I was wondering if I got a wheel offset smaller then the recommended 48+ if it woudl actually set the whees farther apart safely making the tire track wider? I do understand that the fenders would have to be modified. are there are others ways to widen track width other then wheel spacers? thanks

John

John,

A lower offset will, indeed move the tires further out. As you mention, wheel spacers do the same thing. There are some practical limits how far you can go with this: 1) fender clearance. 2) increased wear & tear on the drivetrain. Not sure there's an absolute limit on 2, but as you push the wheels out, your wheel bearings will suffer.

FYI - If you want to run really wide wheels/tires, you need to run a lower offset, just to gain clearance on the inside of the wheels.

Here's a good description of offset.
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/offset.htm

-Steve

also the problem is that when if you push the offset out to far and don't have wider wheels to keep the centers in roughly the same place as stock, you don't get as much car yaw per angle of steering wheel turn.

So really, it's best to keep the center of the wheel in roughly the same location if possible

I echo what's been said. Here's (http://toy4two.home.mindspring.com/offset.html) a link that's fun to play with and that I've found usefull.
-Leland

Originally posted by ellisnc
also the problem is that when if you push the offset out to far and don't have wider wheels to keep the centers in roughly the same place as stock, you don't get as much car yaw per angle of steering wheel turn.

So really, it's best to keep the center of the wheel in roughly the same location if possible

In other words, cars with the wrong offset steer funny, requiring more "tending" than a car with the proper offset.

Kevin

You basically want to keep the king pin axis centeded in then contact patch of the tire or slightly ahead of it for better tracking.

Originally posted by BillJC
You basically want to keep the king pin axis centeded in then contact patch of the tire or slightly ahead of it for better tracking.

or at least where it was designed to be

exactly.

I was just thikning getting a 7.5" tire with a very small offset maybe +40 or so, so I can fit a wider wheel in the fronts and not neccessarily the back so I have better (supposedly) traction for sterring. thanks for all the help and the links.

John