Wrong wheel bolt spacing?!? Need some advice

[roll_coal]

Hi guys,

I am new here so I don't know if this is a silly question or not. I recently bought a new set of rims (with the correct wheel bolt spacing of 5X112). I had hit a pothole when driving back from work at night and cracked a rim. I got a new one sent to me by the company that had sold me the original set (they gave me a new one for free on warranty), but when I went to put it on, it was hard to get the wheel bolts on. When I tried with another wheel it went on easy. This lead me to believe that the wheel bolt spacing might be wrong on this new wheel even though it should have been identical to the others. I had to get my wheels back on however so I could use my car to get to and from work again, but now I am worried that if it was the wrong wheel bolt spacing it might have buggered my hub. My question is, would the item that would be damaged first be (a) the hub, (b) the wheel bolts or (c) the rim? Also what other issues are there related to putting on a wheel of the incorrect wheel bolt spacing?

Kind regards,

Rollie

[Umai Naa!!]

Measure and compare.

Need to measure the PCD, the wheel bolt hole diameter, and the centre bore diameter.

I think some Subarus use the same PCD, but the centre bore and wheel bolt hole diameters are not compatible with VW.

[roll_coal]

Thanks for the advice mate! Do you happen to know which component would fail first out of the wheel bolt and the hub?

[The_Hawk]

If the wheels you have are available in different sizes it's possible they have sent you the wrong one. You are correct that 5x112 is what you want, but if things fit but are tight you might very well have 5 x 114.3. Given this was replaced under warranty I'd just be bailing the company up for the correct replacement if that's the case.

On a side note, there are people out there that will run this size on 5x112 hubs (because that's the only size the design they like comes in or they can't be modified) and many wheels have enough tolerance in then that the relatively small difference can be worked around... That said, it's not technically legal and you are putting additional stress on the bolts (again depending on the tolerances in the particular wheel). One solution people will use is wobble bolts which allow the bolt and the head to offset each other a little and provide a better seating postion.

I've always thought it's a bit of a shame that there isn't some more standards out there for wheel sizes, but then I suppose most people in the world never even consider changing their wheels.

some Subarus use the same PCD

AFAIK Subaru are all 5x100 which is what was on the Mk3 and Mk4 5 stud wheels from memory, although the centre bore was 57 vs 57.1.

[tigger73]

AFAIK Subaru are all 5x100 which is what was on the Mk3 and Mk4 5 stud wheels from memory, although the centre bore was 57 vs 57.1.

WRX STI and a number of the newer Subarus (gen6 Liberty) run 5x114.3



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[Umai Naa!!]

Ah yes, my apologies.

[roll_coal]

That was exactly the info I was looking for, thank you very much @The_Hawk! I have already emailed the company to see haha fingers crossed they help me out. Thanks again!

[The_Hawk]

WRX STI and a number of the newer Subarus (gen6 Liberty) run 5x114.3

I didn’t know they had changed. Good to know


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[tigger73]

I didn’t know they had changed. Good to know!

I think it’s when they have gone for larger wheel diameters that they have gone for the bigger PCD for the studs.

Interesting too that Subaru has wheel studs that are pressed into the hub and nuts that attach the wheel vs. VW that has bolts with a threaded hub.

Back on topic yes most likely incorrect PCD on wheel. If it’s decent quality it should have the specs marked on the back face of the wheel.



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