

[superkarl]

Its on AP coiloversThe offset calculator is great, I used it when looking for wheels

 

[gareth_oau]

Snuff, the diameterof the wheel itself is not important, you need to focus on combination of offset and width.

First you have to understand what offset is.

The offset of a wheel is the distance from its hub mounting surface to the centerline of the wheel.

In our case, the hub mounting surface is positive (+32mm) toward the front or wheel side of the wheel. Positive offset wheels are generally found on front wheel drive cars and newer rear drive cars.

If you increase the offset, your wheels will sit further inwards going closer to the struts, but also will look skinner and not fill out the arches.

So generally speaking you want a wheel with a lower offset than you currently have.

you can achieve this 3 ways, either:

1/ fit a wheel with a lower offset for example, from ET32 to say ET20 (more tricky as most wheels to fit S3s are ET35)
2/ using spacers - an ET32 wheel, with a 10mm spacer will give you a net ET22
3/ wider wheels

A 1" wider wheel with exactly the same offset will give you 12.5mm less inside clearance and 12.5mm more outside width or arch-fill

I just put a set of 18" on mine, but also went wider.

your stock wheels are 7.5" wide, with an offset of ET32

I have just gone up to 8.5" wide fronts with ET35, but also installed 5mm spacers. the fit is extremely tight on the inside (due to large rim protectors on the tyres), but doable

i went 9.5" on the rears and fit was no problems whatsoever (note I had to instal 5mm specers to ensure that the deep dish rims cleared the brake caliper - called 'x-factor')

(and I'm running Koni coilovers)


On a seperate note, and as mentioned, you need to focus on 5x100, which is the stud pattern - you can get 5x112, (which will give you a great range of wheels to choose from), but you will need to purchase adapters which is more cost

 

[Snuff]

gareth thats ace i get it now. thanks to all you lads