Wheel Size/offset/pattern for 1989

[amish_geek]

Ok, I've been looking at getting new wheels for the SPG. Its a 1989.

I've been looking at different wheels, and somewhere I saw that my car needs a 4x108 bolt pattern. But then I saw other people talking about their wheels and a 4x114 pattern.

Which pattern is required by my car? the 4x108 or the 4x114?

Also, I was searching for the proper offset, and saw I should bee looking for an offset of 35mm. Is this right?

I'm looking for 17" wheels, possibly even 18" if I can get them to fit without rubbing.

[900t]

Your stock wheels are 4x108, 15x5.5 in and 45 mm offset.

Factory 6 inch rims on the 9K were 33 mm offset.

The offset depends on the width of the wheel fitted.

[amish_geek]

So a set like these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/17-AD...QQcmdZViewItem

Would fit with proper tires?

[Matthew]

Isn't it extraordinary that in 192,652 posts in the 900 forums, this is the first time we've ever talked about wheel bolt patterns?

[SteveMcqueen]

Forget those anyways.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BORBE...QQcmdZViewItem

OMG!

[TheRedBaron]

Originally Posted by SteveMcqueen

Forget those anyways.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BORBE...QQcmdZViewItem

OMG!

Those R hot!

[amish_geek]

Originally Posted by Matthew

Isn't it extraordinary that in 192,652 posts in the C900 forums, this is the first time we've ever talked about wheel bolt patterns?

Well there is no definitive thread, and no link/page included in the FAQ about wheels. And with the difference between 87 and earlier and 88 and later hub styles/brake styles etc, bolt patterns change. So the threads the search bring up don't help much unless you can find the proper year listed.

[grif900]

i do belive bolt pattern and wheel offset have been brought up in a few of the 88trillion tire threads.

those borbet wheels look very nice to me.

[Matthew]

Originally Posted by amish_geek

Well there is no definitive thread, and no link/page included in the FAQ about wheels. And with the difference between 87 and earlier and 88 and later hub styles/brake styles etc, bolt patterns change. So the threads the search bring up don't help much unless you can find the proper year listed.

There are plenty of definitive threads which give the information you wanted. It's one of the most frequently discussed subjects.

That the FAQ doesn't hand the answer to you on a plate just means you have to put in a bit more effort.

[amish_geek]

Originally Posted by Matthew

There are plenty of definitive threads which give the information you wanted. It's one of the most frequently discussed subjects.

That the FAQ doesn't hand the answer to you on a plate just means you have to put in a bit more effort.

Well, obviously since it's discussed so often, and there are so many threads, it might be a good idea to sticky a thread, and/or add a link to one in the FAQ. Since 45 minutes of searching did not provide me with my answer and thus I had to start yet another wheel thread.

[Matthew]

Less than three minutes of searching came up with these threads:
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=889
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=23219
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=37189
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=26195
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=21474

There were at least two dozen more listed, all of which contained information answering your question.

[900t]

Originally Posted by Matthew

There are plenty of definitive threads which give the information you wanted. It's one of the most frequently discussed subjects.

That the FAQ doesn't hand the answer to you on a plate just means you have to put in a bit more effort.

I bet I could search for "bolt pattern" and get:

The following terms are too general and were excluded from your search:
bolt, pattern

[SpecialTool]

Oh dear, I fear it's all been said before.

To avoid this sort of tedium in future, we must do the only sane thing - ban new threads. After all, if you can't find the answer to any question in search then you're simply not looking hard enough.

It's been nice chatting, now go away, all of you.

[Matthew]

Originally Posted by 900t

I bet I could search for "bolt pattern" and get:

The following terms are too general and were excluded from your search:
bolt, pattern

How much do you bet?

Originally Posted by SpecialTool

To avoid this sort of tedium in future, we must do the only sane thing - ban new threads. After all, if you can't find the answer to any question in search then you're simply not looking hard enough.

It's been nice chatting, now go away, all of you.

Very mature response.

People like people who help themselves. Nothing reasonable about suggesting people should make the effort to find the answer for themselves, instead of offloading that effort onto others.

[900t]

Originally Posted by Matthew

How much do you bet?

1.6 million Zimbabwean dollars

[SpecialTool]

Originally Posted by Matthew

People like people who help themselves.

Hey you don't have to convince me, I searched this forum for three months before daring to start a thread.

Anyhoo back to the tired old topic. amish i imagine you're looking at 7" rims? If the standard 5.5s are 45mm offset then that means you want an offset of 45mm minus an inch and a half, i.e 45-37 = 8mm offset? That doesn't look right.

[jdmckay]

Originally Posted by amish_geek

Well there is no definitive thrad, and no link/page included in the FAQ about wheels. And with the difference between 87 and earlier and 88 and later hub styles/brake styles etc, bolt patterns change. So the threads the search bring up don't help much unless you can find the proper year listed.

Amish:

I just went through this wheel thing after converting my brakes to '88+ (eg: later hubs came w/these brakes front & back). I didn't know squat about wheels... PCD, wheel widths and such was all greek to me. Anyway, this page was of enormous help to me: it catalogues most of SAAB wheel history, model compatability etc etc. There's also some useful links @ bottom of that page on wheel refinishers & sources for new/used SAAB wheels.

There's also RONAL SAAB wheels. If you poke around there site you'll find a lot of useful (at least for me) wheel information. They also have some (relatively) affordable discontinued wheels for c900 (+/- $175 per).

As it turned out, I got lucky. I found 4 of these at local U-PULL yard for $9.50 per... a little bit of curb rash on the bead surface, but not bad. 1 wheel had maybe a 1/16 in. deep "scratch" near the middle about 1/2 in. long. I found a wheel refinisher in El Paso that comes recomended: I shipped 'em off to him for $125 per.

FWIW, I originally preferred my previous wheels appearance. But those things had a deep, recessed groove just inside the perimeter which ran around circumferance of wheel and was a PITA to clean. The newer ones don't have that, and are far easier to clean.

Good luck w/your wheel search.

[amish_geek]

8mm offset? That doesn't sound right.

I'm thinking about getting a set of Enkei's or BBS RK style wheels.

[SpecialTool]

8mm offset? That doesn't sound right.

Oops, sorry, it's not. According to jd's link, the offset for a std 5.5" C900 wheel is actually +40. Also, offset only reduces at half the rate wheel width increases, so for 1.5" wider wheels the offset would reduce by 3/4" or about 19mm. Therefore, the ideal offset for 7" rims is +21.

...Unless 900t is right and the standard offset is +45, in which case the optimal offset for 7-inchers would be +25.

I think.

[900t]

Originally Posted by SpecialTool

...Unless 900t is right and the standard offset is +45, in which case the optimal offset for 7-inchers would be +25.

I think.

Oops. 45 is for 15x5 99 wheels. 15x5.5 900 wheels are 40. And 15x6 9000 wheels are 33.