ucbsti is correct when he says that lower offsets move the wheel toward the fenders and higher offsets move the wheel inward towards the struts but he wasn't talking about the difference in offset in relation to width.

I'm going to reply to your PM here so someone with more knowledge has the opportunity to explain what I can't.

Lets say you have two sets of wheels with a +53mm offset, one is 7" wide and the other is 8.5". The 7" rim would work but on the 8.5" rim the tire would end up rubbing the struts. The only way to move the tires away from the strut is to lower the offset but then you're running the risk of rubbing the fenders and that's why picking the right offset for your width is so important.

I don't know enough about how the theory of offset works as the width changes to give you a better explanation so hopefully someone here like BAN SUVS will chime in and explain what I can't. I do know that all of the examples I've seen support my explanation that a WRX needs a lower offset when you go wider.

BTW, Some cars might have more clearance (strut/tire) so this may not be as much of an issue and I'm sure you could run the same offset on 2 different widths on a WRX as long as the width of the tire doesn't change but what would be the point in doing that.

 

wider wheel lower offset makes sense. you have to think about it on a bigger scale. say an extreme 12 inch wide wheel your offset would eventually be zero since the tire cant move into the strut side, it moves outside of the fender.

any suggestions for a 16x8 offset, i want 235 maybe 245 width
thanks

 

i would check out the gallery and pm someone whos set up u like. i bought mine without asking around and i regret it. also call tirerack they should know all possable combos

 

i've seen hachis run negative offset before.

 

most usually run zero offset but negative can be done, espeically if you have wider wheels and fenders.