Fitted winter tyres to the wife’s car on a set of ‘I thought’ identical wheels from the scrappy. Turns out that the offset is 18mm rather than 27mm, so each wheel sits 9mm further out. Tyre sizes remain the same.

Given that some 206s come with 195mm or even 205mm tyres, I don’t ‘think’ that we’ll have an issue with 175mm tyres. The clearance looks OK.

The offset is a basic error, and I’m annoyed with myself…

I’d top up her life insurance just in case.

Go and register on retrorides and ask this question. You’ll get a better answer.

(This myth perpetuated by Singletrack users that any question can be answered on Singletrack is silly. The internet is full of people who think they know what they type.)

If the car was fully loaded you may run the risk of the outside of the wheel catching on the wheel arch, although this is unlikely unless the car has been lowered from standard.

Also, with the wheel sitting 9mm further out it will put a bit more stress on your suspension components.

The site I use suggests the 206 offset should be between 20 – 25 mm, so 18 isn’t any further out than 27!

Might get through wheel bearings a little quicker, but realistically, I doubt if you’ll notice anything different.

roz31573 – Member
The site I use suggests the 206 offset should be between 20 – 25 mm, so 18 isn’t any further out than 27!

Might get through wheel bearings a little quicker, but realistically, I doubt if you’ll notice anything different.

Agreed, 2mm more than recommended is negligible really.

Running 15mm spacers on the rear of my Golf and other than it making the wheel/tyre sit flusher with the wheel arch and making it look more filled I’ve had no issues with rubbing or the lowered suspension. (Prob not the same as off set)

9mm doesn’t sound much but percentage wise, that’s quite a difference in the inset.

Safety wise, clearance and geometry will be altered, the important bit is whether or not the new wheel & tyre combo is within design tolerances for that model range. If the difference causes the tyre to rub the arch under suspension compression or the inner wing on full steering lock, or if the wheel could foul the brake caliper during cornering, then that would be just a little bit iffy to say the least. Suspension, steering, stub axle and wheel inset / offset are designed to work together to give steering weight, feel, predictability and handling stability. Changing one of those will alter the geometry, again it depends whether that change is within design tolerances.

Insurance company will wash their hands if an alteration from original spec is not declared or within design tolerances.