The best wheel offset for 7.5" wide wheels?.

[SoCalFlyer]

Spent more than a few nights lurking and now that I've secured my new Leaf S its time to make it my own.........
One thing that has consumed me the past few nights is everyone's post on wheel offsets! Some are going with 45, some 40, even 43......Some using spacers all away around, some just rear(which I understand). Is their a perfect wheel offset wheel made for the leaf in 18x7.5 or 17" wheels? I've run a million combos on http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp and am I correct that a 7.5" wheel with a 40mm offset would be better flusher fit than a 45mm? Found some lightweight wheels I like, but just need to make sure I'm not missing something as a see all kinds of wheel offsets floating around. Thanks in advance for the help and insight!

 

[dcpatters]

am I correct that a 7.5" wheel with a 40mm offset would be better flusher fit than a 45mm? Found some lightweight wheels I like, but just need to make sure I'm not missing something

I too have been looking to swap out the rims from my SL. I found this on Tire Rack, "Backspace measures the distance from the mounting plate to the back edge of the wheel. The higher the backspace the further into the fender well it will sit."

The wheels of interest are the Moda MD17's, but their offset is 45mm and I think the stock 17's are 40mm.

 

[SoCalFlyer]

Correct on Backspace, but Offset listed in MM is in my understanding the exact opposite.

Hence a 45mm offset will be tucked more than a 40mm as its based of the center of the wheel measured to the center on the shell. Smaller number, more rim shell or wheel protruding outward. Found the wheels I want today and after playing with the calculator above, I'm pulling the trigger! Thinking they will be perfect and functional!

 

[Drivesolo]

Not sure if what you're going for is a look or for understanding what limits you have to work w/ on a Leaf, if so this info might be helpful. Redleader put on some huge wheels and tires on his Leaf to experiment with. Even w/ a 275/35-18 tire on a 18x9.5 (+30mm offset) wheel he claimed that he couldn't get any rubbing to happen on the fronts. Others posted what they'd done w/ a larger wheel and tire package.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=8115&p=179170&hilit=nitto#p179170