The Pitch Circle Diameter (P.C.D.) commonly referred to as “bolt pattern”, is a reference to the number of bolt holes in a wheel, and the diameter of an imaginary circle that passes through the center of these bolt holes. The P.C.D. is represented by two numbers, for example: 4×100. The first number indicates the number of bolt holes in the wheel, and the second number indicates the bolt circle diameter. In this example, the bolt circle diameter (100) is in mm. It can also be in inches, in which case it would be: 4×3.93.

P.C.D. will vary with vehicle type, and per model. It is important to get the P.C.D. of the wheels to match exactly the P.C.D. of the vehicle, as wheels with even a slightly different P.C.D. will not be able to fit on the vehicle at all. There is a workaround for this however, as wheel adapters can be obtained to be used to change a vehicle’s P.C.D. and track width.

Fitment and sizing information of a wheel, can usually be found on the inside of the wheel (side to the vehicle) whether along the rim itself, or on one of the spokes. Identifying this information on your factory wheels will enable you to correctly choose wheels that have been designed to work with your vehicle. If you are unable to identify this information, here are a few ways to determine the P.C.D. of your vehicle.

For vehicles with an even number of studs, i.e. 4, 6, or 8 - the method is quite straight forward. Simply measure the distance between the centers of two opposite studs. This will give you the P.C.D. of these vehicles.

P.C.D. of 4 Lug Wheel Hub

P.C.D. of 6 Lug Wheel Hub

P.C.D. of 8 Lug Wheel Hub

For vehicles with 5 studs, the method is a little trickier. In these cases, measure from the back of one stud to the center of the second stud from it. Another method that can be used as verification on these applications is: measure the distance between the centers of two adjacent studs, then multiply the figure you get by 1.7012.

P.C.D. of 5 Lug Wheel Hub