The better you know your vehicle, the more equipped you’ll be to take care of it. With proper maintenance, the Ram 1500 might last you hundreds of thousands of miles, but your wheels are going to put a lot of work in. You need to know what you’re dealing with.
What’s the 2020 Ram 1500 lug pattern?
The 2020 Ram 1500 uses a 6×5.5 pattern. The first number refers to the number of bolts and the diameter measurement across from bolt to bolt, So, for the Ram 1500, there are 6 bolts, each five and a half inches apart.
Now, if you’re not familiar with lug patterns, you likely still have a few unanswered questions. This is never a good practice, especially when buying a vehicle. Thankfully, by the end of this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the Ram 1500 lug pattern.
Lug Patterns Explained
The lug pattern works like this: The first number refers to the number of bolts. So, for a 6×5.5, that’s six bolts. The second number refers to the diameter measurement across from bolt to bolt, so five and a half inches.
Some wheels are labeled in millimeters rather than inches. This means that you might order a 6×5.5 and get a 6×139.7. It’s the same wheel, they just label it differently. It’s like going to Canada and having to measure your trip in km instead of mi.
Generally, the more torque you’re putting on the wheels, the bigger the diameter will have to be, and the more bolts you’re going to need. But that’s not necessarily the reason why a car or truck might have a 6×5.5. More on that below.
Note that not all 6×5.5s are interchangeable. You also need to make sure that the wheels have the same hub size.
Why 6×5.5?
For years, the 5×5.5 has been the Ram 1500’s signature wheel. Older Fords used 5×5.5s, as do some Kias and Suzukis, but the vast majority of these wheels were going on 1500s. In 2019, Dodge switched to the 6×5.5 configuration.
The thing is, not every 1500 is going to require a six-bolt pattern. With a standard-issue engine, 5×5.5 should be more than enough stability for a 1500 that you use for light towing duty. So why equip these trucks with the same wheels?
It comes down to compatibility. The 5×5.5 has become less common on newer vehicles, and you don’t want to go into the shop and find out that you need to wait two weeks for your replacement wheel because they only make these for Ram 1500s now.
The 6×5.5 is a common wheel size that can keep up with even the toughest 1500, and it makes more sense to over-equip the low-end 1500s than under-equip the high-end 1500s.
In short, it’s cheaper for you, and cheaper for the manufacturer, to go with a common lug pattern and to make the bigger pattern the standard size.
Photos: Stellantis
