Quote:
Originally Posted by mb_jg Am counting on you all to get some information & help me out here.
I recently got Neo alloys fitted to my 1.2 Palio, I got the Rally version from Neo the rim size is 13" X 5.5". Unfortunately my budget did not allow me to upgrade to tubeless tyres, so I kept the stock Bridgestones on.
I noticed the rear left tyre was scraping the wheel arch with a full load. |
The specs of your alloy wheel (Rally) are available at:
Neo Wheels India
Note two important values there, namely, Offset=+36 mm and Backspacing=116 mm. The first thing you need to do is get a clear idea of what both of these mean. The wheel offset is the distance of the mounting face on the wheel to the centre line of the wheel. The backspacing is the distance of the mounting face of the wheel to the inner edge of the wheel (i.e., the edge close to the suspension components).
In short your wheel goes in 116 mm from the mounting face towards the suspension parts; the greater the backspacing, the lesser the clearance of your wheel from the suspension components.
Let us stay your stock wheel is 13" X 5J with an offset of 46 mm. This is a typically high offset for FWDs; very few cars have a higher offset. In this case, your backspacing is approximately half the rim width plus the offset, which works out to roughly 109.5 mm; you need to add about 10 mm to this figure, so you get a stock backspacing of 118.5 mm. So it looks like your backspacing matches the stock backspacing, assuming the stock specs noted above, so your clearance from the suspension components is OK.
Assuming the above specs, your wheel will protrude out by an extra quarter inch plus the difference in offset, i.e., by about 16 mm. So to cancel this effect, you need to choose a 5.5 " wheel with a *higher* offset (note:
not lower). If your new choice has an offset of 52 mm (i.e., 16 mm greater than that of Rally) then it will be exactly at the same distance from the wheel arch as the stock wheel and there will be no fouling with the wheel arch. But your backspacing will increase by at least 16 mm, meaning that your clearance from the suspension components will come down by that much. You need to be sure that this is OK, otherwise there may be fouling with the suspension components when your tyre flexes or when you turn your car, etc.
Typically, when a rim width is increased, the offset is brought down slightly so that the backspacing is within acceptable levels. In your case you need to check what the stock specs are, how much does your wheel jut out from the wheel arch, how much increase in backspacing your car can accomodate and then decide your new wheel specs (in particular, offset).
In my case I have upgraded from 4J to 5J. The backspacing is the same, so the wheel juts out by 33 mm. No way I can increase the offset from the present 26 mm to 59 mm without fouling with the suspension components. So I have to live with the wheel jutting out. Fortunately the Santro seems to have plenty of clearance from the wheel arch plus a stiff rear suspsension. You may have more options in 5.5 J than I have with 5J.