Cal Club Autocross Forums

Is it better to go with less offset in a wheel so that you can maximize the stance of the car?

Say for example, I had a choice between a wheel that is +20 or one that is +30. I would go with the +20 offset to widen the track of the car.

From my understanding, I believe that increasing the track width creates more scrub radius and loss of steering feel, but it is offset with increased overall grip during cornering.

Track width is the divisor in the lateral load transfer calculation. Increasing track width reduces lateral load transfer and that's a good thing. Track width can also be use to tune each end of the car and "generally" you want a wider front then rear track.

Then there is the issue of more leverage putting more pressure on the bearings. 10 mm is probably OK though?

Doesn't widening the stance = lowering the car as far a geometry is concerned? ... Marshall!

John Coffey wrote:Track width is the divisor in the lateral load transfer calculation. Increasing track width reduces lateral load transfer and that's a good thing. Track width can also be use to tune each end of the car and "generally" you want a wider front then rear track.

Autocross does have a semi-unique caveat in that wider cars are challenged more by slalom and multi-transitional elements. So there is some trade-off on that side.

In my experience, wheel offset doesn't realy make a difference until you are playing with over 15mm either way.