I just noticed something today and want to pick all your expert brains out there...

I have a 91 T/A (As seen in my sig) and while @ a body shop showing off / discussing other buffing & refinish options we noticed that the wheels seemed to have a different offset (I think that is what it is...)

Here is the dilema - the difference from the edge of the cross lace to the edge of the first lip of the wheel is larger on the front than it is on the back - looks like approx. 2" on the front wheels and 1.5" on the rear... It may be visa versa, but either way they are different..

IS this normal???

 

That is normal bud... no worries.

-Schultzy

 

I figured it was normal Does it matter which is on front or back? Just curious if maybe over the years and thru new tires and all if it has been changed...??? And, why are the wheels like that - to allow for more offset?

 

The front wheels have to have more offset to clear the tie rods. If you put the normal rear wheels on the front you'll hear an awful grinding sound as the wheels turn around (you'll also scar up the inside of the rims). You can however put front wheels on the rear and they work fine (just stick out a fraction of an inch more).

In fact, several folks (myself included) have picked up an extra pair of fronts to put on their rears so they can easily rotate tires.

Provided they have the same tire size anyway (wider front that rear tires looks kinda weird)

Drag radials on the front would look totally stupied, too.

 

Next time you have the wheels off, look on the back.
They are stamped front and back.

George

 

When i first bought my GTA the fronts where on the rears and vice versa.There was always this slight scrubbing noise that just drove me crazy.Also the car was all over the road.I dont know if the wheels threw the steering off or not but it was much harder to control before i changed it back.BUT,it looked so much better with them on the wrong ends.

 

i had to get my car aligned last weekend.
they did me the favor of rotating my tires too.




yes. they put the DRs on the front... and gave me a nice sales pitch about me needing two new tires because the tread is low, and how they wont wear as fast if i rotate them.

 

What a bunch of D!PSH!TS!!!!

 

Well, I had a place rotate my snow tires on my focus to the rear last winter... asshats really pissed me off about it too...

yours takes the cake though.

 

Ah, I figured that it was some kind of clearance issue Thanks for the info guys!

 

I will definately check the wheels next time I have them off - I've had the car just over a year - its been in the bodyshop for 4 of those months and have only had one of the front tires off to fix a flat...

Again.. Thanks again!!

 

Yeah,I just picked up a set and good thing I noticed that b4 I installed them lol