Hi everyone,

I have a 2005 Mk 2 Ford Focus 1.6 petrol Ghia with 2 buckled alloy wheels on the front (not my doing!). I'm thinking about changing all 4 wheels from alloys to steel, given the state of the roads! I think I've got my head around most of the sizing, but I'm struggling with the correct offset. Is there a range that it can be between, or is there 1 definite figure? I've seen different sources saying different things and am now very confused!

This website suggests it can be between 50 and 54 - https://www.wheel-size.com/size/ford/focus/2005/#trim-ii-2005-2007-eudm-16i--99

There's a set of steel wheels on eBay that I'm looking at but they have an ET of 47.5, so I guess they won't be any good?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235395166152

I'm sure I've also read somewhere that anything over 40 should be fine?

Current wheels are 16" alloys, with 205/55/R16 tyres.

Any advice gratefully received. Cheers!

There is a range.  It's basically dictated by the distance between the suspension strut and the wing arch.  As long as it doesn't rub on either of those and doesn't foul the brake calliper then it'll be fine.

Of course, the rim width also makes a difference, as does the hub design of the wheel.  So, for example, if you're going for half an inch slimmer rim, that half an inch can be taken up by the offset.  (And to make that more complicated, rim width is measured in inches, offset is measured in millimietres).

Those 'alloy effect' steels were fitted to the Mk2 Focus.  They should be absolutely fine.

My summer Oz wheels are ET38 (maybe 8.5”rims) and clear the arches ok

As said above it’s also important for calipers to clear the spokes of the wheels etc, that’s not always obvious just going off the wheel spec measurements 

Thanks everybody, that's really helpful. I'll give that set on eBay a go I think 🤞

From what I was told on here, the 5 spoke steel wheels use the same one piece tapered wheel nuts as the alloys. All the cars I have seen at my usual breakers that had the 5 spoke steels used the one piece nuts.

The standard type steel wheels use a different type of wheel nut. See this old thread:

https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/133141-how-much-should-i-expect-to-pay-for-a-set-of-the-mk2-fake-alloy-steel-wheels-and-plastic-trims/#comments