[Tires & Wheels] Offset advice

[HectorJ]

Hi. Just bought a 15 plate XTR and would like to fit alloys. I’ve already bought the tyres, Yokohama geolandar in 205/70 r15, I know these are slightly taller than the 205/65 r15 that are currently fitted. With this in mind I’m trying to decide what 6.5j wheels I could get away with. I know the current wheels are et27 but I have two options with the new wheels, et25 or et18. Just looking for some advice as I don’t want to cause any clearance issues. Any help would be appreciated.

[John Bilko]

Hi. Just bought a 15 plate XTR and would like to fit alloys. I’ve already bought the tyres, Yokohama geolandar in 205/70 r15, I know these are slightly taller than the 205/65 r15 that are currently fitted. With this in mind I’m trying to decide what 6.5j wheels I could get away with. I know the current wheels are et27 but I have two options with the new wheels, et25 or et18. Just looking for some advice as I don’t want to cause any clearance issues. Any help would be appreciated.

As I see it if the current wheel is a 6.5J with an ET of 27 Then 117mm of wheel backspace goes inwards.

If you go for an ET of 25 thern the backspace gets less at 115mm and the front space will be 65mm so the wheel will stick out more.

If you go to ET of 18 the backspace will be less at 108mm (less rim will be tucked in) and the frontspace will be more at 72mm.

As the frontspace increases and the wheel sticks out more  I suppose the tyre would be more likely to catch something on full lock.  If you can view the wheels on lock you can see what the clearance is likely to be.  On top of this you will have about 0.4" more rubber all round with the 70 than the 65 aspect.

I like the idea of going a bit taller partly because more rubber on the tyre would make the tyre quieter on the road.

I suspect if it were my choice I would go with the ET of 25.

Some of my problems on other motors concerning this issue have been the tyre rubbing the chassis/metalwork on the inside and needing spacers to bring the wheel away from it.  Also drop links have been a problem.  I note that on my Berlingo the tyre runs under the spring so going for a larger rolling radius might mean the tyre catching the spring cup.

I have asked if anyone has fitted 70s but so far not had a reply because I want to go to a 205 70 15.

On a 6.5J you could go to a 215 tyre and so could fit a 215 65 15 with the same overall height..

[HectorJ]

Thank you for that, I appreciate the response and advice.
I understand the impact of changing the offset, I too was wondering if anyone had fitted this size tyre with a lower offset figure.
The tyres should have ample clearance on the existing wheels, as you mentioned the spring cup is close but not too close that i can see it it will cause issues. The tyres are approximately 20mm taller so this brings them 10 mm closer to the cup but there’s ample room for this.
I might just fit them to my current steel wheels and then machine some spacers to see if the extra poke causes anything to foul.
I’ll post the results.

Thanks again

[Multispacer]

Something I'm slightly confused by in your original post. I have an older Berlingo B9 XTR [2008] but I thought all the Berlingo XTR models were fitted with 16" wheels as standard [either steel or alloy] and my [standard] tyre size is 215/55/R16, so I'm intrigued that your model has 15" wheels, as I thought 15" were only fitted on the Berlingo vans?

[HectorJ]

Something I'm slightly confused by in your original post. I have an older Berlingo B9 XTR [2008] but I thought all the Berlingo XTR models were fitted with 16" wheels as standard [either steel or alloy] and my [standard] tyre size is 215/55/R16, so I'm intrigued that your model has 15" wheels, as I thought 15" were only fitted on the Berlingo vans?

I really don’t know, I guess you could be right. Finding the spec as it left the factory is something I’ve not managed to do. I’ve done it in the past with BMW but Citroen don’t seem to offer that service. 
It could be the case that they have been swapped out at some point by a previous owner but as I know the second owner and they bought it from a Citroen dealer I’d be surprised. It could totally be the case that it’s got the wrong wheels on though. Maybe someone confirm?

[Sol]

They do offer that service but it costs money. You go to Citroen ServiceBox online, sign up for an account, then pay €8 for one hour of access, useable when you want to use it (timer starts from the moment you click a link) and you can get the whole build sheet on your VIN number. Other sites (non Citroen) claim to get the build data from the VIN but they are all just blowing smoke.

Btw I have fitted 17" alloys from the C4 VTR to my last Berlingo (2012 B9) and they were fine, never had the slightest rub. It's never happened.

You can see the clearance:

   

[HectorJ]

They do offer that service but it costs money. You go to Citroen ServiceBox online, sign up for an account, then pay €8 for one hour of access, useable when you want to use it (timer starts from the moment you click a link) and you can get the whole build sheet on your VIN number. Other sites (non Citroen) claim to get the build data from the VIN but they are all just blowing smoke.

Btw I have fitted 17" alloys from the C4 VTR to my last Berlingo (2012 B9) and they were fine, never had the slightest rub. It's never happened.

You can see the clearance:

That’s great, thank you. I did have a look at servicebox but presumed it was for trade persons only. I don’t think I’ll bother paying for it unless down the line I need it, but it’s great to know all the same. 

Thanks for the advice on the wheels. What exact size wheels/tyres are they, width, offset? That look like they fill the arches nicely. 

Thanks

[Sol]

They are standard Citroen wheels, off the same vehicle platform (C4 VTR) and were offset 28 I'm pretty sure.

Tyres were 205/50 R17. Wheels 6.5J x 17.

If you stick to the OEM wheels (and you've little choice given the 4x108 PCD) then they are mostly the same within one or two mm of et. I don't overthink wheel offset - just find a set of OEM alloys you like and fling them on. If you stick to the same range of model (C4, C4 Picasso, Grand Picasso, Pug 3008, 308) then you can't go wrong.

[John Bilko]

Something I'm slightly confused by in your original post. I have an older Berlingo B9 XTR [2008] but I thought all the Berlingo XTR models were fitted with 16" wheels as standard [either steel or alloy] and my [standard] tyre size is 215/55/R16, so I'm intrigued that your model has 15" wheels, as I thought 15" were only fitted on the Berlingo vans?

According to the handbook there were a few sizes - mine has the steels at the moment at 6.5J in 15" and I have alloys at 6J x 15 to go on which I might not use because of the extra cost of tyre pressure monitor valves.  I think the 15" to be better as the tyre can have a bigger sidewall and thus give a more comfy and quiet ride.  This is very subjective of course but one reason 16's get used is that the tyres on them produce less noise to Db metering on the pavement which of course means more noise is transmitted upwards into the vehicle.

[Multispacer]

Something I'm slightly confused by in your original post. I have an older Berlingo B9 XTR [2008] but I thought all the Berlingo XTR models were fitted with 16" wheels as standard [either steel or alloy] and my [standard] tyre size is 215/55/R16, so I'm intrigued that your model has 15" wheels, as I thought 15" were only fitted on the Berlingo vans?

According to the handbook there were a few sizes - mine has the steels at the moment at 6.5J in 15" and I have alloys at 6J x 15 to go on which I might not use because of the extra cost of tyre pressure monitor valves.  I think the 15" to be better as the tyre can have a bigger sidewall and thus give a more comfy and quiet ride.  This is very subjective of course but one reason 16's get used is that the tyres on them produce less noise to Db metering on the pavement which of course means more noise is transmitted upwards into the vehicle.

Thanks, I do know that different models used different size wheels but the OP specifically mentioned the Berlingo Multispace XTR model which I was under the impression was only fitted originally with 16" wheels and 215/55/16 tyres as the XTR model has a raised ride height with stronger rear springs compared to the standard model.