I'd like to purchase some new wheels for my new ride.

My car came with 19x8.5 inch wheels, and Pirelli 255/40-19 tires all the way around.

I'd like to keep the 19x8.5 in the front, and go to 19x9.5 or even 19x10 in the rear. I'm having a VERY hard time finding any 19x8.5 wheels though! Everything is 19x8.


If I reduce the wheel width by .5 inches in the front, will my handling be negatively affected?

Also, I'm seeing as much as a 10mm difference in offset on the websites that show wheels made for my 2010. Is the offset directly effected by the wheel width? I'm trying to understand what I need to look for in an offset beyond what the website are telling me will fit my car.

Thanks.

 

Indeed, a 19" wheel will generally have fewer options and 1/2" increments are that much more difficult.

You will find the widest variety in 17"s & 18"s and a bit less in 20"s for your ride. You will not see soo much a drop off in performance going a bit narrower in tire, but more of an issue of how the tire fits the wheel. A 255 is a bit on the narrower side for a 9.5' wheel, so would expect the front to be a bit "darty". In theory, you would just have a bit more understeer going smaller 1/2" smaller up front, but I wouldn't worry about it.

You will get some variation in off-set, but is mostly between different widths more than anything else. 10mm is about 3/8" and is not going to be an issue up to a 9" wheel. If you get into 9.5"s & 10"s, you will need to be more specific to avoid rubbing.

Head over to Tire Rack OEWheels and American Muscle and look at the off-set /back-space between the same width wheels on each site. You will not see much variation in the 9"s & 10"s, but a 10mm is not unusual in the 7"~8" widths.

Jazzer

 

Thank you Jazzer!