UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

a quick joke for u before i get into this....

wots E.T. short for?

so he can fit in his spaceship.......boom boom!


right anyway, ive been checking around at all the wheels and the like for my car. i like the fat look so ive been considering getting low ET rated wheels. maybe ET19. is this wise? and can u explain how the ET system works to make it clearer for me? i get the general idea but more info would be good

cheers peeps

Real quick 'cos I gotta run -

Low ET: Lots of 'poke'; I.e. the wheel sticks out more. High ET means sucked into the car's body, look narrow. For the ultimate rollerskate look, low ET's and a wide wheel combined will do the trick. More tonight!

Edit:

Back after a *long* day, and here's some more bits of info:

The ET stands for Einpress Tiefe, German for 'Inward Depth', it specifies how much the hub is located out of the middle of the wheel. So, with an ET of Zero, the hub is placed exactly in the dead centre of the wheel, with as much lip on the back as there is on the front. Hardly anyone has wheels this extreme, because they normally stick out a mile. Positive ET's are most common, say ET35, and it means that there's more lip on the back (inward) side of the wheel then there is on the front (outside, visible) side of the wheel. In English - the Offset is exactly that, how much (if at all) is the hub of the wheel offset.



The above pic might help explain.

Here's the text that came with it after Googling:

The offset of a wheel is what locates the tire and wheel assembly in relation to the suspension. More specifically, it is the measured distance between the hub mounting surface and the center line of the rim. Below is an explanation of the various types of offsets which are pictured in the above graphic.

Positive Offset
A positive offset occurs when the hub mounting surface is on the street side (the side you see) of the center line of the rim. Most factory rims will have this type of offset.

Zero Offset
When the hub mounting surface is centered within the rim, it is known as a zero offset.

Negative Offset
If the hub mounting surface is on the brake side of the center line of the rim, it is considered a negative offset or "deep dish".

Note that a deep dish can also be 'faked', the ATS Cup wheel has dish, but a positive ET of 28mm.

bloody hell!

wot an amazing reply cheers alex! answers every question i had and more.

with pictures 2. im truely not worthy!

No problem at all mate. It took me a while to figure it all out too (it's not too obvious IMO), so why not get others up to speed as well?

Besides, we're here for good times and helping out. Ask away!