Wheel sisze et

[Weekend Warrior]

3 minutes ago, CosKev said:

Yeah a 205 tyre is wider than a 195,so that is probably the difference between yours and chris's. 

 

Would a 195 tyre on a 15 “ wheel  look balanced ie well spaced under my front wheel arch ?

i have bigger spacers on the rears and currently they look like this ,with a et 37 they. Would sit further back so I would need bigger spacers on the rear !

who would have thought wheel coice has so many variables.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

I'm afraid it does. What complicate matters, and is why people keep giving you links to charts, is that it's impossible to give a yes/no answer.

Westfield continually develop/alter the chassis, this means there are a lot of different offset combinations that have been used over the years, and I'm not sure if anyone, has definitive itive records of exactly what is used on which chassis number.

In addition to that different bodywork styles such as FW and ZK use slightly different rear offsets, for the slightly different wheel arch shapes and widths.

Plus later 2000's suspension has slightly different bolt arrangements on the uprights, that will fouls certain offsets, where as earlier cars with different fixings will accept a deeper offset before fouling.

Its the biggest ownership can of worms there is, I'm afraid.

The only way to be sure, is to measure what you have, and plug the figures into those tables, to work out how a different size or offset will affect you. Or, borrow wheels and test fit. (But if doing that, be very careful, cause thanks to things like those bolt issues, it's easy to gouge the back of a miss matched wheel).

[Weekend Warrior]

19 minutes ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said:

I'm afraid it does. What complicate matters, and is why people keep giving you links to charts, is that it's impossible to give a yes/no answer.

Westfield continually develop/alter the chassis, this means there are a lot of different offset combinations that have been used over the years, and I'm not sure if anyone, has definitive itive records of exactly what is used on which chassis number.

In addition to that different bodywork styles such as FW and ZK use slightly different rear offsets, for the slightly different wheel arch shapes and widths.

Plus later 2000's suspension has slightly different bolt arrangements on the uprights, that will fouls certain offsets, where as earlier cars with different fixings will accept a deeper offset before fouling.

Its the biggest ownership can of worms there is, I'm afraid.

The only way to be sure, is to measure what you have, and plug the figures into those tables, to work out how a different size or offset will affect you. Or, borrow wheels and test fit. (But if doing that, be very careful, cause thanks to things like those bolt issues, it's easy to gouge the back of a miss matched wheel).

Thanks Dave that post sums up and confirms all my questions /fears in a nutshell .

Its a blessing that I’ve got this forum ,it’s members and you on tap to answer such questions .As I’ve said I’ll stick to what I know and wait for another 2  team dynamics 15 “ wheels and look for a set of tyres 

once again thanks to those who’ve tried to help based on their own cars ,but as Dave says there’s so much to consider so I’ll stich with what’s on the car 

[stephenh]

Measuring offset is fairly easy on a wheel without a tyre fitted, not so easy to do with a tyre fitted. You need to measure the overall width of the rim. Note that this isn't the same as the nominal rim width, because the nominal rim width is the width between the shoulders or seats, where the tyre seats in the rim. Then measure the depth from the outer edge of the inner rim, IYSWIM, ie the edge of the rim nearest to the vehicle centre line when the wheel is on the vehicle, to the face of the part of the wheel which butts up to the hub. Now, if the overall width of the rim is, say, 186mm. (about what it would be on a 7" rim) and if the depth of the inside of the wheel measured as described above is, say, 116mm., then deduct from that depth figure (116mm.) one half of the overall rim width (93mm. in my practical but hypothetical example above) and the answer (116 - 93 = 23) is the offset, so 23mm. in my example above.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Incidentally, this is also one of those topics, where local meets are a great way to compare the wheel ET set ups, take a straight edge with you, long enough to put across a wheel, so you can find the distance to the rim, a tape measure, and posssibly something to lie on, and just get wriggling under cars and comparing notes! Makes for a great discussion, and everyone loves standing round with a brew while a pair of legs stick out from the back of a car!

 

[stephenh]

WW., looking at your photo of your front wheel, unless I'm very much mistaken, you've got the Westfield cast alluminium hubs. So if it is a Ford based car with 7" wide rims, it should be fitted with 23 or 24mm. et wheels, without spacers. The earlier cars, with the Ford hubs I think had more offset, 35mm. sticks in my mind. However, to complicate it, Mazda sdv cars use different again offset, I think 38mm.? and S2000 based cars different again! Then factor into all this that many cars are running with spacers to enable them to run on wheels with the "wrong" offset, and you can see why there really is no substitute to measuring, or if you have a wheel which you are thinking of buying, then try it first (front and back preferably) to check that you don't have clearance issues.

[CosKev]

59 minutes ago, Weekend Warrior said:

Would a 195 tyre on a 15 “ wheel  look balanced ie well spaced under my front wheel arch ?

i have bigger spacers on the rears and currently they look like this ,with a et 37 they. Would sit further back so I would need bigger spacers on the rear !

who would have thought wheel coice has so many variables.

I think your current wheels sit perfectly in that rear arch!

Just a thought,are you 100% sure you have ET23 wheels fitted? 

If Chris is running ET35 without spacers I'm wondering if yours are ET35 now,with the spacers added to compensate?

[Kingster]

13 minutes ago, CosKev said:

I think your current wheels sit perfectly in that rear arch!

Just a thought,are you 100% sure you have ET23 wheels fitted? 

If Chris is running ET35 without spacers I'm wondering if yours are ET35 now,with the spacers added to compensate?

Note: my car is a Sierra SDV which needs a bigger offset to compensate for the wider rear driveshafts. Most Westfields (I hesitate to say most!) tend to have et23 or thereabouts. 

I later changed the entire front end to a widetrack Westfield set up but kept my et37 wheels and they fit ok, but were close to the brackets. 

[Weekend Warrior]

6 minutes ago, CosKev said:

I think your current wheels sit perfectly in that rear arch!

Just a thought,are you 100% sure you have ET23 wheels fitted? 

If Chris is running ET35 without spacers I'm wondering if yours are ET35 now,with the spacers added to compensate?

From memory there’s. much wider spacers on the rear

ill have to take a wheel off and check the inside of the rim and see but I’m pretty sure they are et 23

howevet if ignorance is bliss when it comes to technicalities I’m the  happiest Westie owner out there

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

As Chris said, his is an unusual hybrid, so needs even more care when being used as a comparison! And of course this is a part of the big kit car issue, especially for those that are second or more owners. Some cars are modified away from original spec, for whatever reason,  and so what should fit, doesn’t! 

Its why you always end up having to check your own set up, no matter how good/knowledgable the recommendation.

[Rusty Nuts]

Use this calculator shows how the new wheels will sit compared to the old ones, I find it very useful gives difference in measurements and graphical format also calculates how it will affect the odometer reading.

Will They Fit