Everybody seems to have an opinion, and here's mine...a wheel stud is intended to be in pure tension, not tension plus bending per basic fastener theory and best practices. By running a 5x120mm wheel on a 5x4.75 hub, or vice versa, you have a .012" [.3mm] difference in absolute position of the lug nut seat versus the wheel stud. The end result is a wheel stud with about 20-25% higher internal stress when torqued to the same level as a stud in pure tension, which equates to a 20-25% loss in factor of safety. If you're okay with this, as many are, then go for it, but to say that the two different patterns are the same thing and interchangeable is not accurate. Just because the consequently higher wheel stud stresses may not lead to failure in many instances, that still doesn't make it right.
Just my $.02,
Tobin
KORE3
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