4 lug vs 5 lug?

[89hatchman]

I'm at a point where I need to make a decision whether to keep the 4 lug or upgrade to a 5 lug.

I need to get some extra rims for drifting and don't want to buy a set if i'm just going to find out I want to upgrade to 5 lug later on.

So what are the advantages of 5 lug other than the expanded rim selection? Is it worth it?

[jessegrover]

If you go ahead and just get z32 brakes its a huge brake upgrade and 5 lug.

[zerodameaon]

The advantages are you searching or posting this in the small questions and answers thread already created.

[89hatchman]

If you go ahead and just get z32 brakes its a huge brake upgrade and 5 lug.

They're just a straight bolt on right? Minimal mods? One problem is though that the junkyards hardly ever have them and people who are selling charge out the ass for the conversion.

[TwelveAM]

I don't think it really is worth it. I just did it because I had them laying around from my s14.

You can get z32 brakes and still be 4 lug.

[89hatchman]

I don't think it really is worth it. I just did it because I had them laying around from my s14.

You can get z32 brakes and still be 4 lug.

So I can get decent rims and offset in a 4 lug pattern without too much problem?

[EvilRB]

I think it just comes down to size of rims you want to run, if you want to run smaller set ups then stay 4 lug but for bigger sizes, 5 lug is easier.

[Petitt]

You spend money on the conversion, and you can save money on wheels later. Mustang reps always fit good and they go for less than 600. Also, Q45 brakes are a cheaper, just as good alternative to overpriced Z brakes. direct bolt up, just have to drill out your front spindle to mount them up.

I went 5 lug with Q brakes, aftermarket front hubs, and z hubs in the rear, for around 400.

[MrSanchez925]

I have a front pair of z brakes for sale of you're interested :)

[wangan_cruiser]

i got mine and friends 5 lug conversion under $400 :P

[kevinzhou]

poor vs not as poor

[Mikester]

http://www.zeroyon.com/public/style_emoticons/default/bdh.gif

[DJ-of-E]

Like everyone else says, 4 lugs if you want to go 16" or smaller. 5 lugs if you want to go 17" or larger. It's even about "strength or advantage," more of options and availability of rims in the market.

If you're upgrading power (let's say 260HP+ for example), you would want a bigger contact patch. You could get away with 4 lugs with 17" rims,but you'll notice not a lot would make them wider than 8.5" and the offset available sucks you would need to get 20mm spacers to do negative camber clearance to your coilovers/fenders/etc. I usually am not a fan of spacers due to rips and mishaps on auto-X, but to each their own.

[Rustys14]

Like most have said, it all comes down to what wheels you want to run. There are alot of good options for 4 lug in the 15-16" range but if you want 17s with a decent offset and width you're pretty much limited to the standard Square, XXR, Rota and Varstoen offerings that every cheap ass (me included) runs. Keep in mind that if you ever plan to run "baller wheels" most of them will be 5 lug

[ixfxi]

lug pattern means nothing

the people talking here are idiots. 17"+ for 5 lug, 16" or less for 4 lug - thats bullshit

its a lug pattern. there are plenty of OEM wheels (fd3s, r32) etc... that are 5x114.3 and 16"

the basic concept is this: 4 lug sucks, 5 lug rocks. why? because 5 lug opens you up to real wheels, with real width, and real offsets, and real brakes.

4 lug is great though, especially since most guys are ex-honda tuners. you can take your accord wheels.... Mugen 18x6 +50 and bolt them right up

jokes aside, visit www.vrwheels.com and you can see how much greater the selection is for 5 lug than there is for 4 lug. thats just one example

[Rustys14]

lug pattern means nothing

the people talking here are idiots. 17"+ for 5 lug, 16" or less for 4 lug - thats bullshit

its a lug pattern. there are plenty of OEM wheels (fd3s, r32) etc... that are 5x114.3 and 16"



I agree with you except for this. When it comes to wheel options there are a lot more good offerings for 4 lug in the 15-16" range then 5 lug. A lot of the classic wheels from work, ssr, advan, etc. are 4x114.3 and come in good widths and offsets. These are great if you want a classic look and don't mind buying used. The OEM wheels that you listed aren't very good examples because well, they are OEM. If I remember right fd rx7 wheels are 16x8 +50 which is not a great offset for our cars and the R32 wheels (as much as I like them) aren't much better at +30. I doubt the OP is looking at stock wheels anyway though. Not trying to start an argument, just my :2c:

[!Zar!]

Doesn't matter.

OP will probably buy XXR's or something anyways, and they have a wide range of 4 lug wheels.

So no need to upgrade.

The cheap can be cheaper.

[ghoti]

Mugen 18x6 +50

http://gifsforum.com/images/gif/lol/grand/freaky_lol_gif.gif

That whole wheel size argument is old and outdated. There are plenty of options for both including brake options; Z32, Q45 , J30, Altima can be used 4lug and 5lug. But like some people have stated why go 5lug if you're going to buy fake wheels.

4lug= Peasant:drama:

[Wanabe]

4 lug thug! I waited forever to go 5 lug. It was totally worth it, and you will totally regret not doing it when you had the chance.

[racepar1]

This is stupid...

The ONLY advantage to going 5-lug is wheel selection. There are more QUALITY wheels available for a more AFFORDABLE price in a 5x114.3 bolt pattern. If you're going to buy XXR's there is absolutely no point. YES, more old-school type wheels are out there for 4-lug, but that's it.

ALL brakes that are for 5-lug will work PERFECTLY on a 4-lug setup by simply re-drilling the rotors. That's not even a concern at all.

As far as strength goes, 4-bolts is plenty for almost ANY power/torque level. You're not going to break off your wheel studs because there are 4 of them instead of 5. That is also not a concern.

[jessegrover]

Well by now, I think your questions are answered, and multiple opinions have been posted, as well as alot of facts, if it comes down to money, and you think a z32 brake swap is expensive or q45 brakes are too expensive, you may want to stay where you are on the 4 lugger.

Also stated, 5x114.3 is a really common lug pattern, shared by nissan, ford, mitsubishi, subaru, newer honda's, there are plenty of options out there.

If it comes down to it, and you got to spend the money, your probably going to have an easier time finding wheels that have been used, or other oem wheels from other cars if you just bite the bullet on a brake swap.

Though if they offer the wheels in the size and offset you want for 4 lug, then you mine as well stay there.

You gotta pay to play man, simple as that.

[ixfxi]

I agree with you except for this. When it comes to wheel options there are a lot more good offerings for 4 lug in the 15-16" range then 5 lug. A lot of the classic wheels from work, ssr, advan, etc. are 4x114.3 and come in good widths and offsets. These are great if you want a classic look and don't mind buying used. The OEM wheels that you listed aren't very good examples because well, they are OEM. If I remember right fd rx7 wheels are 16x8 +50 which is not a great offset for our cars and the R32 wheels (as much as I like them) aren't much better at +30. I doubt the OP is looking at stock wheels anyway though. Not trying to start an argument, just my :2c:

offset means nothing when it comes to picking a good wheel..

extended wheel studs should be standard, this way you can pickup some *machined* (not bullshit cast) wheel spacers. the FD wheels only weight 14 lbs and are very high quality. so whats the big deal, you run a 20mm spacer. find me a set of wheels in the $200-300 price range that can compare with OEM 14lb goodness.

the r32 wheels are 16x8 +30 or so. how low an offset do you really need for a stock body car? too many fruitcakes nowadays are concerned with being hella-fruitty as opposed to running a quality fucking wheel. simply put, you cannot go wrong with OEM.. especially if they are FORGED.

stupid fucks.


The ONLY advantage to going 5-lug is wheel selection. There are more QUALITY wheels available for a more AFFORDABLE price in a 5x114.3 bolt pattern. If you're going to buy XXR's there is absolutely no point. YES, more old-school type wheels are out there for 4-lug, but that's it.

ALL brakes that are for 5-lug will work PERFECTLY on a 4-lug setup by simply re-drilling the rotors. That's not even a concern at all.

IMO, the Z32 brake system (front, rear, BMC), is the absolute minimum to an entry-level brake system for the 240. sure, you can re-drill your rotors.. but in the end, you need traction otherwise you're going to be locking up brakes like the rest of the idiots I've known over the years that have gotten into collisions due to lack of traction.

i think we're agreeing, but anyway...

[KiLLeR2001]

I'd only stay 4 lug if you find the perfect wheels and want to keep the old school feel to your vehicle. 9 times out of 10 the wheels you want will be 5 lug. In my case, with my two-tone I was looking for Volk GT-C's Face 2 in 17 inch and in gold. I was already dead set on buying the 5 lug swap in order to get these wheels. But then I got lucky and I stumbled upon a set of 4 luggers with the exact specifications I was looking for.

http://tehl33tsite.com/240sxdd/2tone240/shoot/IMG_3091b.jpg

First you need to determine exactly what you want. Most of the time there might not be a 4 lug option available. So research!

[ixfxi]

thats a nice pulsar nx, killer.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/1986_Nissan_Pulsar_NX.JPG

[Rustys14]

offset means nothing when it comes to picking a good wheel..

extended wheel studs should be standard, this way you can pickup some *machined* (not bullshit cast) wheel spacers. the FD wheels only weight 14 lbs and are very high quality. so whats the big deal, you run a 20mm spacer. find me a set of wheels in the $200-300 price range that can compare with OEM 14lb goodness.

the r32 wheels are 16x8 +30 or so. how low an offset do you really need for a stock body car? too many fruitcakes nowadays are concerned with being hella-fruitty as opposed to running a quality fucking wheel. simply put, you cannot go wrong with OEM.. especially if they are FORGED.

stupid fucks.


But why run spacers when you could just buy wheels that actually fit your car in the first place? I don't think anybody is trying to be hellaflush on 15-16" wheels anyway so that argument is stupid. Once you factor in the cost of good quality spacers and the fd wheels you could buy another set of quality forged wheels that actually fit for a bit more. I had to run run 5mm slips and extended studs up front to clear my coilovers with enough room to feel comfortable when I had r32 wheels so offset does actually come into play.

[ixfxi]

why, are the only people that are hellafoolish running 20" and larger? look at the miata community (a bunch of fruitcakes, btw) - and you'll see plenty of people running aggressive wheels that are 16" or less - so you sir, are fucking wrong...

with that said, spacers are an essential to anyones toolbox. i've had fred goeske's shop (plug: wheeladapter.com) fab up lots of spacers over the last decade. no matter how much time you spend researching, having that perfect wheel AND tire setup is a very big challenge and you'll probably never get it right. this is why you need extended studs and a variety of spacers... so that you can continually work on tweaking it right

and with point #2, you are fucking wrong again... because regardless if we're talking about super light FD wheels or R32 GTR FORGED wheels... you sir, will have a very fucking hard time finding me a good wheel within that price range. in fact, you cannot. go buy an enkei RPF1.. which is a decent cast wheel, its not the fucking same as an OEM wheel, let alone a forged one.


its just not the fucking same

ps: and arent the r32 gtr wheels magnesium? seriously, you cant even buy ONE magnesium wheel for that price.

[racepar1]

why, are the only people that are hellafoolish running 20" and larger? look at the miata community (a bunch of fruitcakes, btw) - and you'll see plenty of people running aggressive wheels that are 16" or less - so you sir, are fucking wrong...

with that said, spacers are an essential to anyones toolbox. i've had fred goeske's shop (plug: wheeladapter.com) fab up lots of spacers over the last decade. no matter how much time you spend researching, having that perfect wheel AND tire setup is a very big challenge and you'll probably never get it right. this is why you need extended studs and a variety of spacers... so that you can continually work on tweaking it right

and with point #2, you are fucking wrong again... because regardless if we're talking about super light FD wheels or R32 GTR FORGED wheels... you sir, will have a very fucking hard time finding me a good wheel within that price range. in fact, you cannot. go buy an enkei RPF1.. which is a decent cast wheel, its not the fucking same as an OEM wheel, let alone a forged one.


its just not the fucking same

ps: and arent the r32 gtr wheels magnesium? seriously, you cant even buy ONE magnesium wheel for that price.

R32 GTR wheels are forged aluminum, not magnesium. And they're still pretty heavy. To the best of my knowledge RPF1's are also forged, not cast.

Other than that, I'm with you man. Spacers are good to have, just not 300mm bolt-on non hub-centric ones.

AND I'm rocking some 16" Work RS-beta's (3-piece ones). I guess I'm not as cool as the kids running 17x9.735978837482378237" xxr's...

...now I'm sad...

[simmode1]

Doesn't matter.

OP will probably buy XXR's or something anyways, and they have a wide range of 4 lug wheels.

So no need to upgrade.

The cheap can be cheaper.
Precisely what I was thinking. There's a healthy selection of wheels for both lug patterns these days. But I will say that 18's definitely still favor 5x114.3.

[Rustys14]

why, are the only people that are hellafoolish running 20" and larger? look at the miata community (a bunch of fruitcakes, btw) - and you'll see plenty of people running aggressive wheels that are 16" or less - so you sir, are fucking wrong...

and with point #2, you are fucking wrong again... because regardless if we're talking about super light FD wheels or R32 GTR FORGED wheels... you sir, will have a very fucking hard time finding me a good wheel within that price range. in fact, you cannot. go buy an enkei RPF1.. which is a decent cast wheel, its not the fucking same as an OEM wheel, let alone a forged one.


its just not the fucking same

ps: and arent the r32 gtr wheels magnesium? seriously, you cant even buy ONE magnesium wheel for that price.

:picardfp: Too bad this is a Nissan forum and not club roadster. Miatas don't even share the same lug pattern (what this thread is about) as 240s so excuse me from excluding them from this discussion. That whole argument was just plain stupid, I am talking specifically about 240s not other cars.

For your second point, you can find you can find some quality used wheels that are every bit as good as fd or gtr wheels for around $1000 that offer better or similar sizing if you are willing to shop around. Fd wheels are still pretty cheap but the gtr wheels are quickly approaching that price point. I'm not saying that fd or gtr wheels aren't nice but why not just save an extra paycheck and get something that fits better and is of similar quality? You talk as if fd and gtr wheels are the only options out there.

I agree that spacers are essential tools to have but at what point do they become excessive? The average person shouldn't have to run a 20mm+ spacer to fit their wheels and at that point doesn't it make since to just buy better fitting wheels?

Off topic but to answer your question, I actually think that the r32 wheels are forged magnesium but they are pretty heavy for a magnesium wheel at 16 pounds (still pretty light in terms of regular wheels) because they were built to stand up to road use.

Anyway, I'm sure the OP doesn't check this anymore and probably just went out and bought some xxr's so while this whole discussion is fun, its probably pointless.

[mantas]

This is stupid...

The ONLY advantage to going 5-lug is wheel selection. There are more QUALITY wheels available for a more AFFORDABLE price in a 5x114.3 bolt pattern. If you're going to buy XXR's there is absolutely no point. YES, more old-school type wheels are out there for 4-lug, but that's it.

ALL brakes that are for 5-lug will work PERFECTLY on a 4-lug setup by simply re-drilling the rotors. That's not even a concern at all.

As far as strength goes, 4-bolts is plenty for almost ANY power/torque level. You're not going to break off your wheel studs because there are 4 of them instead of 5. That is also not a concern.

This right here, ends this thread. No more info needed. I run xxr with 4 lug because i got them with the car and like the look, and i just drilled out my z32 rotors to fit 4 lugs. A good machine shop will do it for about $80. If you want a wheel thats not made in 4 lug, then do the conversion. Otherwise, each wheel stud can hold about 1000 lbs, so any power level will be fine with 4lug.

[KiLLeR2001]

All R32-R34 GTR wheels are forged magnesium. The non-GTR models do not have this luxury.

[ixfxi]

All R32-R34 GTR wheels are forged magnesium. The non-GTR models do not have this luxury.

R32 GTR wheels are forged aluminum, not magnesium.

I figured they were ALUM. I cant think of an OEM application that comes with Magnesium wheels, so I figure that was mis-information on the various forums. The R33 wheels I own are not necessarily light, but who cares - thats not the point. Its a strong, nice looking forged OEM wheel.


:picardfp: Too bad this is a Nissan forum and not club roadster. Miatas don't even share the same lug pattern (what this thread is about) as 240s so excuse me from excluding them from this discussion.

...