FAQ: Wheel & Tire, Lug, Bolt Pattern, Offset, Center Bore Info

Read this, guys: http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-forum/t-11009.html

Cadillac people are having luck with the 5x114.3mm bolt pattern. Note the comments on bore diameter. Considering the added variety, I'm thinking it's worth a try.

I've had many local people tell me the 114.3's will work fine. And as you said it opens up so many more possibilities with the type and styles of rims.
I will still use a centering ring just because I've been dealing with vibrations for too long.
When i mount a new set of 18's in the spring i don't want any vibration anymore.

Personally, I wouldn't use a rim knowingly that was anything but 5x115. I know it's only .8 mm off, not very much, but still, off is off. Hubcentric rims may eliminate the issues, so make sure they are available if you go the 5x114.3/5x4.5 route.

Yeah, I'm going to use the rings when I get mine, and NO ONE but will be putting them on except for me with my torque wrench and lots of TLC. If I get vibrations, I guess I'll craigslist whatever I get. Wheels tend to sell pretty well on there.

Or you can try the Hunter Radial Force balancer and you re-installing the wheels with proper torque.

My past two sets have been 114.3 rims. And they work fine even under strong side loads. The only problem with them is that you need to tighten then at 3 intervals to get the proper torque. The guys at a tire store usually just use an impact and the lugs will come loose quickly or they shear off lugs. My wheels came loose once and have had 3 lugs sheared off this way. If I go to a tire shop now I always loosen and re-torque when I get home.

I usually tighten while the wheels are off the ground (which helps it center better) to about 70ft/lbs then lower it to tighten around 85ft/lbs finally 100ft/lbs the second time around.

I use my battery powered drill at a low torque setting to put the lugs on and get the wheels centered, then torque to 50, 75 and final 100 ft/lbs.
I know that's being anal, but i have been chasing vibrations for years.

Thanks for the reassurance, Eric.

I always tighten by hand, then use torque wrench to cross-tighten to 75 lb-ft, then 100 lb-ft. Then I come back 100 miles later and tighten again to 100 lb-ft. With the new rims, I would be even more careful.

For everyone's info, I made an exact template of our wheel bolt pattern, accurate to .001 mm. Here is the pattern, with OEM wheel bolt holes shown in red, aftermarket 5x4.5" bolt pattern in blue:



The area in the yellow box is magnified below. In the detail, you can see the overlap. The inside of each ring represents the 12 mm lug, the outside of each ring represents the .515" bolt hole:

I think that pretty much proves given the normal tolerance of holes drilled in the wheels, that the 114.3 will be fine.
Just need to tighten and torque properly and you'll never know the difference.
And add the centering rings for extra insurance.

Okay, I yield. I suppose that's within the tolerances of lug nuts etc.

Let us know how it works out AA!

I do understand your concern, deek. I wouldn't go with the 5x4.5" pattern, except the options are so limited in the 5x115mm size. The more I read about our size, the more I want to research the possibility of changing hubs!

For everyone's reference, here is a site that sells hub-centric rings (aluminum or plastic) for a reasonable cost ($25-35): http://www.1010tires.com/hubrings.asp

The bore dia of our hubs 70.3 mm.

Just a comment regarding the hub centering rings mentioned above. Make sure to measure them when you receive the order. Mine were supposed to fit the 72.62 mm bore diameter of my new wheels, but they felt loose, so I measured OD with a caliper at 72.05 mm, quite a bit off for a piece of turned aluminum dimensioned to 1/100 mm. They say 72.62 on the part.

The vendor mentioned above is being proactive so far, said they will measure a new set and ship out at no charge. I think it will be okay, but I wanted to give the heads-up to anyone ordering hub-centric rings: check 'em before mounting.

First vendor could not locate a correct set of aluminum rings, so I bought them from a seller on eBay, Discount Tire Direct. This order was near half the price and took 1/3 the time. Most importantly, the new rings are the correct size!

Here is a pic of the ring inserted. A correct fitment is tight, requiring you tap it in with a small hammer. The ring should press in flush with the hub mounting surface of the wheel:



They bolted up without any problems. I used a torque wrench to cross-tighten them at 3, 5, 10,15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, and 75 lb-ft. Maybe a overkill, but I wanted to give these rims every chance to be exactly centered.

With all 4 new wheels on, there is absolutely no vibration whatsoever. In fact, they ride smoother than my stock 5x115 wheels ever did. The guy at 1010Tires told me it wouldn't work, but I am quite happy with the result. Just use the hub centric rings, torque them on carefully, and 5x114.3 (5x4.5") bolt pattern wheels will work fine with 5x115 hubs.

AA wrote:

With all 4 new wheels on, there is absolutely no vibration whatsoever. In fact, they ride smoother than my stock 5x115 wheels ever did. The guy at 1010Tires told me it wouldn't work, but I am quite happy with the result. Just use the hub centric rings, torque them on carefully, and 5x114.3 (5x4.5") bolt pattern wheels will work fine with 5x115 hubs.

Thanks for the pics and info.
When you say you have absolutely NO vibration whatsoever, do you mean not any at all. That's a pretty strong statement to a guy that has chased even the smallest to the noticeable and back to small and still annoying vibration since I bought this car.
If you found the magic Bullet, Ill drive to you and buy this setup for twice what you paid for it, maybe.

I meant no vibration introduced by the wheels & tires. There are still some evidences of a 200k mile car, but I did see less vibration in changing to these wheels, probably because 2 of the stock wheels have 20k miles on them since they were balanced.

With the new wheels, there are a bit more vibrations picked up from the road surface, but that's an entirely different thing altogether.

i know our rivs are 5x115 bolt pattern but im looking at a set of rims and bolt pattern is 5x114.3 and the guys says it will fit im just wondering if he is just trying to make the sale? any help would be amazing

They will fit. You need to purchase a set of hub-centric rings to match the wheels to our OEM hubs. What wheels are you looking at?

I have 20" 5x114.3 wheels with the hub rings and have no issues at all. As AA stated you will need a set of hub rings.

they are a 12 spoke high gloss black rims.. im looking at hub-centric rings which size do i need

You must know the bore diameter of the wheels you are buying. That's why I asked about your wheels.

I have an extra set of plastic rings (never used) that I would sell for a good price. They fit our OEM hubs, and will fit wheels with bore diameter 72.62 mm.

A question that's been bugging me since I learned the Riv bolt pattern: I happen to like the stock wheels, and want to keep them. But I'd need to find a couple of center caps, then deal with the problem of occasionally losing one. So my answer would be to buy a set of '97--'99 Camero center caps which bolt on and would suit me fine. Found a place online that sells them but doesn't list a bolt pattern. Asked around and got 2 opinions--either 4.5 or 4.75. IF it's 4.5, that would be 1mm larger (looks like 1/16"), and I could probably fit them. But I don't know. Any advice?

Looking to order a set of hub centric rings for my Riv, and didn't think to measure the hub in millimeters. They measured 2.75", but that's right in the middle of the millimeters options when ordering. I can choose 69.50mm or 70.10mm for the ring ID. 2.75" = 69.85mm. Does anyone know what our hubs OD is in millimeters for sure?

Diameter of our hubs is 70.3 mm. I have an extra set of plastic rings if your wheels have a bore dia of 72.62 mm.

See previous page for my experience ordering hub centric rings.

Aaron, thanks for pointing me here. I used the search and this didn't show for some reason.

My KMC rims measured 2 7/8". I want to call it 73mm, but I'm just laying a tape measure across it. Could be 72.62.... dunno. I'd give them a try if you want to let them go. I was thinking about ordering a set of aluminum rings. Maybe I'd better try measuring again in MM's.

Use a caliper if possible. The rings are accurate to 1/100 of a mm, and should fit very tightly in the wheel, and securely over the hub. I'll give you the plastic rings. Pay me later if they work out for you. Ship to your work address?