How To Determine Suspension, Brake, and Wheel Clearance

When working with suspension, wheels, and brakes, getting the correct wheel clearance is critical.

The first thing you want to consider is offset. Every wheel has one, and it’s either 0, positive, or negative. Offset refers to the location of the hub mounting surface. For example, if it’s even with the center line and the wheel, it’s zero. If it’s towards the back of the wheel, it’s negative. And if it’s towards the front, it’s positive. You also need to know upfront how wide you want your wheels to be. Here’s a heads up, though: a wheel that’s advertised as 8 inches is almost 9 inches wide from edge to edge, but manufacturers go by the width inside the lips, which is 8 inches, so make sure you factor in the extra width for clearance.

Follow these easy steps to calculate offset and wheel clearance. And remember, if working with metric offset, multiply your inch measurements by 25.4 to get the corresponding metric value…