How to choose
What 5x120 means
The bolt pattern (PCD) tells you how many bolts hold the rim and how large the circle they sit on is. 5x120 means 5 bolts on a circle 120 mm in diameter. This figure has to match exactly. Patterns that differ by only a few millimetres look almost identical, but that difference is enough for the bolts not to clamp the rim properly and for the rim not to sit centred on the hub. Latvian Cabinet Regulation No. 295 of 30 May 2017 treats a rim whose fixing size or pattern differs from the manufacturer's specification as a defect that fails the roadworthiness test.
We stock 5x120 rims in diameters R16-R24. The diameter has to match the tyre, and the car manufacturer decides which sizes the car may use: they are listed in the owner's manual and on the sticker in the driver's door frame.
A matching PCD does not mean the rim will fit
Rims with the same bolt pattern can still differ in several other dimensions, and each one needs checking separately:
- Centre bore (DIA) - it must be the same size as the hub or larger. A larger bore is centred with hub centric rings; with a smaller one the rim will not fit.
- Offset (ET) - sets how deep the wheel sits in the arch. The higher the ET, the further inwards the wheel sits. The offset is marked on the back of the rim. The wheel must not stick out beyond the bodywork or touch it.
- Width - together with the offset, it decides whether the wheel fits in the arch and what tyre widths can be mounted on the rim.
- Seat - the seat of the bolt head has to match the seat of the rim: cone, ball or flat. The original bolts often do not suit new rims.
Choose your car, and rims that do not fit it drop out of the list.
Before the tyre is mounted
Some things can only be checked on the car itself. Before mounting, put the bare rim on the hub and turn it by hand: it should spin freely and must not catch the brake calliper. Also check that the bolts screw in to their full length. Once a tyre has been mounted, the rim is no longer in the condition you received it in, so do this check beforehand.