HCF Members,
I am going to be purchasing Rota rims 16" by 7". What is the ideal offset 40, or 45? and what are the pro's and con's of having a higher or lower offset? The wheels are going on my 93 SI. Thanks for your help>>>

first of all, do you know what the offset actually is? (not meaning to insult you or anything) If you do, skip on down to the next paragraph; if not, keep reading this one. Anyway, the offset is basically the distance (in millimeters) from the back of the mounting pad (the piece of the wheel that contacts the brakes, where the studs go through) to the exact centerline of the wheel. Positive offsets "pull" the wheel back into the wheel well, while negative offsets "push" the wheel out toward the fender.

For an EG civic with 7" wide wheels, you're going to want the +45mm offset to avoid rubbing the fenders. However, you still might rub on the inside of the wheel well (my wheels are 17x7 with +45mm offsets.... My front wheels rub occasionally at full lock, but I've never had a problem with the rears. Then again, my civic almost sits on the ground). If you're willing to roll your fenders, you can probably get away with the +40 offset wheels, and then you won't have to worry about rubbing the wheel wells. However, I'm pretty sure they'll [the +40's] rub the fenders if you don't roll them.

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-1994 civic ex - sold 7/28/08
-2001 cbr600 F4i - sold 9/25/08
-2001 Mustang - the DD for now
-1996 civic dx - maybe lol

Just want to say that I have a set of Rota's 16x7's with a +40 offset, and lowered about 1.8" and they only rub in the front innerwheel wells, butonlywhen taking sharp corners at speed. Just my 2 cents.

reaper2022,

Thanks for your well informed advice, much appreciated. For the record I ended up taking the +40 offsets on the 16 by 7's.