This excited new ET owner has another question!

I have the 17" wheels on my Sport model, and I plan to purchase snow tires for next winter (certainly no money for them now!). I do have the opportunity now, though, to pick up a set of steelies very cheaply. They have only been used one season.

The rims in question are 15", 5 bolt x 114.3. So far, so good, according to all my reading, but what I'm concerned about is the offset. Are steel wheels more or less universal once you answer the diameter and bolt question? These particular rims came off of a Mitsubishi Lancer, but the owner does not have any further information regarding offset. With the information I have, does anyone out there know if these rims would be okay? Or is it necessary to actually purchase 'made for Hyundai' steel rims?

Thanks all!

Jaylene

 

I don't know about the universal nature of steel wheels, but I do know that our offset is 40. I took a look at discounttire.com and looked up OEM fitmet 15" wheels for a Lancer (just taking a guess at the year), and the offset seemed to be in the 38-40 range. There is a a little bit a wiggle room with offsets, so I would say the 15" wheels listed on discounttire would fit our car. Therefore, in my highly unprofessional opinion, I would say your wheels in questions have a good chance of fitting. Hope this helps a bit.

 

Thanks very much...that helps a lot! I think these rims will be worth my while. Offset is still a bit of a mystery to me...I understand the concept, but that's about it. Anyway, I certainly appreciate the help.

Jaylene

 

Take one of the wheels and lay it on a flat surface face down. Lay a board or straight edge on the rim across the middle of the wheel. Take a measuring tape and measure the distance between the back side of the bolt holes and the bottom of the straight edge. You've just measured the offset. Google "wheel offset' to find lots of links discussing this.

 

No, you just measured the BACKSPACE, not the offset. The offset is the difference from the center of the rim. To measure offset you first measure the overall width of the wheel at the widest point, not the tire seats. Rim width is where the tire seats. Overall width is usually 1" wider than the wheel width. So a 7" wide wheel will usually measure about 8" wide. Now, divide that width by 2 to find the rim center. In the example above that will be 4". Then measure the backspace like you mentioned above. Subtract the 2 to get the offset.

Example:
- 16x7" rim has an overall width of 8"
- half of that is 4"
- if the backspace is 5"
- Subtract 4 from 5 and you get an offset of 1" (approx 25.4 mm)

Example 2:
- 18x8" rim has an overall width of 9"
- half of that is 4.5"
- if the backspace is 3.5"
- Subtract 4.5 from 3.5 and you get an offset of -1" (approx -25.4 mm)

 

Thanks, Ken99 and NovaResource for all the info. I'm going to buy the wheels and then I'll be able to measure them to see how close the offset is to 40 mm. The guy actually said I could return them if they don't work out...I've never had a 'money-back guarantee' on kijiji before! :-)

 

Okay, I've been getting bogged down reading about 'hub centric' vs. 'lug centric' wheels and I'm getting scared off of the 'multi-fit' steel wheels I was considering.

I've read stories on the internet now of major vibrations problems at highway speeds and suspension damage from the generic rims. I think I will buy the OEM ones straight from Hyundai, or see if anybody wants to sell their base oem wheels, if they've upgraded and don't need snows.

 

Does anyone know what the hub diameter is on the 2010 ET Sport Edition? I am now looking at second hand aftermarket alloys for my winter tires, but will need to purchase the hub centering rings.

Thanks everyone!

Jaylene