can I get away 15mm of lower offset (.59 inches) without any evil effects?

[lizpat]

It's a slight change which I'm hoping brings a slight improvement in certain characteristics while minimizing the unpredictable negative effects.

I want the wheels pushed out a little bit to give it that nice look, I want a very-slightly more weighted-steering feel, more highway stability perhaps.

Here's what I'm worried about: bump steer, heavy steering, extra load on wheel bearings and other suspension components, other types of unpredictables.

The question is: is 15mm too much? What's been your experience with either wheel spacers or aftermarket wheels with lower offsets that push the track width outward by a little bit?

The car is a friend's Hyundai Accent. I'm helping him out with a new set of lighter weight aftermarket wheels, they all have lower offsets than stock (by about 10 to 20mm lower in offset.)

I guess ultimately the question is: do you think he can get away with 15mm change in offset without feeling those evil effects such as unpredictable steering and bump steer and all that nastiness. If those are felt and if the steering wheel jerks him while he's driving then the change might not be worth it.

 

[Jetronic]

Which generation Accent?

First check if they actually fit without rubbing or the wheels and tyres sticking out of the arches. The standard wheels sit fairly flush as is and most aftermarket wheels will also be wider...

The car will indeed be more sensitive to anything that cause an imbalance in torque. But it's not a night and day difference at 15mm.

 

[eljefino]

Yeah you should be ok, especially if you don't go super-low profile or use super-sticky rubber.

 

[mightymousetech]

15 mm is quite a bit. That will increase the scrub radius quite a bit. That will mean the car will react worse to uneven pavement, pulling left and right. It will also increase tire wear. Changing the offset has no affect on bumpsteer.

 

[surfstar]

It's a Hyundai Accent.

Save the money they'd waste on wheels, unless it will provide a separate set of summer/winter setups. No matter how "cool" people think aftermarket wheels look - you can't see them when you're behind the wheel. Low profile tires cost more, wear-out faster, and are more likely to let your wheels get damaged. Lose, lose, lose. *shrug*

 

[lizpat]

It's 2014 Hyundai Accent base model. So we got 1 vote for yes, and 2 votes for NO!

 

[Pew]

I wouldn't bother with an Accent - but that's straight personal preference.

Depending on the type of driving and type of roads, your friend may not like how it feels. Like stated above, the car will be more sensitive to uneven pavement wanting to pull your car left and right but not drastically in my experience - like switching from worn 3/32nd tires to brand new ones.

Steering will be heavier but that can also be fixed with heavier/wider wheels/tires.

Going off google pictures, a -15mm offset from stock may be way too much. A -5mm offset from stock may fit better - as the car hits bumps the tires may hit the fender liner and rub at full steering lock.

 

[lizpat]

Thanks for chiming in, there are just precious few aftermarket wheel options for the Accent . There isn't a single wheel option that sticks close to factory offset.

 

[CapriRacer]

It is my understanding that most FWD's have a clearance issue between the tire and the strut, so wider wheels usually have less positive offset, which pushes the outer edge of the wheel further out - about half the increase in width: 13 mm for every 1". There would be a limit as to how wide you could go before you hit the fender.

It is also my understanding that this also impacts the wheel bearings in a negative way.

 

[lizpat]

You are basically correct!

I've decided on an experiment: we're going to put on 15mm wheel spacers on the stock steel wheels to see how it feels and if there are adverse handling effects. This is a test only. If it works out, we want light weight aftermarket wheels. This is a great idea.

 

[Vercingetorix]

You are basically correct!

I've decided on an experiment: we're going to put on 15mm wheel spacers on the stock steel wheels to see how it feels and if there are adverse handling effects. This is a test only. If it works out, we want light weight aftermarket wheels. This is a great idea.

I think what CapriRacer is saying is that by increasing the wheel width by 1” means moving the offset 13mm (1/2”). This means 13mm goes towards pushing the wheel lip out and 13mm goes towards pushing the inner lip towards the brakes. Using 15mm spacers only brings the whole wheel out, which isn’t the same thing.

 

[surfstar]

It's 2014 Hyundai Accent base model. So we got 1 vote for yes, and 2 votes for NO!

Wow, not just an Accent, but a 7 year old one!
Spending 10%+ of the car's value on aftermarket wheels (rough guestimate, more likely higher and not lower than 10% that's for sure) - again, I strongly disagree with this judgement. Is their emergency fund adequate? Roth IRA and 401k being funded?

It is an Accent. They long gave up ride quality and handling desires when purchasing the vehicle! They made a good economical choice of car - why ruin that by blowing it on wheels?

Other than that, I have no thoughts

 

[Jetronic]

I think what CapriRacer is saying is that by increasing the wheel width by 1” means moving the offset 13mm (1/2”). This means 13mm goes towards pushing the wheel lip out and 13mm goes towards pushing the inner lip towards the brakes. Using 15mm spacers only brings the whole wheel out, which isn’t the same thing.

No Capri was talking about reducing offset so the inside edge of the wheel stays in the original location to keep the clearance between strut and wheel/tyre the same. If you don't, a 1" wider wheel means the strut clearance has reduced by 1/2".

Spacers will indeed move the entire wheel out and are only useful to check if a same width wheel with lower offset won't rub. But if the new wheel is wider AND has lower offset 15mm spacer won't tell you anything

 

[avacado11]

OEM is always the way to go for maximum durability but 15mm is not enough to make a difference in life expectancy of the wheel bearings. The wear is probably equivalent to hitting a handful of extra potholes over the span of a few years. Clearance will fully depend on the car. Some cars have enough clearance, some don't. Really won't know until you throw them on or check feed back from people with same set up on the same car.

I have done much more aggressive offsets with no negative effects on steering feel.

 

[meep]

I wrestled with this a good bit. If I understand it correctly, this front wheel drive accent will have a negative scrub radius. this means that if the wheel faces resistance, it will automatically counter steer, such as hit a puddle on the passenger side and it will introduce counter forces to basically have a leftward steering force, and the steering wheel isn’t ripped rightward from the drivers hand. when you pop the wheel outward like that, the negative scrub radius moves to zero then possibly becomes a positive scrub radius, such as an older pickup truck with deep dish wheels.

i recently bought a car that handled beautifully stock BUT had some garish full chrome 20” factory wheels on it. I wanted simple gray aftermarket wheels but wanted stock size and dimensions. I found only one quality option that was identical to factory specs, but didn’t like the style. the second pick looked less flashy but poked the offset outward by 5mm. I fussed with tire rack sales with my bitog-esq picky questions and all they could say was that 5mm should still be within tolerance for the car I have.

I feel a small difference with 5mm, but 5mm wasn’t enough to create instability. It’s stability is still preserved. I would not want to do 15.

I did do a larger wheel/tire combo years ago before I understood any of this. For regular driving it was fine, but the car and steering was twitchy under braking. I didn’t mind it at age 20, but wouldn’t want it now.

m

 

[Pew]

Might also dislike the increase in turning radius of a u-turn too.

 

[lizpat]

Here's an update: I didn't put wheel spacers. Instead, I just went ahead and got the aftermarket wheels which lowered the offset by 13mm (.512 inches.)

I did that for the front wheels only, did a test and it was..............FINE! No bumpsteer, no vague steering, no issues.

Then I swapped the rear and did a test: it was all.. FINE.

Now I haven't tested thoroughly to fully discern the hoped-for benefit: greater high speed stability, I'll have to wait and see on that one.

One immediate benefit was lower unsprung weight by about 5.2 lbs. ----- This was immediately felt. Once I get new tires, I will select lower weight tires as well. In my size 175/65R15, they can be had as low as 14 lbs. each tire. (I have 17 lb. tires on now.)

 

[lizpat]

Thus, we conclude that for THIS application: a half inch of extra scrubby induces no negatives effects on handling.

The tires mounted by the previous owner are almost brand new: I'm leary of getting rid of them when there is 99% tread left

 

[Jetronic]

The 15"wheels are quite narrow (5.5"?), it won't be an issue at all to fit a slightly wider of less offset wheel. If you had 17" as standard, the matter could be different.

 

[meep]

The 5.2 lbs of weight savings is huge. good score there.