measuring offset for spacers?

[ash00]

Hey gang,

What is the best way of measuring offset? I need to buy spacers for my 17" on an e30. Some mentioned to just measure the gap between the outer lip of the wheel well and the face of the tire.

Any thoughts?

[72Golf]

This might help. Made more sense to me than anything else I could find.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.partsprovider.net/images/wheel-offset-backspace.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.partsprovider.net/hyundai-excel-accent-sonata-buick-inch-rims-p-78.html&usg=__Rg1kcXpgU6she7Us0bYcWfFfp7w=&h=272&w=272&sz=13&hl=en&start=3&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=ewixKD3WOozMeM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=113&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwheel%2Boffset%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26tbs%3Disch:1

[Hammer03]

The best/easiest way is to borrow spacers of a few sizes/around what you think you need just by eyeballing it. You can also use several small spacers and stack them *just for test fitting* as long as they don't have a hub extender that is too large.

Another popular method is stacking washers on the studs/bolts under the wheel. Do it on 2 or 3 of the lugs, so that you can clamp it down evenly, and then add/remove washers as necessary. When you find what clears, measure the stack of washers and there's your spacer size.

All of this is assuming you're doing this to fit the wheel away from the strut. If you're spacing it out to get it closer to the fender for looks, then you're better off borrowing some spacers around what you think you need, and driving around on them to check for rubbing. Or, remove the spring and compress the suspension all the way and check for clearance.