16" rims acceptable "ET" value

[pcspinheiro]

Hi guys,

So, in a recent tire swap a garage from a known french franchise ruined my 4 rims (sad face here...). they admitted guilt and sent them for repair, but after 2 of these "repairs" they still look like crap. Basically they were (badly) painted and that's it. I started having an annoying rumble from about 40 km/h and some vibration when braking at higher speeds. At speeds of 130-140km/h+ the car vibrates badly, and I recently discovered at the dealership that one rim is also proper warped... Wonder what kind of repair shop they use to make things worse every time... Anyway, it's up to the courts to decide this matter now, but I feel uneasy driving the car like this and may need to slap new wheels on it (I don't particularly fancy the orions anyway..). If I win the case they will have been prepaid by me. If I don't, well I need them anyway. I've been looking online for options and I see that the original Orion ones are probably 6,5J x 16“ ET 41, but I can hardly ever find rims with the same ET. I know this is the offset to the center, I'm just wondering if it NEEDS to be the same or if a smaller ET is acceptable (to get the rim a little more out of the arches). Also, original are 6.5J but most I find are 7j, will this cause issues, or limit the kind of tire? Looking at online stores for the car make/model it gives all these options as suitable, so it's confusing...

 

Thanks for any help!

 

PS, larger 17" ones would be my choice for aesthetics, but I recently slapped over €500 of tires on the car and these are still almost new... plus, I'm a smooth driver and the 16" are probably more comfortable. I personally prefer comfort to performance...

Edited 1 June, 2022 by pcspinheiro

[KenONeill]

1 hour ago, pcspinheiro said:

6,5J x 16“ ET 41

That size should be literally cast into VAG alloys.

[pcspinheiro]

I suspect as much, but since they went twice for "repair" which, as far as I can tell, consisted in adding paint over paint over pain, It may be gone. My doubt was not so much about the originals being ET41 but whether (if they are) it's OK to use another offset distance. I suppose smaller will be OK as it will bring the spokes away from the callipers AND look nicer in the wheel arches?

[MarkyG82]

From a mechanical point of view a higher et would be best avoided. As you bday a lower et would bring them away from the suspension components so less of an issue. What you need to be aware of is how far out. Assuming you go to 7 wide (from 6.5 that should be fine) you would need to compensate for at least half the extra width in the et change. So 6mm would leave the inner tyre wall at the same spot as before.

So with the new et of 35 and the added rim width the outer wall would be that 1/2 inch further out. Should be fine.

 

Edit: you need to watch the steering too. If the centre line is too far out from the original setup then the steering will feel off. Can't remember how but it will be off. You need to be going to extreme offsets to really notice it I think though.

Edited 1 June, 2022 by MarkyG82
Steering info

[pcspinheiro]

Thanks for the reply! Ideally I would like to keep the same specs, but it seems impossible (assuming the originals are 6.5j x 16" ET41. I'm yet to see a rimI like with ET41 (I'm in Portugal, less options online for sure). I also have to check if existing tires can be mounted on 7j rims, but they are quite "fat" in current original rims, don't think going from 6.5 to 7 will be a deal breaker here. 

[brettikivi]

https://www.tire-size-calculator.info/ might help. Add the size of the old and new rims and it will show you graphically what's going on. I would have thought many German and French stores will ship to PT without issue or many costs. And 205s or 215s on 7J, yes. But you will lose some comfort vs 6.5J.

[pcspinheiro]

Thanks, this was quite useful to see how different size rims will fit in the car. I suppose, using wider rims, one wants to have equal distribution of the extra width, or have the extra width offset to the outside and not toward the suspension. 

[Carlston]

3 hours ago, pcspinheiro said:

Thanks, this was quite useful to see how different size rims will fit in the car. I suppose, using wider rims, one wants to have equal distribution of the extra width, or have the extra width offset to the outside and not toward the suspension. 

 

When OEM rims go wider (with wider tyres) the offset usually increases. An increase in offset, pushes the centre of the tyre inwards, not outwards.

 

This is to keep the tyres comfortably within the wheelarches, and not stick out which would be illegal.

 

Here's some examples from the Superb MK3 OEM tyre and rim sizes:

215/55R17 7Jx17 ET40

235/45R18 8Jx18 ET44

235/40R19 8Jx19 ET44

 

Remember, the more the offset, the more the centre of the tyre is pushed into the wheelarch. Therefore ET44 pushes the centre of the tyre 4mm further into the wheelarch than ET40.

 

Edited 2 June, 2022 by Carlston

[MarkyG82]

@Carlstonraises a good point. Best bet is to find the superb wheel spec with the inner wall closest to the suspension and know that is the designed limit.  

[Angelo Amato]

useful website....

 

Skoda Superb 2016 - Wheel & Tire Sizes, PCD, Offset and Rims specs - Wheel-Size.com

 

[pcspinheiro]

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm having a hard time deciding on the new rims but I do need to swap them ASAP since running the car with at least one warped rim can't be good... I really like some of the more modern, diamond cut designs, but I don't know if they will look good in 16" with fat tires wrapped around them. Since my estate is in business grey, I think that silver will pop well, but I'm tempted by anthracite/titan colored ones. I like the looks of the CMS C22 in silver or titan, but i also fancy the "turbine" wheen in anthracite. I have, however, never seen any of them "up close and personal" to see if I really like how they look. I've seen a couple of other models both in the online 3D configurators and on cars in the street, and was positively surprised by some I didn't fancy online.

 

Opinions are welcome!

Right now, because of looks (and modest price), I'm tempted by CMS C22 (i believe CMS makes the original Orion wheels on my car) in either racing silver or titan gloss for about 340€ a set. they look good and won't break the bank + they are to OE specs:

 

 

 

Or these "turbine" ones that i found in a French webshop that ships to Portugal for about 500€ a set (not sure who makes them, they're marked as "ACR" under manufacturer but it's been a challenge to find them elsewhere):

 

Edited 28 June, 2022 by pcspinheiro