The way I learned about wheel-stuff is this:
Offset: the distance between the mounting surface of the wheel to the
center line of the wheel.
Backspacing: The distance from the mounting surface to the inner lip of
the wheel
Frontspacing: what's left =)
According to Brian Lee, you can't handle more than 5.25" of backspacing
before your wheels will rub your suspension components. The offset on
my 88 Dak is 38mm. So, takin' that into account, if I were to order a 17x8"
wheel, I would get 5" backspacing, 38mm offset, which would give me
3" of front spacing. The best thing to do is to look at the wheels you have
now, take one off, and measure all the things like backspacing and offset
and stuff like that. Then, when you order your new wheels, you will
have an idea of how they will sit on your dak. Since you have a Mark III,
you have aftermarket wheels on there already (15x8 if I remember
correctly). I say, keep the same measurements as the wheels you have
now, just upgrade to 17". That way, you have to think a lot less =)
-mike d.
>>> Bob Tom <tigers@bserv.com> 04/06/99 08:54pm >>>
>...I still need to figure out the exact specs as far as
>backspacing and offset (or is that the same thing) so I
>will know what I'm talking about when I go shopping...
Mike
If you laid a measuring stick on top of and across the
lips of the inner rim and then took another measuring
stick and measured the distance from the surface where
a mounting hole is to the measuring stick lying across the lip.
this distance is the backspacing of a rim.
The frontspace of the rim is the width of the rim
(for measuring purposes, the width is always 1" more
than the advertised width of the rim) minus the backspace.
The offset of a rim is the backspace minus 1/2 the rim's width
(don't forget the extra 1"). If the difference is a positive
number, it's called positive offset. If it's negative,
it's called negative offset. Negative offset give that
deep dish look to a rim.
I mentioned the above because, in all my experiences,
the sales personnel that I have met were not very knowledgeable.
Hope you have better luck than me.
I can't be specific for your needs because I don't know the backspacing
of the stock rim for pre-97 Daks nor what suspension components and
wheelwell limitations may cause clearance problems.
Hope this helps a bit. Good luck.
Bob
Burlington, Ontario
'97 CC Sport, 5.2L, 3.55, auto.
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