Staggered offsets on FWD?

[Entity]

Hi, i've searched, and i know i've posted this in the "right" forum but not many people are responding and i really need to know the answer..

I've read some people say that staggered offsets on FWD cars are highly illegal... why is this so?

also, if staggered offsets is illegal, how about staggered widths?

can i run 7.5" wide rims at the front and 8.0" wide rims at the back on my euro legally if they are both the same offset?

reason being, the rear wheel sits further in the well than the front one, so if i want an even look i will either need to go with staggered offsets, staggered widths or both..

i've seen people run staggered offsets fine but i just wanted to know the legalities?

[panda[cRx]]

as long as it sits within the guards and is within an inch of the factory width it should be fine. however instead of asking on forums the best thing to do it checkup on the nsw rta website as some regulations vary state to state

[Entity]

i have searched the RTA and they dont make it clear

they say that for FWD, the front wheel cannot be more than 1" wider, but they don't say anything about staggered widths

They also don't mention anything about staggered offsets, it seems that if i go 1" wider at the front, and 2" wider at the back its "ok"?

does anyone have experience with this?

[JasonGilholme]

Wouldn't you want the front tyres wider for FWD???

[EuroDude]

For grip, yes. But it would look silly lol.

Although I imagine wider rear tyres on a FWD car would provide better handling (less under/oversteer) around corners. probably need LSD at the rear though (if such a device was available lol).


What does "Staggered offset / wheels" mean anyway?

[curik]

If I may, as a previous runner of a staggered setup 8.5F 9.5R. I strongly doesnt recommend it. Why?

1. Catastrophic understeer. FWD cars need wider tires at the FRONT not at the rear. However this is illegal and therefore stick with the same size all round.
2. Tyre life. Staggered setup means you cannot rotate the tyres, and being a FWD you will eat the front tyres much quicker than the rear. I went to various shops to rotate mine but they didnt wanna do it because of roadworthiness reasons.

[Entity]

Wouldn't you want the front tyres wider for FWD???
technically yes, but like i said, the rear wheels sit further in the well (by about 8mm) and as such if i put the same size rim back and front it will have a weird look.. the only way to get around it is to have a wider rim at the back, or one with a lower offset.


If I may, as a previous runner of a staggered setup 8.5F 9.5R. I strongly doesnt recommend it. Why?

1. Catastrophic understeer. FWD cars need wider tires at the FRONT not at the rear. However this is illegal and therefore stick with the same size all round.
2. Tyre life. Staggered setup means you cannot rotate the tyres, and being a FWD you will eat the front tyres much quicker than the rear. I went to various shops to rotate mine but they didnt wanna do it because of roadworthiness reasons.

wow, really bad understeer? i can't imagine why but i trust ur judgment.. i didn't know even just 1" wider made such a huge difference.

[panda[cRx]]

probably need LSD at the rear though.


LSD = limited slip differential

FWD = no diff at rear :confused:

[curik]

technically yes, but like i said, the rear wheels sit further in the well (by about 8mm) and as such if i put the same size rim back and front it will have a weird look.. the only way to get around it is to have a wider rim at the back, or one with a lower offset.



wow, really bad understeer? i can't imagine why but i trust ur judgment.. i didn't know even just 1" wider made such a huge difference.


Well thats what I noticed during some touge driving in dandenongs lol! Well the understeer wasnt that bad but you can obviously feel that your car has more grip at the rear. I was really annoyed since my front tires were wearing faster and there was nothing I could do to rotate the tyres... 19 tyres are expensive either

[EuroDude]

']LSD = limited slip differential

FWD = no diff at rear :confused:

Well not a typical diff per say, rather some kind of rear wheel rotation limitation to avoid oversteer/understeer on a FWD system.

[kitbkk]

']LSD = limited slip differential

FWD = no diff at rear :confused:
thats what I thought as well. how could a FWD car have an LSD lol when we dont have drive shafts at the rear

[curik]

LSD? It is replacing the differential at the front i guess. Basically it is still a differential, but with a clutch to prevent one tire from spinning too much.

[aaronng]

Well not a typical diff per say, rather some kind of rear wheel rotation limitation to avoid oversteer/understeer on a FWD system.
If you limited the rear wheel rotation of a FWD car, you do nothing except to scrub the tyres at an angle to the road as you turn. So no, that wouldn't work.

And for a FWD car, you would use wider tyres at the front when at the track. So I'd assume that on the street, wider fronts would give you better front end grip, thus increasing the limits before understeer.

[aaronng]

LSD? It is replacing the differential at the front i guess. Basically it is still a differential, but with a clutch to prevent one tire from spinning too much.
Honda LSDs are not clutch diffs like aftermarket 1.5 way diffs used in Japan. Honda diffs are torsen type.

If you want to counter understeer, you would want to either brake the inner front wheel or accelerate the outer rear wheel. VSA brakes the inner front wheel if you understeer and I didn't like it that much that I now disable VSA when I drive.