Wheel offsets

[Ozram]

I hope I'm not going over old ground but can someone explain to me what offsets are when alloy wheels are specced? Is it the thickness of a spacer or something that moves the wheel closer or further off the hub? Is there an ideal one for the MK6?

I'm hoping to put a set of 17" GTI rims (replicas) on mine when it arrives.

Thanks

[Corey_R]

Wheel offsets is one of those things that not many people understand... so I'm not surprised you haven't got a reply.

To quote the Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offset_(wheel)):

The offset of a vehicle's wheel is the distance between the centerline of the wheel and the plane of the hub-mounting surface of the wheel. It can thus be either positive or negative, and is typically measured in millimeters. Offset has a significant effect on many elements of a vehicle's suspension, including suspension geometry, clearance between the tire and suspension elements, the scrub radius of the steering system, and visually, the width of the wheel faces relative to the car's bodywork.

Zero Offset - The plane of the hub mounting surface is even with the centerline of the wheel.
Positive Offset - The plane of the hub mounting surface is shifted from the centerline toward the front or outside of the wheel. Positive offset wheels are generally found on front wheel drive cars and newer rear drive cars.
Negative Offset - The plane of the hub mounting surface is toward the back or brake side of the wheel's centerline.

I'm not sure what VW quote as the official offset for the MKV or MK6, but Oettingers wheels specifically for the MKV are 50mm. I had a set of theirs on my GTI.

[gareth_oau]

try these educational sites also:

http://autospeed.com/A_110822/cms/article.html

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

[Ozram]

Thanks guys,

So all it is in reality is determining how far in or out from the mounting point on the hub face that the outer & inner edges of the wheel fall. I understand now.

Thanks again

[mtaoz3]

If you want to know some official data as posted by VW on some aspects of your Golf VI, have a look here:

http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/perl/32502_835447_RVD_23Mar2009083953.cmd

This data is submitted by the manufacturer in order to get road homologation in Australia.
Having said that, some of the data is highly suspect. The 17 x 7 wheels on my Sport pack are shown as +54 on the rim, yet +50 on the RVCS data.

Edit: that link appears to have a corrupted RVD. Try this one:

http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/perl/32502_822104R_RVD_08Dec2008103049.cmd

[RhysQ]

Hey all,

I could possibly be buying a 6 GTI this weekend and just wanted to know what the offset of the 17" standard wheel is?

I looked through a few threads and couldn't find anything.

Cheers,
Rhys

[Ozram]

Not 100% sure on the MK6 but the Mk5 was +51 from memory.

[RhysQ]

Not 100% sure on the MK6 but the Mk5 was +51 from memory.

they're exactly the same wheel aren't they?