how to measure wheels

[Skyhighpsi]

I'm trying to sell my wheels on a forum and I need to post the size, width, offset, and PCD. How would I measure this? Sorry if I sound noob

[curtis73]

Nothing to worry about... wheels are a bit confusing at first.

Take a look at this photo:




A is offset. It describes the amount of "dish" to a wheel. It is found by taking D - C. Positive numbers indicate less dish. It doesn't matter if you measure this inside or outside the lip, since it is a difference of back minus front, it will be the same. you can measure this by laying the wheel face down with a straight edge across the wheel and measuring from the mounting face up to the straight edge. Then flip it over, do the same thing by sticking the tape measure through the center and hooking it on the mounting face and measuring to the front straightedge. Take the rear minus the front. As you can see, a zero offset wheel would have the mounting surface on the centerline of the wheel. Positive offsets tuck the wheel in further, and negative offsets make it stick out more.

Width is depicted by "E". Its measured inside the lip, not total width.

Diameter is shown by "F". Again, measured inside the lip, not overall diameter.

Backspacing is noted by "B". It is the overall distance from the mounting face to the inside of the wheel.

Before you go nuts with a tape measure, check the wheel for a stamping. Many wheels will have something like 15j6 et23. That would indicate a 15 x 6" wheel with an offset of +23mm

[Skyhighpsi]

Originally Posted by curtis73

Nothing to worry about... wheels are a bit confusing at first.

Take a look at this photo:




A is offset. It describes the amount of "dish" to a wheel. It is found by taking D - C. Positive numbers indicate less dish. It doesn't matter if you measure this inside or outside the lip, since it is a difference of back minus front, it will be the same. you can measure this by laying the wheel face down with a straight edge across the wheel and measuring from the mounting face up to the straight edge. Then flip it over, do the same thing by sticking the tape measure through the center and hooking it on the mounting face and measuring to the front straightedge. Take the rear minus the front. As you can see, a zero offset wheel would have the mounting surface on the centerline of the wheel. Positive offsets tuck the wheel in further, and negative offsets make it stick out more.

Width is depicted by "E". Its measured inside the lip, not total width.

Diameter is shown by "F". Again, measured inside the lip, not overall diameter.

Backspacing is noted by "B". It is the overall distance from the mounting face to the inside of the wheel.

Before you go nuts with a tape measure, check the wheel for a stamping. Many wheels will have something like 15j6 et23. That would indicate a 15 x 6" wheel with an offset of +23mm

thanks I really appreciate the picture it helped me a lot but what does that 15 x 6" mean?

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by Skyhighpsi

but what does that 15 x 6" mean?

15 inch diameter ('F' in the diagram)

6 inch width, ('E' in the diagram)

Note, if you look closely at the diagram, these 2 measurements do not include the metal flange that holds the tire on.

Originally Posted by curtis73

Width is depicted by "E". Its measured inside the lip, not total width.

Diameter is shown by "F". Again, measured inside the lip, not overall diameter.

[Skyhighpsi]

ahh ok thanks I really appreciate the help