How to Read a Wheel Offset

A wheel's offset describes its position on the rotor. If a wheel has a positive offset, as many front-wheel drive vehicles do, the hub mounts onto a surface outside the wheel's centerline. If it has a negative offset, it has the opposite configuration--- the hub mounts onto a surface on the brake side of the centerline. Your wheel's specifications usually list its offset. If they do not, you can read the offset by measuring the wheel manually.

Instructions

1

Measure the wheel's width. This value exceeds the wheel's advertised width, which measures just the distance between its flanges.

2

Divide your answer by two to find the wheel's centerline. If the width equals 12 inches then 12 divided by two equals 6 inches.

3

Measure how much distance separates the wheel's hub-mounting surface from its inboard flange.

4

Subtract the centerline from this answer. If the hub-mounting surface is 4 inches from the inboard flange then four minus six equals minus two. This answer is the wheel's offset.