Hello,
I'm the new guy.
I wondered if anyone could clarify the wheel applications for my car and how to tell if I have an offset or how much the offset is (how to measure it)?
The car in question is my 87 560SEC.

Thanks alot,

Rick Hesek
Northboro, MA

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Rick Hesek
Northboro, MA

First... WELCOME!!

The offset is the distance from the hub mounting surface of the wheel to the wheel centerline. It us usually stamped on the back of the wheel in the format of "ETxx", where xx is a number in mm, usually in the 25 - 50 range. If it is not there...

A quick and easy way to measure is to lay the wheel on a hard flat surface (w/ tire OK if inflated). Measure from the ground to the hub mounting surface. Flip it over. Measure again. Subtract the two numbers and divide by 2. That will be the offset.

If you are considering replacement wheels it is important that you don't get into a situation where the tires rub the fenders on the outside during turning or bump travel or on the suspension on the inside. For size recommendations go over the the Wheels & Tires Forum. Luke from TireRack is a great help there, too.

Thanks alot, Joe.
I understand now.

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Rick Hesek
Northboro, MA

Another way, which doesn't require removal of the center cap to get accurate measurements and guarantees the correct sign is to lay the wheel with or without an inflated tire on a level surface with the outside face down.

Lay a straight edge across the top.

Measure from the straight edge to the wheel mounting plane, call this dimension A.

Now measure from the straight edge to the surface and call this B.

Offset = A - B/2

This will give the proper arithmetic sign.

Mercedes wheels have the diameter, width, and offset ("ET" in mm) clearly marked on the inside wheel, so all you have to do is remove the spare tire cover and read it.

Duke

Rick,

You do know that the "new guy" always brings the beer?

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The Golden Rule

1984 300SD (bought new, sold it in 1988, bought it back 13 yrs. later)

"Rick,

You do know that the "new guy" always brings the beer?"

Of course. Where have ya been?
We just finished the second case!

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Rick Hesek
Northboro, MA

Some good tire/offset links (I recently bought some new alloys and had similar questions):

Basic info (very good) :

http://www.clubb5.com/information/wheeltire.shtml

Offset calculator:

http://toy4two.home.mindspring.com/offset.html

Cheers,

Got that third case chilled yet?

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon