Demystifying Wheel Offset

Wheel OFF SET 101 Inside or Brake Side 4+3 (positive offset) Demystifying wheel offset

0 (zero offset) 3+4 (negative offset)

So you’ve just bought your new golf cart and you’re on a mission to make it look better, function better, and you’re wishing you had more money to do it all, right? Well, one of the first items most people put on their vehicles are tires and wheels. Why, you ask? Well, we all want more traction and a better-looking rig, and a set of tires and wheels is a great way to do it. But not all tires and wheels are created equal, and it’s important to know some of the basics so you can make an educated decision when buying a set.

You’ve probably heard of wheel backspacing, wheel offset, different bolt patterns, 1-piece, 2-piece, 3-piece wheels, beadlocks,

Measuring inner clearance aluminum, steel, and all of a sudden you have no idea what to buy, right? There are too many options and too little information to make the right decision. So, what do you do? “Hey buddy, what did you end up getting? I don’t know, but they sure look purty, don’t they? I got them from such-and-such and I love ‘em.” And all of a sudden, you’re calling up suchand-such for the exact same thing, right?

Well, if you’re like us, we like to research what our best options are, what’s going to look the best, what’s going to work the best for the type of terrains we ride, etc. before spending our hard-earned money. So, let’s jump in and figure out what all these terms mean.

Measuring outer clearance

Stock 7” wheel

1. Wheel Offset = Wheel Backspacing

The way UTV wheels are labeled are as follows: 4+3 means there’s 4 inches from the inside to the mounting surface of the wheel and 3 inches on the outside of the wheel totaling a 7-inches-wide wheel. So, if you want to move your wheels further out from the center of your vehicle creating a wider stance, the first number needs to be lower than your stock wheels and vice versa.

2. Bolt Patterns

Each manufacturer has their own bolt pattern, so make sure you tell the place you’re buying the wheels from which vehicle it’s for. Here’s the most common UTV bolt patterns: A. Yamaha – 4/100mm B. Polaris – 4/156mm C. Arctic Cat – 4/110mm D. Kawasaki – 4/137mm E. Golf Cart – 4 on 4

After market 8” wheel

The bolt pattern or bolt circle is the diameter of an imaginary circle formed by the centers of the wheel lugs. A bolt circle of 4/100mm would indicate a 4-lug pattern on a circle with a diameter of 100mm.

3. Wheel Type

There’s 1-piece wheels to 3-piece wheels on the market today for Golf Carts. It’s a pretty simple concept and somewhat self-explanatory, and most of it has to do with the looks you desire for your ride. Some wheels like OMF Performance’s latest set are 3-piece wheels with adjustable offset and the ability to swap out the center piece to run on any type of Golf Cart or UTV.

4. Beadlocks

These have been around for a long time in the hardcore offroad market, and they’re becoming more and

more prevalent in today’s sport/ recreation riding classes, as well. Please don’t get this confused with fake beadlocks that appear to be the real thing, because that’s not what we’re talking about. A true beadlock is designed to clamp on the outer edge (bead) of the tire to prevent the tire from peeling off the rim under extreme pressure. It used to be that only the racers used these types of wheels, but now it’s proving to be beneficial under all types of riding, because you can run lower air pressures and achieve better traction. I’m sure you’ve heard of popping a bead, and with beadlocks this is virtually impossible to do.

5. Wheel Material

The most common types are steel and aluminum. Most of the Golf Carts on the market today come stock with steel wheels, primarily because they’re cheaper to produce and it leaves the aftermarket folks some business. The other option is aluminum, which is what most people will end up with when buying aftermarket wheels. The difference between the two is weight, primarily. Aluminum is quite a bit less in weight when compared to steel, resulting in less rotational force and better acceleration. As far as durability goes, steel is definitely easier to fix if it takes a big hit to the sidewall because you can hit it with a hammer to beat it back out. Aluminum on the other hand is more brittle than steel, so trying to do an easy trail fix could result in a chipped wheel if you’re not careful.

6. Wheel Diameter

The most common size for Golf Carts is 8” in diameter. Due to the stock tire size that typically comes on a Golf Cart, it makes sense that they come stock with 8” wheels. The reason we say that is most come with 18” tires from the factory, which only leaves 5” of sidewall (rubber) to absorb the bumps or while trying to find your ball in the rough on your golf course . But, most people like adding some height and larger wheels to their Golf Carts not only to look better but to perform/handle better, as well. So, when purchasing a set of wheels, you have the option of selecting 10”, 12” or 14” wheels. The larger 14” wheels are definitely becoming more and more popular, because you can run the larger tires and not sacrifice any handling performance. What we mean is that with the larger tires, you will begin to have more sidewall flex resulting in decreased performance on higher speed cornering. But, if you move up in size in both your wheel and tire, the only negative is the added weight, because the ratios can remain almost the same.

7. Wheel Width

There’s not a huge need for multitudes of wheel widths for Golf Carts because most tires range from only 8-12” wide. As mentioned above, a 5+2 wheel is a total width of 7”. Typically speaking, a narrower wheel will hold the bead of the tire a little better, but it makes the sidewalls bulge more. If you go with a wider wheel, the opposite holds true. -CGM