The offset of a vehicle’s wheel is the distance between the centerline of the wheel and the plane of the hub-mounting surface of the wheel. It can thus be either positive or negative, and is typically measured in millimeters. Offset has a significant effect on many elements of a vehicle’s suspension.

Offset is the location of the flat mounting surface of a wheel relative to the wheel’s centerline. Negative offset means that the mounting surface is toward the center of the car. Positive offset means that it’s toward the outside of the car. Offset affects many things other than just whether the wheel has the appearance of “sticking out” past the fender.

While not directly a matter of offset, brake caliper clearance is a related issue. If you have, or plan to have big brakes on your car, be sure that the wheels that you are going to use will fit over the caliper. It is best to get a wheel with enough dish to meet your offset specs and still fit your brakes. We recommend consulting your wheel and brake manufacturers ahead of time. Many aftermarket brake companies have templates of their brakes available that you can easily check against any wheel.

It is also worth noting that an average deviation of 5 mm is acceptable.

Summary

• A positive (+) offset is when the mounting surface is shifted from the centerline toward the front or outside of the wheel.
• A negative (-) offset is when the mounting surface is toward the back or brake side of the wheel’s centerline.
• A zero offset is when the mounting surface is in the plane of the centerline.