Changing Wheel bolt patterns good or bad idea

[modular93fox]

Is it safe to change bolt patterns... what I mean by that is say go from a 5x5 to 5x4.5 by means of redrilling the hub and axle flange?... the mustang 5 spoke wheels are really plain and simple which is why I like them so much. I want to put these on my 87 Silverado. It doesnt show any load ratings on the rims but as far as downsizing the bolt pattern what do you guys say?
thanks
clint

[Apogee]

Reducing your wheel pattern bolt circle diameter effectively increases the load on the wheel studs. If you upgrade to larger studs, you should be able to offset some, if not all, of the added load seen by the studs. Correct me if I'm wrong, but an '87 1/2-ton pickup should have 1/2-20 press-in studs from the factory, so if you upgraded to some M14 studs you should be fine.

That takes care of the studs...you might end up ripping the lug nuts through the wheels if the wheels aren't up to it, but that will probably depend on how you use your truck. If you never put any weight in it or tow anything...you could be okay. Do the Mustang wheels have a large enough center hole to clear the hub snout and rear axle registers (3.063")? I'd be surprised if they did. Sure seems like a lot of work for a set of wheels. You could run wheel adapters if you've got the room to push the Mustang wheels out by an inch or so. Could solve the center bore size issue if it is indeed an issue.

Tobin
KORE3

[modular93fox]

you might end up ripping the lug nuts through the wheels if the wheels aren't up to it, but that will probably depend on how you use your truck. Tobin
KORE3

Im not sure what you mean by ripping up the lug nuts.. As far as the axle register, I measured them a while back and it was right at 3". When I measured it I used a digital caliper.

Thanks Tobin

[Apogee]

What I meant is that you can fail a wheel center if you overload it for it's given wheel pattern. Pulling lug nuts through the wheel center tends to be a fairly catastrophic failure, but again, it depends on how you intend to use your truck.

So you've measured your axle registers...have you measured the center bores on the wheels to see if they'll match up?

Tobin
KORE3