What is a Wheel PCD and How to Measure

What is a Wheel PCD and How to Measure

PCD is short for 'pitch circle diameter'. This is the label given to the particular circular bolt pattern used to hold the wheels onto your vehicle. The most common PCDs you'll find on UTVs and ATVs are 4, 5, or 6 studs, arranged evenly in a circular pattern.
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PCD stands for pitch circle diameter, which is the diameter of an imaginary circle that passes through the center of each bolt hole on a wheel. PCD is a key measurement for the bolt pattern of a wheel, which is the circular arrangement of the screw holes for the wheel's bolts.

When choosing new UTV wheels for a vehicle, it's important to make sure they have the same PCD and stud pattern as the original wheels. The PCD is often indicated along with the number of bolts; for example, "5 x 100" means the wheel has five bolts and the PCD is 100 mm.


Here are some tips for finding and measuring the PCD of a wheel:

FIND THE PCD

  • On all Valor Offroad wheels, the PCD is stamped on the backside of the wheel (on the mounting pad). On OEM wheels, the PCD is written in the owner's manual or can be found online by searching for the vehicle's year, make, and model.

MEASURE THE PCD

  • To measure the PCD of a wheel with an even number of lugs, measure from the center of one lug to the center of the opposite lug. For an odd number of lugs, measure from the center of one lug to the outer edge of the opposite lug (See image above). 

CALCULATE THE PCD

  • The PCD for a 4-stud wheel can be calculated by dividing the stud distance by 0.7071. For a 5-stud wheel, divide the stud distance by 0.5878, and for a 6-stud wheel, divide by 0.5.

Not sure what your PCD (Bolt-Pattern) is? Check out our UTV Fitment Guide here.

Are you interested in measuring backspacing vs. offset? This The Source blog post provides an easy explanation.

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