Bolt Pattern (PCD) Checker

What PCD means

PCD, the pitch circle diameter, is the diameter of the imaginary circle that passes through the centre of every wheel stud hole. It's written as studs × diameter, so 5x114.3 means five studs on a 114.3 mm circle. Both numbers have to match for a wheel to bolt straight on; a wheel drilled for the right stud count but the wrong circle simply won't line up, however close the number looks.

Why adjacent-hole spacing is shown

A tape measure can't easily span the diameter of a bolt circle, especially with an odd number of studs where no two holes sit directly opposite each other. What can be measured directly is the straight-line gap between two neighbouring holes, so this tool converts PCD to that spacing using spacing = PCD × sin(180° ÷ studs), and back again. For a 4 or 6-stud wheel, opposite holes do align, so PCD can also be measured directly across the circle.

Reading the verdict

A match needs an identical stud count and a PCD within a fraction of a millimetre, the kind of gap that comes from rounding a spec rather than a real difference. Patterns that are close but not identical, like 5x114.3 and 5x115, are a common source of confusion between makes and will not fit without an adapter; the studs simply won't reach all five holes at once. Anything further apart, or with a different stud count, needs a completely different wheel or a hub-specific adapter plate.

What this tool doesn't check

Matching PCD and stud count only confirms the bolt holes line up. It says nothing about centre bore (whether the wheel locates on the hub or relies on the studs alone), wheel offset (check that separately with the wheel offset comparator), stud or bolt length and thread, or seat type (conical, ball or flat). All of those need checking separately, and centre bore in particular is worth confirming even on a correct bolt pattern, since a bare hole with no hub-centric ring can leave a wheel located only by the wheel nuts.