Bolt Pattern: How to Read and Measure It (5x114.3)

The two numbers in a bolt pattern

Every wheel spec starts with a bolt pattern, written like 5x114.3 or 6x5.5. It's two numbers:

1. Lug count. How many studs or bolts hold the wheel on: 4, 5, 6 or 8 on most cars, SUVs and trucks.
2. Bolt circle diameter. The diameter of an imaginary circle that runs through the center of every lug hole. You'll also see it called the PCD, for pitch circle diameter.

Wheel Pros defines it the same way in its wheel specs, with examples like 4x100 mm, 5x4.5 in, 6x5.5 in and 8x170 mm. So the bolt pattern isn't the distance between two neighboring lugs. It's the size of the circle all of them sit on.

Millimeters or inches: same pattern, two names

Bolt patterns are written in millimeters or inches, and many common ones have both names. There are 25.4 millimeters in an inch, so:

The table shows how the numbers convert, not which vehicles use them. Your vehicle's published spec is what counts.

Notice that the lug count still has to match. A 5x139.7 wheel and a 6x139.7 wheel share a bolt circle, but one has five holes and the other six.

How to measure a bolt pattern

The best source is always the vehicle's own spec: the owner's manual, the vehicle maker's published specs or a fitment database. Measuring is a backup, and it's easier on a wheel that's off the car.

4, 6 and 8-lug wheels

With an even number of lugs, every stud has one directly across from it. Measure from the center of one stud straight across the hub to the center of the opposite stud. That distance is the bolt circle diameter.

5-lug wheels

With five lugs, no stud sits directly across from another, so a center-to-center measurement across the hub comes out wrong. Tire Rack's method: measure from the center of one lug to the imaginary line that bridges the two lugs opposite it.

That's fiddly to do with a tape measure, and it's where most mistakes happen.

Use a gauge for the close calls

Tire Rack points out that several 5-lug patterns have diameters very close to each other, and recommends a bolt pattern guide or a bolt pattern gauge to be sure. A gauge drops into neighboring lug holes and reads the PCD directly.

How close is close? Wheel catalogs list patterns like 5x114.3 and 5x115 side by side. That's 0.7 mm apart: far too small to see by eye, and still not the same pattern. If your measurement lands between two patterns, don't round it. Look up the spec.

A matching pattern is only step one

A wheel that bolts on isn't necessarily a wheel that fits. Once the pattern matches, these come next.

Center bore

The center bore is the hole in the middle of the wheel that fits over the vehicle's hub. Konig explains that for a wheel to seat properly, the bore should match the hub.

• Bore exactly matches the hub: the wheel is centered by the hub, called hub-centric.
• Bore larger than the hub: common with aftermarket wheels. Wheel Pros explains that hub-centric rings fill the gap, adapting the wheel's bore to the hub so the wheel is centered while it's tightened.
• Bore smaller than the hub: the wheel won't go on. A ring can only make a larger bore smaller, never the other way round.

Lug seat type and thread size

Wheel Pros and other wheel guides point to the seat, the spot where the lug nut or bolt meets the wheel, as one of the most important differences between lug nuts. Common seats are:

• conical, or tapered,
• spherical, or ball,
• flat, with a washer-like face.

The seat on the nut or bolt has to match the seat on the wheel. Aftermarket wheels can use a different seat from the factory wheels, so check before reusing the factory lugs.

The thread size has to match the vehicle's studs too. Lug sizes are written as diameter and pitch, such as M12x1.5. On metric studs, the pitch is the distance in millimeters between threads; on inch-sized studs, it's threads per inch.

Finally, lugs are tightened to the vehicle maker's torque spec, found in the owner's manual.

Offset, width and brake clearance

The bolt pattern says nothing about where the wheel sits in the wheel well. A wheel can match your pattern and still rub the fender or hit a strut or brake caliper. That's what offset and backspacing describe; our guide to wheel offset and backspacing explains them.

Adapters and spacers

Adapters that convert one bolt pattern to another, and spacers that push a wheel outward, both exist. They change how the wheel is held on and where it sits, so treat either one as a fitment question for a technician rather than a fix for the wrong pattern.

Before you buy wheels

1. Get the exact pattern from the vehicle's published spec. Measure only to confirm, with a gauge for 5-lug wheels.
2. Check center bore, and whether you'll need hub-centric rings.
3. Match the lug seat and thread to the new wheels.
4. Check offset, width and brake clearance for your vehicle.
5. Size the tires to keep the overall diameter close to stock. The plus size calculator compares sizes, and our guide on how to read tire size explains each number.

The wheel catalog filters by bolt pattern, and our wheel fitment guidance walks through the same checks. TireDrop confirms fitment before an order ships. If you're running different sizes front and rear, see our guide to staggered tires.

Extreme Tires mounts and installs wheel and tire packages at the Sunrise shop or by mobile van in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties; elsewhere in the 48 states and DC, the order ships to your address. See how installation works, or call (954) 773-1896 with your vehicle and the wheel you're looking at.