E30 Zone

Can anyone tell me what offset is best for 17"x 7j wheels on an E30?

Cheers , Doog.

Depends what look your going for, do you want something that tucks to bead or do you want the wheel to poke more or sit back in the arch more?


I've made some calculations, but the rears are a bit extreme. Again, it's down to what look you want.

I'm moving away from the poked out look of my staggered Borbet A's.

I'm making the switch to Compomotive mo's , want them as flush to the arch as possible without catching or sticking out.
Definitely don't want them sitting back in the arch , can't stand wheels that look lost way back in the arches.

What size tyre?

For 205 40 id go for around ET15, go out any further than that and you will need to start stretching tyres, rolling arches etc...

Thanks for replies...

So with et35 wheels I'm probably gonna need 15mm hubcentric spacers to get anywhere close then?

Yep, spacers will give you ET20.

Just hope that's gonna be enough or this could be an expensive waste of time. lol


Thanks for the help fella.

What tyres?

215/40/17

can someone please explain the et sizing this thread will make allot more sense if i know

I'd say et 20 front and 15 rear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offset_(wheel)

If you were to go for a complete arch lip to rim lip, then you'd need -15 on the rear and between 20 to 30 on the front. To actually go that low you'd have to run 175/40's.

If you don't want to run silly tyres though, about 30 on the front, and around 0.

Rough maths

Fearlessphil, ET is the offset. It is the where mounting face of the wheel sits in millimetres from the centre of the width of the wheel. A positive number means it sits more towards the outside, so the wheel sits further inboard, and a negative number means it sits towards the inside, giving more poke and dish. It completely depends on the rim width itself though.

D7UGE wrote:
So with et35 wheels I'm probably gonna need 15mm hubcentric spacers to get anywhere close then?

Remember if your going to use something like a 15mm spacer, your going to need longer wheel bolts as well..

Slightly of topic, does anyone know if the CB (centre bore) for a Mk2 Golf is the same as an E30 ??

The hub centric spacer kits come complete with longer bolts , at £50 per axle though they ain't cheap!

Well finally got them on , had some awesome luck finding spacers too... guy I work with had a set of 15mm hubcentric spacers in E30 fitment which he sold me for £40! Score!! They're Eibach too.

So.... wheels turned out to be 17"x 8" , 4x100pcd and et35 , spacers have taken em out to et20 , tyres are 215/40/17 all round and the fit is perfect!



Very happy with the result , drives really well on these. Very positive feel to the car.

Thanks to all for help and advice.

Looks cool on them wheels.

Thanks , they aren't staying white like... gonna go anthracite with black detail.