If you’re wondering what wheels from other vehicles will fit your car, you need to understand a few critical details. This comes down to factors such as understanding wheel sizing, noting the distinction between your rim size and your tire size and even recognizing bolt patterns.
Luckily for you, we have a simple yet comprehensive breakdown of all the factors you’ll need to get a grip of before you look to switch the wheels from another vehicle to fit your car.
Here’s what we’ll be covering:
- Things to consider before using a wheel from another vehicle.
- How to find the right wheels for your vehicle.
- Effects of using the wrong wheel size.
- Benefits of tire upsizing.
- Effects of larger or smaller tires.
Things to Consider Before Using a Wheel From Another Vehicle
Before you consider what wheels from other vehicles will fit your car, it’s essential to consider a handful of factors regarding this process.
Bolt Pattern
We’re listing bolt patterns first up on our list because this is the one factor most people tend to skip or forget when they’re looking to borrow wheels from another vehicle. It’s near-impossible to fit another rim onto your car if the bolt patterns don’t fit. Therefore, you should first look to note down this crucial detail before you look to fit new rims by car.
There are various types of bolt patterns on wheels in the market based on the car brand and year of manufacture. A BMW made in the last decade, for example, may have a bolt pattern of 5 x 120.
This means that there are five lug holes used to attach the rim to the wheels, and the gap between each hole is 120 mm.
You can ascertain the bolt pattern of your car by counting the number of lug holes in use and then using a measuring tape to find the distance between each of the lug nuts. If your rim has an even number of bolt pattern holes, you can measure the distance between the center of one hole and the center of another hole on the opposite side.
Bolt holes are depicted as 6 on 5.5, which means that there are six holes on a 5.5-inch wheel. Common sizes for even bolt holes include:
- 4 on 4.
- 6 on 5.5.
- 8 on 6.5.
If there are an odd number of holes in your rim, you can look to measure the distance from the center of one hole to the center of the furthest hole in the rim of car.
Some of the common sizes in this category include:
- 5 on 4.5.
- 5 on 5.
Once you have a fit, you’re ready to consider the next steps in the replacement process.
Size of the Tire
This step involves closely examining the size of your tire to determine the ideal fit. In this section, you should consider the wheel assembly and tire diameter to see if they fit your existing tires.
For example, when you install wheels that are half an inch larger than your existing wheels, you should make sure that the tires you use are half an inch smaller than the original. The key measurement here is the diameter of your entire set up.
By balancing the wheels and tire sizes to fit the original diameter, you’ll be able to find the right fit for your car.
When your new tire matches the old one, your speedometer and odometer will function accurately as well.
Size of the Wheel
In order to land on the right wheel size, you should consider the size of the cars rim. The wheel you’re using should be compatible with the tire you’re going to add to the new set up. To understand the sizes of the tires in relation to the wheels, you can always check the rim compatibility chart of the brand of tires you’re considering.
Wheel Offset
The wheel offset is the distance between the hub mounting surface of your car and the center portion of your rim. This distance is usually calculated in meters and can belong to three major categories:
- Zero offset: In this scenario, the hub mounting surface will remain on the same level as the centerline of your rim.
- Positive offset: With a positive offset, the variation consists of your hub mounting surface, which is facing the front of your wheel. This is often only found in the latest cars.
- Negative offset: A negative offset measures the variation of the hub mounting surface that faces the rear end of the rim center.
This is widely considered one of the most crucial factors when you’re looking to replace the wheels of your car. Improper measurements in this section could result in numerous problems arising in your car in the future, such as tires rubbing the brakes, suspension components or fenders.
How to Find the Right Wheels for Your Vehicle
Now that you’re aware of the major elements at play when you’re looking at what wheels from other vehicles will fit your car, let’s look at how you can find the right wheels for this process.
How Do I Know What Alloys Fit My Car?
Back in the day, it used to be quite a chore to figure out the alloys or rims that can fit a particular wheel. Thankfully for all modern users, this process has become relatively easy to figure out. You can rely on various steps to find the ideal fit that include taking measurements of your rim or finding the details on your sticker plate.
When you’re opting for a standard replacement that relies on replacing the perfect fitting rims, you should simply refer to the label on the inside section of the door on the driver’s side. If, however, you’re considering a larger rim, you should follow these steps:
How to Measure Rim Size
Using larger than usual rims on your car can have a negative effect on your treadwear, which is why it’s important to understand rim sizes before making any changes. There are three major steps you should follow when measuring the rim size for your car.
Step #1: Finding the Bolt Pattern
As we previously mentioned, understanding your bolt pattern is a crucial step in determining your rim size. You can use the above mentioned method of counting the number of lug nuts on the wheel and then using a measuring tape to understand the distance between two of the furthest nuts.
Step #2: Measuring the Wheel
Now you can focus on the wheel and use the measuring tape to check the width of the set up and the diameter of the entire wheel. You can cross reference these measurements with the rim in question to determine if it’s an ideal fit.
Step #3: Checking the Offset
For the final step, you need to ensure that the wheels you’re considering do not jut out from the body of the vehicle disproportionately, as this can cause several issues in the vehicle. Make sure to check the distance between the wheels, brakes and suspension system, and cross-reference these readings with the new tire to check for the fit.
If you’re not comfortable checking the offset of the car, you can always use the help of a tire dealer close to your home to determine accurate readings for this step.
Effects of Using the Wrong Wheel Size
If you’re wondering what wheels from other vehicles will fit your car, and you end up landing on the wrong wheel dimensions for your vehicle, it can lead to several issues in the running of your car over time. Some of these issues are discussed below:
Installing Larger Wheels
There are a handful of issues that may prop up over time if you’ve substituted your old wheels with a set that’s larger than it’s supposed to be. As you allow these larger tires to hit the ground running, the efficiency of your vehicle is reduced as it will require additional energy to run these larger tires.
You also cause greater fatigue to the tires over time. This can result in burning more fuel and can also lead to greater wear and tear. At the very least, you’ll end up spending more on your fuel as your vehicle fuel economy takes a hit.
Installing Smaller Wheels
In the opposite scenario where you’ve gone with smaller than average wheels during the replacement process, a different set of problems may arise altogether. Here, the rims will not be large enough to cover the entire arches of the tire. This can lead to various issues developing with your tire over time, including frequent busts.
Inferior Offset
If you haven’t managed to take the right measurement while measuring the offset of the wheels by car and you’ve opted for an inferior offset, this can take a toll on the performance over time. Negative offset, for one, can increase the pressure on the suspension of your car and lead to a wear down in the system over time.
This can also affect the steering capabilities of your vehicle and can be especially dangerous when you’re tackling sharp corners.
If you have a positive offset, you can end up affecting the brakes of your car along with damaging your suspension system as well. This results in a dip in the smoothness of your ride and will be especially evident at high speeds. It can also lead to your tire bursting due to the friction created by the contact with the wheel and the body.
Effects of Using the Wrong Wheel Width
Tampering with the width of your tires and opting for an extra-wide fit can be dangerous for your car in the long run. We look at some of the dangers of having extra-wide tires when you’re considering what wheels from other vehicles will fit your car:
Fender Liner Contact
There is a danger that the fenders can interact with your tires. Fitting wider than average wheel dimensions can increase the contact between the wheel and the lining during suspension compression and tight cornerings.
A light “rubbing” of the fender liner is perfectly acceptable, but it can start to get dangerous in the long run if the contact isn’t as “friendly” as you hoped. Heavy rubbing in this section can damage the fender lining and bust your wheels over time.
Vehicle Body Contact
The vehicle panels that are aligned along the wheel wells and fender lines are yet another point of contact when you’re using wide tires. Contact in this section, however, can be dangerous for the car and driver and should be avoided at all costs. This can easily damage your tires and lead to a wheel blowout when you’re least expecting it.
Suspension Contact
If the width of the tire is a bit too much, it can lead to contact with the spring and strut of the suspension, especially when the suspension is facing compression. If you drive on bumpy roads, you risk damaging these components and thereby damaging your suspension. This can take a massive toll on your driving experience.
Electrical Lines and Components
Most of the time, the electrical lines and components are kept out of the reach of tires, but an extra-wide tire can manage to infiltrate this distance as well. When this happens, you risk the electrical tires and components grappling with the tire tread, and this can lead to some disastrous results.
The least of your concerns in this situation would be the treading pulling out the electrical lines. You will have to take your car to the auto repair shop to get this fixed.
Fuel System Component Contact
The space behind the fender liners of vehicles is a busy spot where lots of activity occurs. The fuel system components, for example, are often routed to this region. Therefore, it does not bode well for your vehicle when the tire interacts with this area and causes issues.
You can end up damaging various sensors and electronics in this space as a result of using wide tires on your wheels.
Benefits of Tire Upsizing
If you do manage to nail the sizing of wider tires while changing your wheels, you stand to gain numerous advantages in your driving experience. Some of the major benefits when you’re looking at what wheels from other vehicles will fit your car are listed below:
Personalization
One of the most sought after customizations for vehicles involves upsizing the size of your tires on your wheels. This is the quickest and easiest way to add more pizazz to the look of your car and make it stand out from the norm. Wider tires definitely look far cooler than stock options and greatly boost the style quotient of your vehicle.
Improved Stance
Using a wider tire on your wheels offers you a larger contact patch for your vehicle, and this has a direct and positive effect on the grip offered by the car. Wider tires can help you maintain improved stability and provide greater control, especially when you’re cruising at high speed.
Better Braking
Using a wider tire on your wheels can also reduce your overall braking distance and improve the control offered by the automobile. Wider tires also tend to skid far less than stock tires, which helps provide greater safety to the driver.
Better Cornering
Cornering is a major factor when determining the effectiveness of a vehicle, especially in the case of SUVs and Jeeps. The suspension of a vehicle plays a huge role in your car’s cornering abilities, and wider tires on your wheels can help you achieve better cornering as well.
This is because they have a slimmer sidewall flex that can greatly improve your cornering abilities, especially at high speeds.
Improved Overall Control
The most significant benefit of using the perfect size of wide tires on your wheels is the effect it has on the control offered by your vehicle. This trickles down to heighten the performance of your car as well.
Wider tires on your wheels prevent understeering or oversteering as they improve the balance offered by the car and thereby make your driving experience a lot safer on the roads.
Effects of Larger or Smaller Tires
Apart from the width of the tire, the size of the tires can have a huge impact on your driving experience as well. Finding the ideal size for larger and smaller tires can impact various elements of your car.
Speed
The width of a car tire has virtually no impact on your speeds, but the size of the tire can undoubtedly affect this aspect of driving. Logically speaking, smaller tires on your wheels need to rotate more number of times in comparison to larger tires to cover the same amount of ground.
By applying this logic to the speed of the car, it stands to reason that the larger tires can propel the vehicle further and faster than smaller tires as they’ll require fewer rotations. Even when your engine is operating at the same level of RPM (rotations per minute), larger tires can cover more ground than smaller ones.
Larger tires on your wheels, however, can affect the vehicle’s inertia as they increase the overall mass of the vehicle and thereby reduce your acceleration. Therefore, you need to decide if you value speed or acceleration in your vehicle. If you crave better speeds, you should opt for larger tires. If you’re after better acceleration, you should look at smaller ones.
Efficiency
As previously mentioned, larger tires on your wheels can cover more ground with the same level of engine RPM. This has a direct impact on the fuel efficiency of the car as you need fewer gallons to cover the same distance as well. This is especially true during highway journeys.
Smaller tires, however, can boost your fuel efficiency when you’re driving around in the city. This is because they offer better acceleration, so your engine requires less fuel or energy to get going after numerous stops.
Ground Clearance
Taller tires can improve the ground clearance of your vehicle and this has two major advantages. First, your vehicle is less likely to get damaged while traveling on poor roads as it has a higher level of elevation from the ground.
Second, the vantage point of the driver is improved with larger tires, and this affects their driving performance by offering a better view of the road ahead.
Traction and Handling
With a smaller tire, you will receive better handling for your vehicle and you will also notice an improvement in the cornering abilities. This is because their sidewalls are less flexible and their reduced mass improves their aerodynamics.
Gauges
When you change the size of your tire, you end up changing how various sensors and gauges work, such as the speedometer and odometer. This is because these gauges calculate the speed and distance traveled based on the original tire size and your vehicle’s RPM.
When you’re using smaller tires, the display of these gauges tends to get warped, and they show your speed higher than you’re actually traveling. Even the odometer shows you a larger distance than the actual distance you’ve covered.
The effect is exactly the opposite when you’re using larger tires, and this is something worth being wary about, especially when you’re traveling at high speeds nearing the local speed limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Cars Have the Same Bolt Pattern as Mercedes?
Mercedes cars tend to have a bolt pattern of 5 x 112. This is a common bolt pattern for luxury car brands, including Audi, Volkswagen, Maybach and Chrysler cars.
What Other Vehicles Will Jeep Wheels Fit?
Jeep wheels tend to have a 5 x 4 bolt pattern. This can fit many vehicles such as cars produced by Ford, Mercury and Lincoln cars. There is no standard here, though, as it can come down to the year ranges of these brands. The Mercury Ranger and Explorer are two models that rely on this bolt pattern.
What Cars Have a 5 x 105 Bolt Pattern?
The following vehicles utilize the 5 x 105 bolt pattern:
- Buick cars: Encore, Excelle GT, Royaum, Excelle GX, Velite 5, Velite 6, Verano and Verano GS.
- Opel cars: Ampera-3, Mokka, Mokka X and Astra.
- MG vehicles: MG ZS.
- Chevrolet cars: Aveo, Trax, Sonic, Tracker, Volt, Monza, Onix, Cruze, Cruze Limited, Cavalier and Bolt.
- Daewoo vehicles: Daewoo Lacetti.
Can I Put Different Size Tires on My Car?
Yes, you can put different size tires on your car as long as the overall diameter of the wheels is maintained. Make sure to conduct measurements of the tire size and wheels diameter to maintain consistency between these factors while changing tires.
Can You Put Any Size Rims on a Car?
No, the rim size cannot be just any size rims on your car. There is a limit to the rim size, and you should avoid aiming for a rim car size that’s bigger than the stock size of your rims. Rim compatibility is a crucial factor in determining the quality of your ride. Using excessively small or large rims will dampen this experience.
If the Wheels Fit…
Changing the wheels on your car can be an expensive affair, especially when you need to change all four at the same time. You can avoid this expenditure by examining what wheels from other vehicles will fit your car.
As we’ve determined in this article, this process cannot be executed without you conducting your due diligence. By paying extra attention to various factors such as the wheels size, rim size, and wheels offset, though, it’s entirely possible for you to switch wheels and carry on with a smooth driving experience.
