What makes your tires sit out beyond your fenders the size of the tire or the offset of the rim and if I buy a rim with a smaller offset will it still fit on my same tire?

Answer 1

Both the tire size and the rim offset will affect how far the tire "sticks out." Most stock wheels have a positive offset - which means the wheel centerline is inboard of the mounting surface. Therefore, a smaller offset would move the tire out of the wheel well rather than in. To try to avoid confusion, I will talk about a "more positive offset" to move the tire into the wheel well. The offset does not matter to the tire fitting on the rim, but fitting the tire/wheel on the vehicle is a different story... Using a rim with a more positive offset to move the tire deeper into the wheel well is usually not possible because you are more apt to cause rubbing between the tire and parts of the car (usually just sheet metal or plastic, but in more extreme cases, you could end up hitting "hard" components). You have to consider both steering motions and suspension related motions. Some old cars had of extra room, but newer vehicles (with the exception of some trucks and SUVs that are already designed for a larger than base tire/wheel) seldom have room to spare. Another consideration is that changing the offset will change the load on the wheel bearings (not so much a consideration with what you are asking as it is with moving the tire outward). This is not to say "don't do it," but just to caution you of some of the factors involved in your decision. More often, a less positive or more negative offset is used to pull larger tires out from the wheel well in order to prevent rubbing inside. If you were concerned about the tire sticking out, you would add fender flares or otherwise modify the existing fenders to cover the tires.