Can I swap wheels on two GEO Prizms?

October 11, 2005 12:21 PM

Is it OK to put wheels from a 1993 Geo Prizm on a 1994 Geo Prizm?

This may be a stupid question, but I'm asking it despite (and/or because of) my extremely limited knowledge of "car talk." I have had a 1994 Geo Prizm for six years, and it's been wonderful. Earlier this year, my husband bought a 1993 Geo Prizm, and even after he bought new tires, brakes, etc., for it, it turned out to be . . . not worth his while. He has been unable to resell it and had hoped to recoup at least some of the loss by putting the new tires on my Prizm; however, we discovered that, despite only a year's difference in model, the tire sizes weren't congruent. He's now thinking that he could just swap the wheels; both sets are held on with four bolts, but his, with tires, are slightly shorter than mine (I'd say about 1"). Does this make a difference? Would it be unsafe in any way?

I'd contact a GEO dealership, but of course they don't exist anymore. I'm reluctant to talk to a mechanic because I don't want us to have to get charged for this; the whole point was for my husband to do it himself and actually save us money instead of spending even more.

posted by dlugoczaj to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

Are the wheels actually different sizes, or just the tires? I would guess that his new set of tires is just slightly lower profile than stock, but that the wheels themselves are all but identical.

I would guess that it won't cause any problem to use the newer wheels, apart from a slightly miscalibrated speedometer due to smaller tire size. Go ahead and slap them on and see if you can spin them freely while they're up in the air. If so, go for a test drive. If you experience any scraping, grinding or rasping noises, yank them off. Otherwise, enjoy!
posted by saladin at 12:36 PM on October 11, 2005

There's a physical measurement known as the 'bolt circle' which should match on both cars before you think about swapping wheels.

The bolt circle IIRC is the diameter of the imaginary circle that passes through the centers of all of the wheel studs.
posted by Wild_Eep at 12:59 PM on October 11, 2005

The tire height may not be a big deal; the same size from different brands can differ by a surprisingly large amount. The other two parameters you want to check are the rim width and offset, both of which can affect handling and clearance; more info on wheel fitment here. It may be easiest to look for the rim dimensions for both years in the owners manual or on the internet and see what if anything changed in that one year.
posted by TedW at 1:04 PM on October 11, 2005

The wheel size is included in the tire-size label on the side of the tire. If the new tires say, for instance, 165/75R 13, and the old ones say 165/75R14, then the wheels are different sizes. They will probably still fit on the car, because it's not likely the bolt circle changed. (And Mr. Eep is correct in all he says.)

Different sized wheels (that still bolt on) would only be a concern if they changed the steering geometry of the car, by making it much taller or shorter. A one-inch change in tire diameter only changes the car height by one-half inch, though, so I wouldn't worry. The diameter change also changes the circumference, which would affect the accuracy of the speedometer and odometer, but you can figure out how much, and allow for it.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 1:20 PM on October 11, 2005

If tirerack.com is accurate, both 1993 and 1994 Prizm wheels take 4 bolts in a 100mm diameter, so that's compatible. Tirerack recommends wheels with about a +40mm offset for both years, so it's likely they are completely compatible.
posted by I Love Tacos at 1:34 PM on October 11, 2005

Junk yards - oh, excuse me, salvage yards - have databases that tell them which parts are compatible with which cars.
posted by Clay201 at 4:23 PM on October 11, 2005