172 Mk2 16 wheel offset details please!

[JJ172]

The alloys are marked 7Jx16, CH4, 48.5. Does this mean they have a 48.5mm offset?

 

[lofty]

probably,

it normaly says ET 48mm,

buy it will say somewhere and there i dont know what the ET means other than they normaly put it in front of the offset fig. so it absence might not be significant

you could neasure it approximatly and if its near as danm-it then you right,

 

[Nick Read]

Thats weird. I thought that all Clios (in fact all Renaults) used a 36mm offset. You can measure it yourself though...find the width of the wheel from inner to outer edge. Halve it and use that to mark the centreline of the rim. Do it on the exact opposite side of the rim as well, then stretch a bit of string between your two points on the centreline.

Your string should pass across the centre of the wheel, now just measure how far it is between the string and the face of the wheel centre (where the bolts go through). This is your offset. Itll probably be a little bit inaccurate, but should tell you whether a 48.5mm offset is likely.

 

[JJ172]

Thanks Nick! Ill measure up the spare wheel and see. 48.5mm seems a huge offset, and it would appear that the Clio Cup has even greater offsets?!

If it is 48.5mm, then using 35mm offset after-market wheels will affect the handling, surely?

 

[Nick Read]

Well yeah it will. Hope Im not telling you anything you know already here...

As the offset is the distance between the wheel centreline and the hub mounting face, the more offset you have, the closer into the car the wheels will be. Conversely the less offset you have, the further out the wheels will be. It just depends on the design of the arches and what the suspension is designed to take. You can even go to negative offset where the wheels stick right out!

So spacers can put your wheels further out and reduce offset but the only way to increase it and pull the wheels in, is to have the hub mounting face (on the wheel) actually machined down.

 

[Nick Read]

BTW if you want aftermarket wheels, thats a weird offset but a lot of Vauxhalls run a high offset 40 something. The only problem will be getting the right PCD which should be 4x100.

 

[JJ172]

Thanks Nick! BTW, are you sure about the greater the offset the further in the wheel will be? My old Fiesta turbo ran ET35 (which is correct) and when I fitted some ET41 Escort wheels to it they sat further out i.e. closer to the wheel arch.