[Tomko]

Diesel Brethren:

For the past week I have been working diligently with my truly excellent parts man to find a steel GM wheel for our Diesel models.

First let me begin by explaining the factory wheel that all North American diesels wear. The wheel is a 17x7", 5x115mm bolt pattern with a 41mm positive offset.

I could find only three 17", 5x115, steel wheels in GM's vast repertoire. I measured and test fit them as follows:

9595657 17x6.5 5x115 52mm offset Uplander - Does not clear Diesel calliper.

9596578 17x6.5 5x115 46mm offset Impala - Does not clear Diesel calliper.

9598749 17x7.5 5x115 53mm offset Impala - Clears the Diesel calliper by 5mm but spins closer to the strut than stock. When combined with the .5" greater width and 12mm more offset the wheel is 18mm closer to the inside of the vehicle than stock.

So as you can see there is only one 17" wheel that could work. However with a rubber tire mounted the chance of interference is magnified by the 18mm greater intrusion into the wheel well. As a result I did not mount a tire to the wheel to test further.

This meant that I had to expand my search to 16" steel wheels that could work. Again, an in depth search of GM's substantial history of steel wheels resulted in only five wheels turning up with the requisite 5x115 bolt pattern. They are: 9595551 16x6.5 Impala; 9595560 16x6.5 Impala; 9595642 16x6.5 Aztek; 9595647 16x6.5 Impala Police; 13259235 16x6.5 Orlando.

As Orlando is a P car relative of Cruze I decided to focus on 13259235. It measured 41mm offset, identical to that of our factory wheel, and when mounted it had better brake calliper and wheel well clearance than 9598749.

So for anyone looking for OEM steel wheels to fit their Cruze Diesel the part number you want is 13259235.

When combined with a 215/60R16 winter or snow tire the rotational difference is only 0.58% from the stock 215/55R17.

I want to thank my long-time parts man, Chris at Tubman Chevrolet, who's ongoing patience and support were vital to the completion of this project.

 

[bigluke]

Nice...only thing I don't understand is how the 17's didn't clear the calipers and the 16's do?...Before you buy them I would try them if they fit as described.

 

[Tomko]

Nice...only thing I don't understand is how the 17's didn't clear the calipers and the 16's do?...Before you buy them I would try them if they fit as described.

The 17s were one inch wider and 12mm more offset so they were pushed 18mm more inboard.

I fit a 16" Orlando rim to the front of my Diesel today and it cleared everything beautifully. It's 0.5" narrower and 1.0" less in diameter than stock, but the same offset.

 

[bigluke]

Ok nice job

 

[bigluke]

Your tpms warning will be on all the time...unless you buy some sensors for your rims.

 

[boraz]

earlier thread on here said 45 offset for the diesel rim?

what up with that?

 

[boraz]

hakka 7's come in 215/60r16....sweet

was planning on getting stock size and using the stock wheels....ive always had oem alloys for winter as well

never used steel....how long do/would they last?

thanks for the effort here, was hoping someone would do it....

 

[Tomko]

earlier thread on here said 45 offset for the diesel rim?

what up with that?

In total I measured nine wheels this week, taking several samples of each, so I gained a lot of experience measuring for offset, etc.

When I pulled my Diesel wheel it measured out at 41 for me.

 

[Tomko]

hakka 7's come in 215/60r16....sweet

was planning on getting stock size and using the stock wheels....ive always had oem alloys for winter as well

never used steel....how long do/would they last?

thanks for the effort here, was hoping someone would do it....

My Father ran dedicated OEM alloys for snow tires on his Cadillac for 10+ years. Everything worked great until the one year he didn't clean them up after winter. From then on he was battling rim leaks non stop.

I've run dedicated GM steel wheels for snow tires since 1990. I've never had a rim leak or other failure. After a decade or so the wheels start to look crappy - but the same is true of alloys.

If you're anywhere they use salt I'd go with steel.

The Hakka 7s are nice - but the Hakka 8s are da bomb!

 

[boraz]

My Father ran OEM alloys on his Cadillac for 10+ years. Everything worked great until the one year he didn't clean them up after winter. From then on he was battling rim leaks non stop.

I ran GM steel wheels since 1990. I've never had a rim leak or other failure. After a decade or so the wheels start to look crappy - but the same is true of alloys.

If you're anywhere they use salt I'd go with steel.

10-4

any idea on the weights of the steel wheels....theyre heavier arent they?

sure we're gonna lose mpg automatically in the cold, snow, winter tires, etc...but wheel weight is important too

 

[Tomko]

10-4

any idea on the weights of the steel wheels....theyre heavier arent they?

sure we're gonna lose mpg automatically in the cold, snow, winter tires, etc...but wheel weight is important too

I didn't weigh the wheel but probably will compare the factory wheel/tire combo to my winter set-up.

 

[bigluke]

Last year I bend 2 steel wheels on potholes, year before 1 more, steel wheels lose quality over the years...I remember like 10 years ago had some steels and they were very solid tank grade, now they're made with recycled metals and they bend just if you looking at them to long. But if you drive carefully they'll last at least two winters before getting shaky steering. On all my other cars I kept the oem's in snow and salt and never had any trouble but you have to take the salt out once a week.

 

[Tomko]

The wheels I tested are all GM OEM product.

They are likely built to a higher quality than that sold by Costco, Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, etc.

FWIW I checked the Costco wheel compendium and they do not list any wheel for our Diesel model.

 

[bigluke]

The wheels I tested are all GM OEM product.

They are likely built to a higher quality than that sold by Costco, Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, etc.

FWIW I checked the Costco wheel compendium and they do not list any wheel for our Diesel model.

Well I wish you good luck, all my steels were oem's, honda, toyota and gm and they all bent...but the roads here are just awfully deteriorated...hope it's not your case... I'll wish you good winter driving by the way!

 

[Scott M.]

Thanks for posting this info. Thats what these forums are great for.

 

[Aussie]

The spare wheel in my Diesel is a 6.5 X 16 steel wheel but the rolling diameter is the same as my 17 X 7 alloys. The stud pattern is 5 X 115 as the US diesel. It has a sticker saying max speed 80kph (50mph) so that must be because the wheel doesn't match the rest for grip. I plan onlooking for another matching alloy to replace it with, but no hurry as at least I can get home with this one.

 

[Blue Angel]

Tomko, nice info and great work! When looking at the different wheel options did you check the hub bore diameter? That's important to keep things vibration-free if you don't want to get into hub centering rings.

Is it Tubman Chev in Ottawa?

 

[Tomko]

Yes, and yes.


Sent from AutoGuide.com App

 

[PanJet]

Curious what you had to pay for those steelies, if you don't mind me asking.

Also, do you know if the 2LT 17" rims will fit a diesel? Is there a difference on the diesel?

 

[boraz]

Curious what you had to pay for those steelies, if you don't mind me asking.

Also, do you know if the 2LT 17" rims will fit a diesel? Is there a difference on the diesel?

diesel wheels have different bolt pattern than all the other cruzes