How to Find Your Car's Bolt Pattern (Without Guessing)

You need your bolt pattern before you buy wheels, and it's easy to get wrong. Here are three ways to pin it down.

What a bolt pattern is

It's two numbers: the lug count and the diameter of the circle the lugs sit on, in millimeters or inches. 5x114.3 is five lugs on a 114.3mm circle. 6x139.7 is six lugs on a 139.7mm circle, which is common on trucks.

Method 1: Look it up by year, make and model

The fastest way is a bolt-pattern lookup using your exact year, make, model and trim. The trim matters, because some models changed patterns between generations or trims, so the model name alone isn't enough.

Method 2: Count and measure

• For even lug counts (4, 6 or 8), measure center to center across two lugs directly opposite each other.
• For 5 lugs, you can't measure straight across, so measure from the back of one lug to the center of the lug two over. Then convert the number with a 5-lug chart.

Method 3: Check the door jamb or owner's manual

Some vehicles list wheel and tire information on the door placard or in the manual. It won't always give the bolt pattern, but it confirms the factory wheel size and offset, which helps you cross-check.

Mistakes that lead to a return

• Treating two similar patterns, like 5x114.3 and 5x120, as close enough. They aren't interchangeable.
• Ignoring differences between trims.
• Matching the bolt pattern but forgetting hub bore, offset and clearance.

Once fitment checks out, the only question left is how it looks, and seeing the wheels on your actual car beats imagining it. Keep reading: what 18x8 +35 means.