Wheels - Offset and Fittings

[vkykam]

With the heat wave coming through Toronto, I guess it's perfect time to talk about snow tires.

I've just been offered a set of steel rims that was used for snow tires for a 89 Supra Turbo. Rim specs are 16x7, 5x114.3mm.

I'm wondering:

1) What would be the minimum offset required to fit this set of rims on the car? I recall reading something about rims with less than a 38mm offset on a 7.5" width will not fit the car. So with a set of 7" rims, how large would the offset have to be?

2) What are the ramifications for putting rims on that are significantly different than the factory 55mm (based on a 7.5")? What's the general consensus about how much it can deviate before, say, wheel bearing problems can be an issue? I mean, with our super duper strong rear bearings on the car, it won't be an issue anyways, right?

The rims have been offered to me at definitely the right price (read: $0), so I'd like to take advantage of it if I can, as long as I won't pay for it dearly later on, such as (even more) wheel bearing replacements.

Of course, since I'm replacing bearings fairly frequently anyways, I guess, what's the difference??

VK