What Size Wheels Fit My Truck?
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
If you're looking to upgrade your truck's wheels and tires, you might notice that the search isn't always as straightforward as it seems. Just changing tire size is sometimes easier if you keep the same wheels. However, it's likely that several sizes of wheels potentially fit your truck.
When figuring out what wheel size your truck needs, remember four main terms: wheel size, bolt pattern, offset, and center bore.
If you go to a site like Wheel-Size.com and enter your vehicle information, you can find all the size information on one page, but let's take a look at what each one means.
Wheel Diameter
The term wheel size typically refers to the diameter of the wheel. For example, if you look at a vehicle's specs and see that it comes with 20-inch rims, this means that the wheel has a 20-inch diameter. Wheel diameter is measured across the wheel from the bead seat to the bead seat.
You'll see more of the wheel's surface if you have a very large wheel diameter. Deciding on a wheel size should come in concert with the size of tire you want.
The size of the wheels you choose requires some practical and aesthetic considerations as well. For example, if you go off-road a lot, you should consider smaller wheels to provide more sidewall cushion.
For example, 35-inch tires paired with 20-inch rims will give your truck a low-profile appearance due to less visible sidewall, but it might not be a good idea if you go off-road.
Wheel Width
There are two numbers in determining wheel size. For example, you might see a wheel size depicted as 20x9.
The latter number in this equation is the wheel width, which measures the distance between the front and rear of the wheel. This covers most of the wheel area you can't see when the tires are installed.
Finally, you might find yourself choosing between two rim widths. For example, 8 inches or 9 inches. The 8-inch width is narrower, which may provide a stronger bead seal, but it also might create sidewall bulges depending on your tires.
If you're planning to max out the tire size for your truck, a wider rim will help prevent rubbing.
Wheel Bolt Pattern
Another common filter when searching for wheel sizes is the bolt pattern. This is expressed in two numbers, such as 5 x 4.5 or 5 x 100.
The second number in a bolt pattern equation can be either inches or millimeters. In the example above, the first equation is inches and the second is millimeters.
What do these numbers mean? The first number is the number of holes. You can see those on the front of your wheels. Five is a common number of holes, but four-, six-, and eight-hole layouts are also common.
The second number is the distance between two particular holes, usually two holes opposite each other.
Positive or Negative Offset?
Offset is the distance between the wheel's true centerline and the wheel bolts. A zero offset means that the mounting surface is right at the center of the wheel. A negative offset means the mounting surface is near the back of the wheel.
Wheels with negative offset look like deep bowls with more of the wheel extending outward. This is more common on RWD vehicles such as trucks, SUVs, and classic muscle cars.
On the other hand, positive offset is more commonly found on FWD vehicles like most passenger cars, crossover SUVs, minivans, and the like.
In general, you want to get wheels that have an offset similar to or exactly the same as your stock wheels Otherwise, you may experience clearance issues.
Narrow Your Wheel Search With Center Bore
If all the different wheel size numbers are still confusing, the surest way to narrow down your search is to find the center bore of your wheels.
You can use Wheel-Size.com to do this by entering your vehicle information. You can usually find multiple wheel sizes with the above examples, but there's only one correct center bore for your vehicle.
What is center bore? Center bore is the machined hole in the center of the wheel. You can find your vehicle's center bore in your owner's manual or through a site like Wheel-Size.com.
It's possible to buy wheels with a larger center bore than your stock wheels, but you'll have to buy hub-centric rings to fill in the extra space.
In other words, the quickest way to narrow down wheels that fit your vehicle is to use center bore. After that, you can choose a size depending on the tires you want to run and how you want your truck to look or if it needs to perform off-road.
Up-Sizing Your Truck Wheels
If you want to increase the size of your wheels from the original stock size, this is called up-sizing. However, increasing the diameter of your wheel means you need to decrease your tire size to maintain the overall diameter of your rim/tire setup.
If you don't do this, you could experience clearance issues with your fenders or suspension components.
Find Custom Truck Wheels at Enthuze
You can count on Enthuze for a wide variety of custom truck wheels with durable construction and a striking appearance. It's easy to find the wheels you need on Enthuze by using your vehicle information or any of the filters mentioned above.
If you decide to browse wheels based on other factors, you can easily use the Check Your Vehicle feature on every product page to see if it fits your truck.
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