On a TA, will a 17x9 rim with a 43mm offset look right on the front?
I ordered some Simmons rims, and this is the offset they recommended for the fronts of a 95 TA. My understanding that the regular 17" WS6 wheel is a 56mm or 50 mm offset, I find both mentioned in different treads and not for sure which is right.
If its a 56mm offset, then a 43mm offset would push the wheel out further by 1.25" which will not look right.

I had the tire shop double verify this and Simmons still says 43mm, tire shop shows 43-49mm offset as being ok....

The offset should not differ by manufacturer should it??

 

It'll look fine. I had a +25 offset on my front, till I finally replaced it with a +41 offset.

a +41 is about 1/2" tucked in the front so a +43 will be fine.

 

The stock 17x9" wide WS6/SS wheel appears to be a 50mm offset. That means you are moving the wheel out 7mm, or about 1/4". Even if you compared a 56mm offset to a 43mm offset, the difference is only 13mm, which is a shade over 1/2".... not enough to worry about. (1" = 25.4mm).

By my calculation, the 43mm offset on the 9" wide wheel will give you a "frontspace" (amount the outer edge of the wheel sticks out from the mounting surface of the hub) of 3.27". I had some OZ Monte Carlo 17x9.5 wheels, with a 49mm offset. That yielded a 3.29" frontspace, so your wheels, with 275/40 tires will sit in the fenders almost exactly like the wheels in these pictures:

http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/injun...210Full02a.jpg
http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/injun...sD/3_4View.jpg
http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/injun...D/FullView.jpg

To calculate the frontspace or backspace from the offset, you need to know the exact thickness of the flange that holds the tire on the rim, since wheel width is measured between the flanges, representing the width that contains the tire "beads". so, for a given offset, you will see minor variations in the amount the wheel sticks out from the hub.

 

Great, thx and thx for the pics Fred. I can rest easily now. Was afraid that it would stick out a bit more than I wanted, and of course with a special order rim there is no returning them.

 

The Torque Thrust II 17x9.5" wide wheels are 45mm offset, meaning they would stick out a little more than the wheels you are talking about. This TA has the TT II 17x9.5's in the front, and I think it looks great:

http://www.kellydrown.com/Showcase/120-2036_crw_std.jpg

He has the 17x11 45mm offsets in the back, and they look good too.

 

Thanks again, the rears I ordered are 17x11 with 50mm offset in this style rim
http://www.simmonswheel.com.au/images/OM18lrg.jpg

 

My car has 17x9.5's all the way around and they are 44mm offset.

http://img212.exs.cx/gal.php?g=benscar9mx.jpg


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