Deep Dish vs. Regular Rims – What’s The Difference?

You’ve probably heard of deep dish rims. If you’re wondering what deep dish rims are, you came to the right place. This guide will answer all the questions you may have about deep dish rims and how they differ from regular rims.

What are Deep Dish Rims?

Also called deep dish wheels, deep dish rims are essentially wider-than-usual rims that have a “deep dish” between the outer lip and the spokes. Deep dish rims exist for cosmetic purposes only, as they drastically alter a vehicle’s appearance. Many people think that deep dish rims give a vehicle a mean custom appearance.

Deep dish

Image Credit: tekoah137

How do Deep Dish Rims Differ From Regular Rims?

On a regular wheel, the outer lip is right in front of the spokes, meaning there’s no “barrel” connecting the spokes to the outer lip. On a deep dish wheel, there’s a considerable amount of distance between the spokes and the outer lip, so there’s a “barrel” connecting the spokes to the outer lip.

Offset spacing

Pros and Cons of Deep Dish Rims

The pros of deep dish rims are purely cosmetic. Deep dish rims look cool and can completely improve your vehicle’s appearance.

The cons of deep dish rims, however, are more on the functional side:

  1. Deep dish rims tend to have very little backspacing. This can change the tire scrub radius and impact handling. The scrub radius is the center line of the wheel as determined by the steering axis inclination (SAI) and the tire center line. A scrub radius that’s too altered by deep dish rims can impact your car’s handling.
  2. Deep dish rims are more at risk of curb damage. Deep dish rims are often wider than the wheels they replace. Because they have little backspacing, they can stick out further away from your vehicle than stock wheels. This means your wheel flange (the front face of the wheel) is more at risk of damage from striking a curb while parking, cornering, etc. You definitely want to protect the flange with a set of RimSavers.
  3. Deep dish rims can be difficult to clean and polish. Deep dish rims tend to get dirty faster than regular rims. Also, dirt and brake dust are more obvious on deep dish rims. Not only that, but also deep dish rims can be difficult to clean and polish, particularly on the outer lip, which is the inside surface of the wheel barrel.

If you decide to treat your vehicle to deep dish rims, then a set of RimBlades or RimSavers is a great addition that’s pretty much necessary.