What's the offset?

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What's the offset?
Topic Started: Fri Jan 5, 2007 1:55 pm (248 Views)
tlaw22	Fri Jan 5, 2007 1:55 pm Post #1
Member Posts: 409 Group: Members Member #603 Joined: October 19, 2006	Hi. I think I understand what the offset means. And I've picked the right size of tyres and rims that I'd like, but I'm having difficulty finding out what the offset is on a standard steel merc 190D wheel from 1988. If anyone knows, I can then work out whether the wheels I'm after are gonna be vaguely compatible. Cheers. Tom



NEIL	Fri Jan 5, 2007 2:01 pm Post #2
Fewer Posts than Kenny Posts: 16,146 Group: Members Member #63 Joined: November 18, 2005	i take it you currently have the standard steel wheels? i don't know the offset, but what's more important is the offset of the wheel you're looking at buying. give us details, and we can tell you whether they'll work on the 190.



tlaw22	Fri Jan 5, 2007 3:00 pm Post #3
Member Posts: 409 Group: Members Member #603 Joined: October 19, 2006	Surely the offsets should match or at least be close. So I was looking to find out the offset for standard 15" steel wheels with the rubbish plastic trims, which are now old and knackered on my car! Then I would be able to go about finding some mercedes wheels that will definitely fit. I wouldn't want to be scouring the ebay pages to find a set, only to realise that they wouldn't fit. As a guideline I was lookng at getting some merc 16" wheels with 205/50/16 Tyres as they're the closest match in terms of overall diameter. With only an increase of 301mm in total. Hopefully this will leave my speedo reasonably acurate. Don't suppose you know of any standard merc alloys off another model that are 16"s and easy enough to do a straight swap? WAHAY!! Found it! Just noticed that one of the pinned threads at the head of the topics page for wheels has a link to a site that shows that all the original15" wheels have an offset of 35+ Just for the rest of you who may want to know!



NEIL	Fri Jan 5, 2007 3:13 pm Post #4
Fewer Posts than Kenny Posts: 16,146 Group: Members Member #63 Joined: November 18, 2005	The offset of alloy wheels is completely different to Steel wheels, as the material thickness of the wheel centre is much greater. This is illustrated by the length of the mounting bolts - Steel ones are much shorter. (you will need to keep a set for your spare ) Typically, the Original 15" alloys that were fitted to 190s would measure: 15x6.5J ET44 (most 1.8 & 2.0 cars) or 15x7J ET44 (16vs and most 2.6s) There were some replicas made with slightly different offsets. (I had 15x7J ET40 replicas and they were still a perfect fit) If the 16's you are looking at are 7J or 7.5J then the tyres will be suitable. You're looking for an offset figure between 34 & 44.



Cdn190er	Sun Jan 7, 2007 7:30 am Post #5
Member Posts: 336 Group: Members Member #131 Joined: January 10, 2006	190D steel - 6Jx15H2 ET 49 - 185/65R 15 lt alloy - 6Jx15H2 ET 49 - 185/65R 15 with sport suspension steel 7Jx15H2 ET42 - 205/65 R15 Lt alloy - 7Jx15 ET44 which by the way is the same for all 190s except the EVO or AMG kitted cars MB did not offer 1/2 sizes until after 1992 rim type/size/tyre size and date offered 15 hole 14" with 175 / 70 tires 1983-84 15 hole 6 J x 15 ET 49 185 / 65 1985> 15 hole 7 J x 15 ET 44 205 / 55 1990 Sportline 8 hole 6.5 J x 15 ET 44 185 / 65 1992 8 hole 7 J x 15 ET 41 205 / 55 1992 & 8 hole polished 1997 EVO II 8.25 J x 17 ET 34 245 / 40 1997 AMG Monoblock 7 J x 15 ET 35 205 / 55 1992 AMG Monoblock 7.5 J x 16 ET 37 225 / 45 1992 AMG Multi-Piece 7.5 J x 16 ET 31 225 / 45 1997



Matt	Sun Jan 7, 2007 12:11 pm Post #6
Administrator - Hawk Eye Posts: 14,126 Group: Admin Member #20 Joined: November 8, 2005	You want to be looking for alloys with an offset of around 35+



Cdn190er	Mon Jan 8, 2007 8:46 am Post #7
Member Posts: 336 Group: Members Member #131 Joined: January 10, 2006	Matt Jan 7 2007, 06:11 AM You want to be looking for alloys with an offset of around 35+ horrible Rev urban myth the ET is dependent on the rim width (that and MB never offered a ET35 except for the R129/ EVOI) - I am using both a ET of 37 (7 1/2J) and 34 (8J), however you have to also take in to consideration the suspension being used or fender (wing) clearance. I have also run a ET of 23 before installing the sport suspension.



NEIL	Mon Jan 8, 2007 9:37 am Post #8
Fewer Posts than Kenny Posts: 16,146 Group: Members Member #63 Joined: November 18, 2005	Well, it sounds like stock suspension and stock bodywork, so to play it safe and not give the guy any headaches with his first set of alloys, i'd go with Matt's advice and look at alloys with ET34/35+. Besides, virtually all 17" MB replicas i see are 17x7.5J ET35. I know it's possible to have some wild ET figures (DaveIrl runs 16x9 ET11) but this is more risky and usually only applies to a select few wheels.



Matt	Mon Jan 8, 2007 10:27 am Post #9
Administrator - Hawk Eye Posts: 14,126 Group: Admin Member #20 Joined: November 8, 2005	190Evoluzione Jan 8 2007, 10:37 AM Well, it sounds like stock suspension and stock bodywork, so to play it safe and not give the guy any headaches with his first set of alloys, i'd go with Matt's advice and look at alloys with ET34/35+. Besides, virtually all 17" MB replicas i see are 17x7.5J ET35. Exactly



tlaw22	Mon Jan 8, 2007 10:44 am Post #10
Member Posts: 409 Group: Members Member #603 Joined: October 19, 2006	Yep it's stock suspension, with no modifications to the bodywork. To sum up. Really, all i want to do is tart the old girl up a bit. At the moment she's got stock 15" steel wheels. with some really tatty 18 year old wheel trims on. When I got a puncture the other week I thought I might as well look into replacing the wheels with some nice alloys. As I've never done anything with wheels on cars I'm not going to go mad and whack some 18" low profile jobbies on. So with everyone's advice in mind, I think I might go for something more or less standard. Maybe even some 15" mercedes 190 alloys. I'll keep my eyes peeled on ebay to see if someones getting rid of any. Thanks Guys.



NEIL	Mon Jan 8, 2007 11:04 am Post #11
Fewer Posts than Kenny Posts: 16,146 Group: Members Member #63 Joined: November 18, 2005	May i recommend that you look for some original MB 8-holes? They look really modern, and make the car look classy/expensive! They came as standard on many 1990+ Mercs, including the W124 E-Class. This is mine when i had 15" 8-holes: They come in two widths: 15x 6.5J (ideal tyre is 185/65/15 or 195/60/15) 15x7J (ideal tyre is 205/55/15) I paid about �65 for mine off eBay, but ended up selling them for just over �100 with no refurb work done at all, so keep your eyes peeled for a bargain. Good luck



dave_irl	Mon Jan 8, 2007 11:34 am Post #12
I love offset. Posts: 8,729 Group: Admin Member #6 Joined: November 2, 2005	190Evoluzione Jan 8 2007, 11:37 AM I know it's possible to have some wild ET figures (DaveIrl runs 16x9 ET11) but this is more risky and usually only applies to a select few wheels. ET15 actually. I have 225/45 tyres on but they are a bit too big so I'm going to try 215/40 for the next round.. PS for what its worth the 8 holes are quite nice, but 15 holes are just that bit sweeter, especially on when she's lowered. Good luck with your new wheels whatever they are tlaw



NEIL	Mon Jan 8, 2007 11:50 am Post #13
Fewer Posts than Kenny Posts: 16,146 Group: Members Member #63 Joined: November 18, 2005	dave_irl Jan 8 2007, 12:34 PM ET15 actually. I have 225/45 tyres on but they are a bit too big so I'm going to try 215/40 for the next round.. Whoops Dave, my mistake! 215/40? You're nuts. Cornering might eat your Kerschers alive? TLaw, there have also been a few sets of 16x7.5 MB 8-holes on eBay recently, a good upgrade option that can use a slightly narrower (and more common) 205/50/16 tyre.



Matt	Mon Jan 8, 2007 4:04 pm Post #14
Administrator - Hawk Eye Posts: 14,126 Group: Admin Member #20 Joined: November 8, 2005	My AMG monoblocks run 215/40s The best size for 17s ive found yet really



NEIL	Mon Jan 8, 2007 4:07 pm Post #15
Fewer Posts than Kenny Posts: 16,146 Group: Members Member #63 Joined: November 18, 2005	Matt, I bet your AMG monoblocs aren't 9J wide...



tlaw22	Tue Jan 9, 2007 3:53 pm Post #16
Member Posts: 409 Group: Members Member #603 Joined: October 19, 2006	I'm liking the look of those 8 holes 190evoluzione! I think I'll look for a set of those, unless someone else out there's got any? with tyres? I quite like the look of these too: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mercedes-CLK-wheels-...bayphotohosting Here's some 8 holes though. Do you think the price is O.K? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mercedes-16-original...bayphotohosting



NEIL	Tue Jan 9, 2007 4:22 pm Post #17
Fewer Posts than Kenny Posts: 16,146 Group: Members Member #63 Joined: November 18, 2005	Sending you a PM. Check your inbox...



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