Swift 2 rims have a different offset then the GTI ones

[TB2]

Hi there,

I've been struggling with the Swift2 rims I refurbished during summer. Some of you may have heard of the problem, that the tyre at the rear left touches the inner side of the wheel arch ever so slightly with the ride height in medium. I changed the rear arm bearing hoping that this might have been the problem, though the old bearing looked really well, and after the change everything remained the same. Then I suspected the 195/60 tyres which might be a bit too large though they should be fine on these R14 rims.

But I discovered this:
A GTI rim with 185/60 tyres on it laying flat on the ground has virtually the same width as a Swift2 rim with 195/60 tyres on it, so the width of the tyres doesn't really matter, because it's very little.
But then, with the outer sides of the rims facing the ground, I measured the distance between the surface where the rim attaches to the car and the ground. The GTI rim surface was 8.3cm above ground, the Swift2 rim only 7.5cm. The Swift2 rim clearly has a different offset then the GTI rims, although they are both R14 and apparently the Swift2 rims are specifically made for the BX. So they sit too close to the car compared to the GTI rims. This is really weird, but I'll just need to get spacers for the rear wheels and the problem will be gone. So for anyone planning to get these rims: Prepare to get spacers or don't use large tyres!

Regards,

[toddao]

That's interesting Carl. I've only ever fitted 165/60s on my Swifts, though the set I've got on my TRD came off a TZI and were fitted with 185/60s on that with no problems.
On the German BX site ( www.BXIG.net) you can download the 'ABE' for the Swift alloys ( so I have been told) which is the technical specifications to satisfy the TÜV requirements and there it specifies what tyres can be fitted. Probably an idea to ask any questions on that site too as The Swifts were a German only extra and someone probably knows about them there.