wheel question

Slightly OT, my daughters boyfriend has a Mazda 3 and he's looking at aftermarket wheels and having trouble finding the proper offset.

factory: 52mm he says most aftermarket wheels he's interested in: 40 to 45mm

Can you guys help him out with more than 'closer is better than farther' please. Is this difference a problem or a minor detail? Long term effects? Short term effects?

I don't think it matters but just in case, the bolt pattern is 5x114.3.

TIA Chris

99BBB
Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo
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Reply to
Christopher Muto
Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

The correct offset gives zero scrub radius and will preserve the handling characteristics of the car. Less offset - which puts the wheels more outboard - should only be chosen if a wider wheel will hit the suspension using the normal offset, or if a wider track is felt to be more important than maintaining zero scrub radius (Lanny may have an expert view on the latter; both my wheelsets are standard Mazda so I haven't tried it).

Otherwise, the correct offset does not change for different wheel widths.

MX-5/Miata owners have had this problem for a long time, because the NA was designed for a 45mm offset and most aftermarket wheels in MX-5 sizes were 37mm or thereabouts. The 8mm never seemed to be a big issue for most people, so the difference between 52mm and 45mm probably isn't, either.

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Reply to
Zog The Undeniable

Lanny assumes, since there's a bit of a spread in offset among the OEM wheels offered over the years, that small differences are not very important. I wouldn't worry too much as long as nothing rubs and everything fits inside the fenders.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

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