Different offset rims on the same axle

[eltawater]

Throwing myself at the mercy of the PH collective wisdom here

I have in my possession three steel rims, 14" 5.5j with ET43.5 and tyres fitted.

The closest I can seem to get for a replacement is a 14" rim 5.5j with ET47.5

Is pairing a ET43.5 with a ET47.5 on the same axle just a Really Bad Idea or will it not actually make a difference in terms of handling?

Grateful for any advice offered
Many thanks

p.s. Can anyone look up the ET offset for a 14" 5.5j Steel rim for a Ford sportka? Parts guy at the local Ford desk is unable to help.

[Marf]

:facepalm:

[DannyVTS]

43.5? Such an odd rim size.

According to google your standard ET should be 35-45, so i doubt the 47.5 ones are originals

[BliarOut]

[anonymous-user]

Speaking from experience of my mate:

He bought a set of 4 brand new M3 replica alloys with tyres from one of the really big online alloy dealers, they arrived, he fitted them to his E36 328i Saloon no problems.

Couple of years and 20k miles later the rears needed replaced so he went to a tyre place who noticed his two rear alloys were different offsets! The original supply of the 4 wheels and tyres had been wrong and contained a different offset wheel and 3 the same.

End result: it didn't make any difference at all and he just left it on the car.

[Sam_68]

BliarOut said:

Have a:

To the OP: it's a really bad idea, but if you must do it as a temporary measure, you're probably best putting the different offsets on the rear, so that at least they don't make your steering pull unevenly.

[spyder dryver]

Put it on the rear. If both rears still run true and parallel (which they will) I can't see why it should crab. Such sideways behaviour is usually caused by the rear axle not being perpendicular to the car's axis. Altering the offset by 4mm at one side won't affect this.
Given all the rubber bushes etc. in modern car suspension systems plus usual tolerances I'll wager that loads of cars are out of alignment by more than 4mm anyway.
If you are still concerned what about putting a 4mm spacer behind the opposite wheel?

[cmsapms]

If you must do it, then use a spacer. They're only available in pairs - for the obvious reason - so you'll end up with an interesting coaster for when you want to drink alone.

HTH

Edited by cmsapms on Friday 17th December 13:36

[Risotto]

They're both round and of the same diameter. Plenty of people use spacesaver spares temporarily.

I'm sure it must be better to have a matching pair but in everyday circumstances what dectectable difference could it possibly make to have a slightly different offset on one wheel?

[eltawater]

As I feared, it's probably not worth the bother.

The three rims are a bit of a weird ET offset, but then they were the ones supplied from the same place that supplied My Tyres. Their courier lost the fourth wheel and after 6 weeks they can't supply a replacement, so I'm going to have to look at alternatives.

Many thanks all.

[5lab]

why can't you just spacer the odd one out until the offset is correct (or the other ones out so they match the odd one out)?

[eltawater]

There comes a point where I'm going to be in a situation not too dissimilar to waiting for the planets to come into alignment.

The additional spacers are just the last item in a long list of things I'll have to do to make this work, including praying I get a matching fourth tyre shipped from Germany, getting the differently matched steel off fleabay and having it arrive through the blizzard, then finding someone to fit, balance and sort it all out.

I'm just going to cut my losses, order 4 matching steels with the same offset from a ford dealer and to have a mobile tyre fitter come out and put four matching tyres on.

[Sam_68]

spyder dryver said:

If both rears still run true and parallel (which they will) I can't see why it should crab.

Potentially asymmetric braking, though?

[JR]

Sam_68 said:

spyder dryver said:

If both rears still run true and parallel (which they will) I can't see why it should crab.

Potentially asymmetric braking, though?

Yes but it's quite easy to buy 4mm wheel spacers. Like the OP I'd cut my losses.