4.5 bolt wheel on 4.52 car.

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Greetings and good day to Bitogers everywhere on a rainy afternoon here in the land of Sunshine:

So, the vehicle formerly known as "Thunder the Wonder Pig" has a 4.52 bolt pattern for wheels.

I have two 4.5 bolt pattern wheels with good tires on them that are just aching to be used. They're mounted, balanced, ready to go.

They fit, (I tried one yesterday, but I didn't leave it bolted on till I talked with the tire/wheel guru's here on Bitog).

Is it bad/dangerous to run these 4.5 wheels and tires on my 4.52 vehicle?

Enquiring (read "Cheap yet filled with daring adventure") minds want to know.

(For you millimeter guys, that's 114.3 vs 115).
 
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On a serious note OP, AFAIK, if everything lines up and they hold torque correctly, they're shouldn't be a problem.
 
Seems like the acorn part of the lug nuts would only interface some of their circle.
 
If the lugs tighten properly, and they probably will, since there's some slop in the system, and they maintain torque, you should be fine.
I'd go ahead and mount these junkyard wheels and see what happens, checking the lugs regularly until you're confident that they'll maintain tightness.
Worst case, you'll have to have these new used tires swapped on to your original rims.
Why would Ford have used two different patterns on the Taurus?
Seems a little silly.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Why would Ford have used two different patterns on the Taurus?
Seems a little silly.


Sorry, I should have explained better. The Taurus (the ever faithful "Bluesmobile") got the junkyard wheels and has a 4 and a quarter bolt pattern.

"Thunder the Wonder Pig" is my 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass.
 
I should have remembered that given your thread on your unfortunate encounter with the forces of civil order while driving the noisy Gutless.
Why are you trying to put the wrong rims on this car?
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27

Why would Ford have used two different patterns on the Taurus?
Seems a little silly.


Supplier history. I've long noticed brakes have SAE stuff even when the rest of the car is metric. Once Ford gets on a roll with a vendor it's hard to stop, it seems. You'd need new hub bearings, brake rotors, maybe the center hole and its associated CV joint, etc.

Maybe adding ABS was just enough to get them to start over if indeed Ford went to metric lug patterns.

Dodge in the 80s when they had mitsubishi motors had CV axles with SAE on the outside and metric on the inside... the axles were the "universal adapters" to get the Japanese engine to fit.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Why are you trying to put the wrong rims on this car?


Because they are already mounted and balanced on the existing 4.5 rims.

Granted, I could swap the tires to the 4.52 wheels already on the car, (which is currently riding on a set of tires made back in 2006 which are starting to crack very badly), but that would cost me either time or money, (time if I did it myself, money if I paid someone else to do it). If I can simply bolt them on and roll, that's money in my pocket or time saved.

The ones on the 4.5 wheels are "Primewell" brand, made 0909, have a nice amount of tread and no cracks.
 
Okay, try it as detailed above and see how it goes.
Primewells have pretty obsolete ride and handling chracteristics but seem to wear well and are pretty okay in the rain.
I have a set on one car and while I'd never go out and buy them new, they aren't bad tires.
Not really good in the snow, but that's no more than a theoretical concern for you.
 
I had the same problem. The wheels mounted perfectly on the Hub, but tended to pull the studs off centre if torqued down.

I ended up grinding the stud holes in the wheel to elongate them. including the countersink angle.

Has worked well for my winter tires for many years.
 
On a hub centered wheel, I would say fine, but a lug centered wheel, you might end up with a wheel which is not concentric to the hub. Even if you sequence at 20 ft/lb intervals
 
I've seen people do it the other way around (5x115 wheel on a 5x114.3 vehicle). They seem to hold torque and work ok, haven't heard of any issues with it yet. I personally wouldn't do it though, it just sketches me out.
 
Sorry, but, No, that does not work.

Ya' see, the wheels have a tapered seat that exactly fits the lugnut's taper. (Yes, there are exceptions, but this is not one of them!) If the lugnut isn't properly seated, it will wear the seat oblong.

Not to mention the difficulty in getting the wheel centered on the hub.
 
DON'T MOUNT. you are asking those studs to bend more than you'd think, especially over the short distance they have from the hub to the rim. There will be metal fatigue here in the near future and you could see studs snapping off. elongating the hole and the seat is the only way I would attempt this, but by hand it would not be consistent and you'd have to be willing to accept some imperfections.
 
Bad idea, also while we are talking about bad ideas, don't mount 16" tires on a 16.5" wheel or 16.5" tires on a 16" wheel.
 
Originally Posted By: GreeCguy
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Why would Ford have used two different patterns on the Taurus?
Seems a little silly.


Sorry, I should have explained better. The Taurus (the ever faithful "Bluesmobile") got the junkyard wheels and has a 4 and a quarter bolt pattern.


"Thunder the Wonder Pig" is my 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass.


So you mean 4.25, not 52.
 
I think the OP is trying to install a 114.3mm wheel on the olds that would have a 115mm. Just because some people think that is okay, because they can make it fit, DOES NOT make it right. It will break wheels studs right off, and will never be centered correctly.
 
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