Can someone exlain wheel offsets?
 

I'm just a little confused about this.
Zero offset is the middle of the wheel, and (for example) +45 offset would be 45mm toward the outside of the wheel, right?
And the lower the offset, the wider the stance would be....

Is that right? I know it's a simple idea, but for some reason I just can't get it...

Try this LINK .
I found it very informative.

You got it right.

RX8 OEM wheels have an offset of 50mm. So if you get wheels that are the same width an an OEM wheel - with an offset of say 38mm, the outer wheel (the tire) will be moved 12mm to the outside which is just less than 1/2 an inch. These would fit just fine I would think.

Now add a little complexity. Suppose you get a wheel that is 1 inch (25mm) wider than OEM and the offset is 40mm. How much further out will the wheel be than OEM?

Add half of the additional 25mm width to the outside edge of the tire (12.5mm) then add 10mm for the offset -- the result is the new wheel's outer edge will be moved 22.5mm to the outside. Almost an inch.

Here's the interesting part - the inside edge of the wheel will only be 2.5mm closer to the body. Do you see why? 12.5mm additional width minus the 10mm change in offset.

Take the width of the wheel in mm :)....divide in 2 gives you the starting point ( you only need to think about this if you change wheel widths)

Zero offset is at that #...IE CENTER

+ offset is moving the mounting face outwards by (+offsett#) of mm

-ve offsett is moving in from center that (-offset#) of mm

So stock is an 8" rim...with the mounting face 50mm out from the center...or about 2"

Thanks guys... I was jsut reading other posts and it got me thinking. Also for my own knowledge since I will be getting new wheels soon.