HELP!!
Just purchased some 18" Volvo Nebula REPLICA wheels from Ebay. Ad said they were 38 mm offset and that they would fit my car. Purchased 235/40/18 tires as indicated by dealer and now I have rubbing on inside of fender in rear wheels when transporting 2 adults in the backseat. Anyone know what offset I should be using?
I see where IPD sells same wheel, but advertises a 43mm offset. Would 5mm make enough of a difference??

thx
m

Not sure what the offset is but I should think that 5mm could make a huge difference and it would also depend on what tyres you had on.

Like the front wheel rubbing thing, some tyres dont seem to rub at all.

I found this that says the offset is +49 (which sounds like alot IMO)
http://www.vivaperformance.com/catalog/pro...products_id=165

But IPD says the offset is +43. Go figure. Personally, I would try the 5mm spacers if the wheels really are only +38.



EDIT...I just realized that link I put has the wheels at 18X8, maybe that's why the offset is +49. Are your Nebulas 18X7 or 18X8?

This post has been edited by S60 R: Jun 28 2008, 01:15 PM

Mine are 18x8 nebulas. If I use spacers, the wheel will stick out that much further wouldn't they?? Offset is the distance from the centerline of the wheel to the mounting surface isn't it? If so, a 38 offset would push the wheel mounting surface closer to the centerline and thus not allow the wheel to go inside as far. A 43 offsetwould opush the wheel 5mm further inside the fender towards the inside of the car. 5mm is quite a bit. Almost 1/5th of an inch...possibly enough to stop the rub on the inside of the fender lip??

Very confusing this offset thing ?

You're right, using spacers would only reduce the (positive) offset of the wheel adding to your problem.

What wheels did you have on before and what was their offset?
What tyres did you have fitted before?

Perhaps a smaller width tyre would solve the problem - can you get a 230/40/18 or even go down to a 225/40/18

I think my wheels are 17x7.5 and I don't know what the offset is (If anyone out there might know I think they are Tethys)
They are fitted with 225/45/17 tyres and if I were to go up to 18" I think I would want to keep the width the same.

Yeah, I think I'm getting myself confused too :grin:

Zero offset means the hub is inline with the center of the wheel. Positive offset is closer to the outside, while negative is towards the inside of the wheel.

I think I misunderstood. But if the rubbing is on the inside of the wheel well (the passenger area side) spacers would push the wheel out to the street side of the car, also giving a wider looking stance.

As VV asked, what was the original wheel and tire size?

From the OP it sounds like the rubbing is on the actual wheel arch rather than the inner liner?

If thats the case and you intend keeping the wheels the only way I can see around it would be to fit a narrower tyre (if you've just bough new ones though you might not want to do that either)

You're exactly right....the rubbing is on the inside of the actual wheel arch, not the interior side of the wheel well. I think I'm going to purchase 2 wheels from IPD with the 43m offset and see if that fixes my problems. If not, the only other option is to sell my tires and buy a 225/40/18.

You're kind of stuck between the proverbial "rock and a hard place". If you go with a narrower tire you might not rub but you might have sidewall problems with the tires. You are already running an 8" wide wheel so you probably wont be able to go with that much of a narrower tire. You may be better off going with a narrower rim.