Offsets and et numbers - help I'm confused

[factman]

ok i am looking at some sweet Konig rims that i can get at dealer cost for my '70 std bug. i dont know what that is in your 13-- #'s but anyways, they are 17x8 with a 43mm offset(negative) and i have stock fenders. will this work if i put on 215/45 tires or will it rub my fenders. the front is stock height right now but looking into an adjustable beam or drop spindles. would this world. thanks.

[bren]

17x8 ET43 would work at the back, (JUST!) but is a bit on the wide side for the front.. your turning circle would be similar to that of an oil tanker! do they not do the wheel in 17x7? my rims were sold in the US under the name konig, and were offered in 16x7 and 17x7 in any offset between ET10 and ET50 in 10mm increments. times a changing i guess..

[zen]

17x8 will be tight to too big in the back as well. i am running 17x8.5ET55 in the back of my '73 standard (1300). given that is 12mm or 1/2" more offset (wheel moving inboard), but i have 3" wider fenders and have to run a 2" spacer. my rim sits right inside the fender lip and the tire is about 10 mm from the bump stop.

richie, search around gl.com too for more info. there is a lot of fitment info already out there. but you might be able to fit those if you grind the bump stop down and you may have to run a small spacer. but i would be concerned about the outboard side. vujade just mounted 7's (i think ET48) all the way around on his 1302 and they are a perfect fit. see the tech articles.

[vujade]

yes I am running 17 x 7's with an et of 55. I am also using a 10mm spacer all the way around because the 55 is too much.

If you run 17 x 8's with a 43et offset on the front of a beetle, you will extend the wheel 35mm (1 3/8") closer to the fender per side.

Add dropped spindles (1/4" per side) & disc brakes (1/4" per side) and you have now widened your track 1 7/8" per side. You are going to be sticking out way past the stock fenders in the front. (This doesnt even take into account if you will have to use spacers or not)

I would recommend a 17 x 7 with a et between 40-45 (this should be able to be used without a spacer under stock fenders)