Hey all. I had a question I cant find a specific answer to. I have an 85 IROC and plan to stay at a 16x8 size, but planning to buy aftermarket wheels. Is it necessary to maintain stock offset measurements if staying with a 16x8 since they are staggered? Ive looked through forums and see tons of info on max sizing for wheelwells and measuring, but what about just running same offset on all 4? I'm confused as I'm not sure why front and rears were different from factory? Is it just aesthetics or is it to align front and rear wheels? Do I lose traction if I don't maintain OEM staggered offset? Also, is there a varying degree of tolerance to maintain functionality? For example, when looking to order TT2's they have backspacing that matches stock front measurements but i didn't see any listed with 5.25" backspacing for rears? Any answers would be appreciated.
Lots of people get 4 fronts and put 'em on all four corners. Since the back wheels have a 16mm offset, and the fronts have 0mm, the front wheels will push out 16mm farther than normal, which is just fine. Allows you to rotate all four corners. Many many aftermarket wheels for cars of this era come in sets of wheels with 0mm offset, which is the same as 4 front Iroc wheels.
I'm sorry I just can't fully grasp bs/offset combos. After looking at tires (and if I'm wrong please correct me), I would have more tire choices if I upgraded to a 17x8 wheel as 16s are not as popular these days. So since i have stock suspension, I could purchase 4 17x8s at 0mm offset and be fine as long as I get a tire combo to match stock size to not throw off speedo if i want to keep it accurate? As long as I get 0mm offset the backspacing is constant right across all 17x8s? I'm sorry, I'm a visual learner and I am just not grasping wheel fitment and I can't measure off my current wheels because they are not what was originally on car. Thanks in advance.
No problem....I've attached an image that will hopefully help show what the offset is.
As for tires, You're right about having more choices with 17", although it's not an overly common size either, and in another 10 years, they may be hard to find too. Still....I do love the look of 17's!!! .....so if you get a 17" x 8" wheel with "0"mm offset, then yes, your logic is correct in that you shouldn't have any fitment issues. You just need to make sure you keep the overall diameter of the wheel/tire combo the same. A stock 245/50/16 tire is about 25.6" inches in diameter. If you buy a 17x8 wheel, and buy a 245mm wide tire, you'd need a 45 sidewall, which would give you a 25.7" diameter. -so tire size is 245/45/17. ...with an 18x8, you'd want a 245/40/18 tire to keep you at 25.7" diameter.
...and there are plenty of other choices in tire and wheels sizes, but with a "0"mm offset, and keeping an 8" wheel with a 245mm tire, you'd be looking a 245/45/17 or 245/40/18.
As for tires, You're right about having more choices with 17", although it's not an overly common size either, and in another 10 years, they may be hard to find too. Still....I do love the look of 17's!!! .....so if you get a 17" x 8" wheel with "0"mm offset, then yes, your logic is correct in that you shouldn't have any fitment issues. You just need to make sure you keep the overall diameter of the wheel/tire combo the same. A stock 245/50/16 tire is about 25.6" inches in diameter. If you buy a 17x8 wheel, and buy a 245mm wide tire, you'd need a 45 sidewall, which would give you a 25.7" diameter. -so tire size is 245/45/17. ...with an 18x8, you'd want a 245/40/18 tire to keep you at 25.7" diameter.
...and there are plenty of other choices in tire and wheels sizes, but with a "0"mm offset, and keeping an 8" wheel with a 245mm tire, you'd be looking a 245/45/17 or 245/40/18.
