Wheel bolt pattern

[Cienna]

How do you measure the size of a 5-bolt pattern on a wheel?

 

[Anonymous-0]

Ideally, with a pair of calipers, and numerous tries, but I found a template, made out of plastic, that you merely line up the studs, and insert the template over the studs, look at the markings, and viola, you have the measurement. Speed shops and tool sellers have these plastic templates, I think there are a number of different styles, Shoup sells metal repair sections for ag applications, which would serve as a template. I got mine, at the york PA farm show, in January, from a tool gypsy, I think they were like $3/per.

 

[Leroy]

They usually have an indentation or a small hole between the lugs. Just look for this spot and the lug hole directly opposite and measure between the two. If there is no mark to go buy then you should be able to eyeball where that spot should be and measure from it. Unless you have a metric wheel that measurement will always be in 1/4" like 4 3/4", 5", 5 1/4", 5 1/2", 5 3/4", 6" and so on.

 

[Joe(TX)]

A normal 5 hole pattern will measure about 1/4 short of the bolt circle dia when mearuered center to center on the fartherest holes.
Or do the trigonometry calculation. The holes are 60 deg apart.

 

[keh]

As near as I can tell, measureing hastily in the heat, Cheverolet lugs, measured from center of one lig bolt to center of adjacent one, are 2 3/4 inches apart. Ford and Dodge is the same, 2 5/8 inches. I don't know if this is true of present day full size vehicles or not.The size of the center hole is of course important and it varies from make to make.

Old Buicks and other large cars had a different spacing which was wider but still using 5 lugs.

Older Ford pickups and Jeeps had a different wide spaced 5 lug wheel.

Cheverolet pick ups from the 1940s to at least the late 1960s ahd 6 lug wheels, don't know when they changed.

5 lug implement wheels vary greatly, as does the center hole size and rim width. I wonder if the wheels for, say 4 x 5 round balers interchange between any of the manufacturers.

KEH

 

[TractormanNC]

Joe, I'm sorry but the holes are 72 deg. apart. 360/5=72.

 

[Leroy]

Chevy pickup changed with the 72 model year when they went to disk brakes. The older Ford trucks and for cars 48 down and some Lincoln-Mercury Cars about 50 down and Jeeps and IHC Scout all used a wheel 5 lug with a 5 1/2" bolt patern that is the same as all the standard 5 lug implement wheels, the difference is size of center hole and depending on what you are going to use them on you may be able to enlarge them to fit the implement hub. All others were a different size a lot being a 5 1/4" spacing but some I think might have been a 5 3/4" spacing. Have never tried measuring between the lugs as so much easier measuring across like you do on a 6 or 8 lug wheel.