Hi Guys,

Has anyone managed to get after market rims with the correct 50mm offset for the SC300/400.

Before I knew anything about my Soarer I bought a set of after market alloy wheels (TSW Hockenheim, mutli cross spokes) in 8"x16" with 35mm offset, although they fit fine, look OK and the handling is excellent but the steering is crap.

Tramlining, wandering & twitchy in a straightline, seems this is affected by the difference in offset, I spoke to some dealers who where unable to supply anything more than 35/40mm offsets and they all said it doesent matter - I dont believe them.

Anyone got similar stories or found rims with the correct offset.

 

G'day Bill,

My fronts are 18 by 8 inch BBS RC, measured the offset and they are 37mm.
Tyres are Kuhmo 712 Ecstas, 235/40.
Wheel alignment is factory spec.
Steering is perfect, no tramlining, an absolute joy.
Factory specs available on Steve Cheethams site.

The standard 10 spoke alloy wheels that come with the Active (look same as standard TT alloy wheels) have the same offset. I have standard 10 spokes in shed and they have the same offset.

So even though I have an Active which is setup differently to the TT, it would seem that the off-set is not responsible for your troubles as I am running same off-set as you and have the best steering of any car I've been in.

I have read elsewhere about the enourmous difference a tyre makes to tramlining and steering. Toyo Proxes are supposedly good for eliminating tramlining (and the Kuhmo 712's in my case).

An alignment also reduced tramlining for me (and the tyres eliminated it).

Perhaps the alignment/tyres are the cause of your grief, not the offset. I hope you do eliminate the steering woes - if you do get to the bottom of it let me know.
best regards

 

i know this is a lil off topic but can someone give me a link to where i can find some tsw wheels. thanks

 

Peter;

Thats a bit strange, I was under the impression that the ZZ30/31 series all had 50mm offset as standard (dont know about the active 32).

I am sure I saw that "50mm" quoted in a other places besides the LSOC and a wheel dealer told me last week that he has trouble sourcing the correct offsets for a lot of Jap fitments here in Euroland and has to ship in rims from Japan (big bucks).

 

Try http://tsw.com/home.htm they have a dealer listing - checkout the Pin Drive wheels, neat.

 

I made a mistake Bill, the standard wheels on the Active are 50 mm. My BBS rims do stick out a bit more with only 37mm offset. But no tramlining at all. I still think the ride is better with the 18's instead of the standard 16's too. Doesn't sound right but I was expecting the ride to be worse and I was pleasantly suprised - maybe it is all in the mind.
The tramlining is a definite though - Natasha noticed how much better the car was with the new tyres on it (she drives all the time).

 

Thanks for that Peter, it confirms what I thought about the std offsets.

As the active 32 has such sophisticated control over the suspension it's probably capable of compensating for any minor differences in the handling due to the newer rims, strange that it seems better on 18" than 16".