5 lugs

[Pete Jensen]

Why does Ram 1500’s have 5 lugs and everybody else has 6?

 

[392DevilDog]

5TH Gen has 6 lugs.

 

[BOWERSFJ]

Do you feel cheated ? Would you feel safer with 6 ?


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[crazykid1994]

Other trucks used to be 5 lug as well. The new rams are 6 lug. I’m not really sure there is much of a difference as the tow capacity and cargo are the same between both generations of ram. My ford work van is a 5 lug with a cargo capacity of over 4000lbs

 

[RVGuy]

If I remember correctly the wheel studs on the Ram 1500s are larger than the studs on the other half tons. It's a light duty axle, it's not about the number of lugs it's about what the hub/axle is rated for as a whole.
I work on trailer axles all the time and I've seen quite a few where the axles with 6 lugs are rated for higher than the ones with 8 because it comes down to more than just what's holding the wheel on.

 

[billyw]

Don't remember where, but I read that the upgrade to the 6 lug axles increased braking performance, which in turn enhanced payload, towing, etc. The 6 lug axle ratings are only a couple hundred pounds higher. Not enough to drive me to a newer truck just yet.

 

[madtrucker2016]

Why does Ram 1500’s have 5 lugs and everybody else has 6?

So it sets the 5th Gen apart from the 4th Gen and you cant use those parts . Example Rims ,Rotors , maybe even calipers too.

 

[kurek]

If you want a super nerdy answer, in the past vehicles would commonly have uneven numbers of spokes and lugs on their wheels because when you use a cast wheel you gain some strength advantages by not having stressed members directly across from each other. In other words a conventionally cast 5 spoke wheel will be more durable than an otherwise equivalent 6 spoke wheel. Incidentally this also is why you would see curved or canted spokes frequently on antique pulleys and cart wheels that were made of cast iron despite being heavier and requiring more material (bad things) this allows the main stresses to be distributed at tangents to the joint so they wouldn't be directly in line with the opposite side.

To make that more clear if you build a six spoke wheel it has to be constructed such each set of three opposed spokes is independently strong enough for the application, which might result in a wheel that is heavier than it would have been with five (or three) spokes at the same capacity.

Since the mechanical connection between the wheel and hub is friction, it's only clamping force being supplied by the lugs and there's just not really a compelling engineering reason for a five spoke wheel to have six lugs - there are cosmetic reasons to have the number of spokes match the number of lugs and perhaps some small efficiencies in assembly to have the fewest number of parts that will do the job properly.

 

[Pete Jensen]

I guess you guy’s cleared that up.
Thanks

 

[Wahrsuul]

My old 2001 Dakota had 6 lugs, and a much lower payload/tow rating.

 

[Jerrybob]

My 1888 stagecoach only has one nut holding on the wheel.....if you back her up....the nut comes loose and the wheel can fall off.

 

[kurek]

Are they threaded backward on one side, like the lugs on a 60s Chrysler?

 

[JayLeonard]

I had 8 on my 91 D250. What a PIA when rotating tires.

 

[Jerrybob]

Are they threaded backward on one side, like the lugs on a 60s Chrysler?

Don't know about the Chrysler but on old horse drawn vehicles....the axles had directional threads.... the axle was threaded with corresponding threads left on the left, right on the right. The principle is that when the carriage is traveling forward the rotation of the wheels bears a tightening force on the nut.