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Wheel offset?

6K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  socal1200r 
#1 ·
Is the wheel offset on the stock 15" 3 spoke the same as the 16" Super Aero wheel's? And what would that offset be? Thanks in advance, Mike
 
#4 ·
Are you worried about fit or handling or clearance to brake calipers etc or just interested.
I don't know what the offset is but they work on the c900 as do the Carlssons and every other four studded 9000 wheel.
The only issue AFAIK is with the the wider tyres hitting the rear arches especially if you've got lowering or sagging springs.
They also give a more aggressive look to the c900 which I like,:D I've got 205/50/16s on my Carlssons.
 
#5 ·
I don't remember where I was going w/ it too many cup's(Scotch) I want the widest profile I can get w/o crushing the arches of my 93' turbo vert,on Aero wheels.Can I push it to 215/45/16,225/40/16? I also know there's tire fitment references everywhere but first person is better. I might also run my Aeros on the rear and my stock 3 spoke's on the front. I know 16''on the rear 15'' on the front taboo,but I think It would look OK will post pic's of the the car. If I do It and when my son shows me how to. Sorry for rambling....Mike
 
#6 ·
Okay, I can't answer ANY of your legitimate questions! My red '90 SPG has Aero (not Super Aero) wheels. I put 205/45-16 tires on to avoid all rubbing problems, and they have never rubbed. So maybe (?) the 215 might be okay. In my reading I was told that the Aero (16") and Super Aero (16") had the same offset as each other, but no reference to the 3-spoke SPG 15" wheels. BUT - I just went to my basement stock, and compared a Super Aero to an SPG rim. Both inner beads look to have the same profile. With the inner bead sitting on my concrete floor, both rims appear to have the SAME offset, so I'll go out on a sapling-size limb here and say that they all have the same offset. I think.....? Vern
 
#7 ·
I am sort of tackling this from the point of view of looking at off-road suitable tyres to go on my 89 900i (or the 1991 2.1 car I have just bought which has a blown HG - so the price was cheap!).

My main issue is that good off-road tyres have a significantly bigger rolling diameter than standard 195/60R15's. I believe that super-aero wheels with the standard tyres (on my 9k carlsson they are 205/50R16's) fit without any problem on any 1988+ C900.

Two things I have noticed when trying to fit up a set of aftermarket 4 x 108 wheels which bigger (215/60R15) tyres was that the offset of the aftermarket wheels is wrong and the actual sidewall width of the tyres both create problems with mounting that I could cure with some nice (but expensive, and in Ozzieland very illegal!) H&R or similar spacers.

For regular on-road driving I don't think there is going to be too much hassle with tyres hitting wheel arches but the wheel spaces aren't very large on a classic 900 so providing you get the tyres clearing the shocks and springs on the suspension (by getting the offset right), you still can't have really chunky tyres if you'll do any driving that isn't on nice smooth road all the time.

Craig.
 
#8 ·
So on my '91 c900 t16 'vert, are the stock wheels 15x6, 4x108 bolt pattern, but what's the backspacing?

I'm finding that apparently there aren't too many other 15" diameter 4x108 wheels from other cars that will work. I think this is due primarily to the backspacing. The other wheels have backspacing ranging from 35 and higher, and apparently this won't work. For example, I did a search on eBay, and filtered the search to 15" diameter wheels with 4x108 bolt pattern. There are some nice looking stock wheels from other cars, but when you do the sizing calculator, they won't work on my Saab. Since the diameter and bolt pattern is the same as what I have now, I have to assume it's because of the backspacing being too wide (i.e. high number)?

So besides other Saab 4-lug wheels, are there other stock wheels from another car manufacturer that will work on a c900 (i.e. Volvo, Audi, etc)?
 
#9 ·
The 16" Saab aero and super aero wheels have 27 mm backspacing, standard C900 wheels have 40 mm backspacing. So aero and super aeros stick out further, in addition to being an inch wider. The outer rear arch (the left on my C900) can rub. I centered my rear axle to solve this.

Some small fords (new Focus I think) have 108x4 bolt pattters, and here is a link to a more complete list:

http://forums.focaljet.com/tire-rack-tires-wheels-brakes-forum/499823-wheels-4-x-108-pattern.html
 
#10 ·
You also need to find rims with center bore big enough to fit the hubs. Looking at the chart the Focus center bore is 63.4 mm and the Saab is 65.1 mm so factory Focus rims probably wouldn't't fit but many aftermarket rims come with bigger center bores. Also some Saabs use 14mm lug bolts which won't go through the bolt holes on some rims (can be solved by using 14mm to 12mm stud conversion kit).
http://www.ringer-racing.com/product.sc?productId=65
 
#11 ·
Yikes, forgot about the center bore measurement! That' the same issue I had with trying to fit different factory wheels on my '89 Montero. Some Chevys have the same bolt pattern (6x5.5), but the center opening is too small. Found some Toyota alloy wheels that work just fine.

So it sounds to me like I should stick with Saab wheels from a different model. I have what I think are called the 15-hole rims, and HATE keeping them clean. Would be MUCH easier to get something like those 3-bladed Saab rims, but only if they're 15", at least the same width, or maybe even just a tad wider. I'll probably replace the tires I have on there now with 215/60-15s sometime this year, so we'll see if I've come to accept those 15-hole rims by then, lol!
 
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