Is it possible to widen the track of my car?
Discussion
Hi, I hate that the alloys of my car are so far under the arches so I intended to buy alloys. But the only options available which would fit are either too ugly or too small diameter. I have found one or two options I like but they would still be far under the arches. I don't like the idea of spacers as they would need to be 30mm or more to push the wheels out at all due to offset. Is there another option?
You can either buy wheels with a lower offset (ET), 20-40 seems to be normal for cars, how low you can go depends entirely on the model and may require some cutting of arches and geometry changes to fit as it changes the wheel scrub of your vehicle.
You can also buy wheel spacers to widen the track of your existing wheels, due to the way these distribute load you may experience increased wheel bearing wear but with smaller (~10-20mm) spacing it shouldn't make a huge difference.
You can also buy wheel spacers to widen the track of your existing wheels, due to the way these distribute load you may experience increased wheel bearing wear but with smaller (~10-20mm) spacing it shouldn't make a huge difference.
caelite said:
You can either buy wheels with a lower offset (ET), 20-40 seems to be normal for cars, how low you can go depends entirely on the model and may require some cutting of arches and geometry changes to fit as it changes the wheel scrub of your vehicle.
You can also buy wheel spacers to widen the track of your existing wheels, due to the way these distribute load you may experience increased wheel bearing wear but with smaller (~10-20mm) spacing it shouldn't make a huge difference.
That's where the problem is. The standard wheels are et12. Whilst I can find wider wheels, the much higher offset means they'd end up further into the arch than standard. You can also buy wheel spacers to widen the track of your existing wheels, due to the way these distribute load you may experience increased wheel bearing wear but with smaller (~10-20mm) spacing it shouldn't make a huge difference.
You can fill the arches by buying wider wheels with the same offset
What you have to be aware of is the inside clearance which will be the point at which you should then change the offset to push just the outer rim out
If you buy a wheel that is 20mm wider you will add 10mm either side pushing both the outer rim further out and the inner rim further in for the same offset.
If you buy a 20mm wider wheel and change the offset by 10mm you will push the outer rim out by 20mm.
Now the bit that usually confuses
An ET is usually a minus - and it means the centre line of the wheel is offset towards the inner arch so an ET of 40 is closer to the inner arch than an ET of 20
Using wider wheels will not change the the stress on the suspension or bearings if ET is the same
Moving the ET will make a bigger difference to how much the wheel fills the arch
Using a wider wheel and changing the ET will fill the arch and lessen the perceived strain on components
It is unlikely you will suffer bearing stress and geometry problems unless you fit a massively different offset such as Mk 1,2 Escort which run 0 to +10 ET
spacers are an easy solution used by many for different reasons.
By using spacers you are effectively changing the ET by the thickness of the spacer.
What you have to be aware of is the inside clearance which will be the point at which you should then change the offset to push just the outer rim out
If you buy a wheel that is 20mm wider you will add 10mm either side pushing both the outer rim further out and the inner rim further in for the same offset.
If you buy a 20mm wider wheel and change the offset by 10mm you will push the outer rim out by 20mm.
Now the bit that usually confuses
An ET is usually a minus - and it means the centre line of the wheel is offset towards the inner arch so an ET of 40 is closer to the inner arch than an ET of 20
Using wider wheels will not change the the stress on the suspension or bearings if ET is the same
Moving the ET will make a bigger difference to how much the wheel fills the arch
Using a wider wheel and changing the ET will fill the arch and lessen the perceived strain on components
It is unlikely you will suffer bearing stress and geometry problems unless you fit a massively different offset such as Mk 1,2 Escort which run 0 to +10 ET
spacers are an easy solution used by many for different reasons.
By using spacers you are effectively changing the ET by the thickness of the spacer.
PaulKemp said:
You can fill the arches by buying wider wheels with the same offset
What you have to be aware of is the inside clearance which will be the point at which you should then change the offset to push just the outer rim out
If you buy a wheel that is 20mm wider you will add 10mm either side pushing both the outer rim further out and the inner rim further in for the same offset.
If you buy a 20mm wider wheel and change the offset by 10mm you will push the outer rim out by 20mm.
Now the bit that usually confuses
An ET is usually a minus - and it means the centre line of the wheel is offset towards the inner arch so an ET of 40 is closer to the inner arch than an ET of 20
Using wider wheels will not change the the stress on the suspension or bearings if ET is the same
Moving the ET will make a bigger difference to how much the wheel fills the arch
Using a wider wheel and changing the ET will fill the arch and lessen the perceived strain on components
It is unlikely you will suffer bearing stress and geometry problems unless you fit a massively different offset such as Mk 1,2 Escort which run 0 to +10 ET
spacers are an easy solution used by many for different reasons.
By using spacers you are effectively changing the ET by the thickness of the spacer.
OK, it looks like there is no solution then. The standard offset for my car is et12 but every set of alloys I have liked is et30-40.What you have to be aware of is the inside clearance which will be the point at which you should then change the offset to push just the outer rim out
If you buy a wheel that is 20mm wider you will add 10mm either side pushing both the outer rim further out and the inner rim further in for the same offset.
If you buy a 20mm wider wheel and change the offset by 10mm you will push the outer rim out by 20mm.
Now the bit that usually confuses
An ET is usually a minus - and it means the centre line of the wheel is offset towards the inner arch so an ET of 40 is closer to the inner arch than an ET of 20
Using wider wheels will not change the the stress on the suspension or bearings if ET is the same
Moving the ET will make a bigger difference to how much the wheel fills the arch
Using a wider wheel and changing the ET will fill the arch and lessen the perceived strain on components
It is unlikely you will suffer bearing stress and geometry problems unless you fit a massively different offset such as Mk 1,2 Escort which run 0 to +10 ET
spacers are an easy solution used by many for different reasons.
By using spacers you are effectively changing the ET by the thickness of the spacer.
Sorry I don't know much about cars but I thought there may be an option to fit different hubs or something.
HustleRussell said:
You aren't gonna widen your track, spacers and wheels are your only option. Surely aftermarket wheels with with a lower offset are available?
Aftermarket wheels are either too expensive or tacky looking replicas. I was going to buy some from a different car with the same pcd. Gassing Station | Suspension, Brakes & Tyres | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff