The Chevy Silverado, one of the most popular pickup trucks manufactured by Chevrolet, was actually offered in several variants, with each generation introduced ever since 1999.
While the lug pattern (also called bolt pattern) can differ among the variants, we’re going to focus solely on the Silverado 1500 variant for this article.
Thankfully, there’s only one lug pattern that every single Silverado 1500 uses, which makes it very easy to remember no matter which generation you have.
What is the lug pattern of a Chevy Silverado 1500?
Every Chevy Silverado 1500 produced from 1999 until the present model (2022) has a 6×5.5-inch (6×139.7mm) lug pattern.
That means it uses 6 lugs that form an imaginary circle with a diameter of 5.5 inches or 139.7 millimeters.
But we’re not stopping there. When it comes to fitting wheels properly on your Chevy Silverado, you need to know more than just its lug pattern.
Knowing the center bore, torque specification, type of wheel fastener, and thread size are of equal importance. These factors will be referred to as “lug specifications” altogether.
Even the factory tire and rim sizes for each Silverado 1500 generation also need to be taken into consideration. We’ll be collectively referring to these two factors as “wheel specifications”.
With that said, we’ve laid out all of these specifications below so you can gauge whether or not those shiny rims you’ve seen online would even fit your Silverado.
Wheel and Lug Specifications for Every Chevy Silverado 1500 Generation
To start off, every generation of the Silverado 1500 has the same set of lug specifications.
Center Bore Diameter: 78.1mm
Wheel Fastener: Lug Nuts (6)
Thread Size: M14x1.5
Torque Spec: 140.1lb-ft (190Nm)
The wheel specification, however, will depend on the trim level offered for each generation.
There are 4 different generations of the Silverado 1500, and each one’s trim levels are listed below along with the corresponding tire and rim size.
Take note that when looking at trim levels, manufacturers usually list them by the engine that they have.
4th Generation (2019 – Present)
The 4th and current generation of the Silverado 1500 has 5 different trim levels, and each one, excluding the top-of-the-line 6.2-liter V8, uses the same set of wheel specifications.
| Trim Level | Tire Size | Rim Size |
| 2.7L Turbo3.0L Turbo Diesel4.3L V65.3L V8 | 255/70R17265/70R17 | 8Jx17 ET24 |
| 265/65R18 | 8.5Jx18 ET26 | |
| 6.2L V8 | 275/60/R20 | 9Jx20 ET28 |
3rd Generation (2014 – 2018)
The 3rd-generation Silverado 1500 had fewer trim levels but offered slightly more options in wheel specifications.
Both the 4.3 and 5.3-liter options received the same wheel specifications, while the 6.2-liter one didn’t use the 255-millimeter tires and 17-inch rims from the other two.
| Trim Level | Tire Size | Rim Size |
4.3L V65.3L V8 | 255/70R17265/70R17 | 8Jx17 ET24 |
| 265/65R18 | 8.5Jx18 ET24 | |
| 275/55R20 | 9Jx20 ET27 | |
| 285/45R22 | 9Jx22 ET24 | |
6.2L V8 | 265/65R18 | 8.5Jx18 ET24 |
| 275/55R20 | 9Jx20 ET27 | |
| 285/45R22 | 9Jx22 ET24 |
2nd Generation (2007 – 2013)
The 2nd-generation Silverado 1500 can be split into two separate production years.
Despite the two having the same set of trim levels, there are still some differences in how they pair up such trim levels with their wheel specifications.
2010 – 2013
| Trim Level | Tire Size | Rim Size |
4.3L V66.2L V8 | 245/70R17265/70R17 | 7.5Jx17 ET31 |
| 265/65R18 | 8Jx18 ET31 | |
| 275/55R20 | 8.5Jx20 ET31 | |
4.8L V85.3L V8 | 245/70R17265/70R17 | 7.5Jx17 ET31 |
| 275/55R20 | 8.5Jx20 ET31 | |
| 6.0L V8 | 265/65R18 | 8Jx18 ET31 |
2007 – 2009
| Trim Level | Tire Size | Rim Size |
4.3L V65.3L V86.0L V86.2L V8 (2009) | 245/70R17265/70R17 | 7.5Jx17 ET31 |
| 265/65R18 | 8Jx18 ET31 | |
| 275/55R20 | 8.5Jx20 ET31 | |
4.8L | 245/70R17265/70R17 | 7.5Jx17 ET31 |
| 275/55R20 | 8.5Jx20 ET31 |
1st Generation (1999 – 2006)
The wheel specifications of the 1st-generation Silverado 1500 can be categorized into whether it’s for a facelift or pre-facelift model year.
As seen below, the facelift models included two additional “hybrid” trim levels with their own separate wheel specifications.
For the pre-facelift models, every trim level, excluding the 6.0L V8 from 2003, uses the same 7Jx16 ET31 rim size.
2004 – 2006 (Facelift)
| Trim Level | Tire Size | Rim Size |
4.3L V6 2WD4.8L V8 2WD5.3L V8 2WD | 235/75R16255/70R16 | 7Jx16 ET31 |
| 245/70R17265/70R17 | 7.5Jx17 ET31 | |
4.3L V6 4WD4.8L V8 4WD5.3L V8 4WD | 245/75R16265/75R16 | 7Jx16 ET31 |
| 265/70R17 | 7.5Jx17 ET31 | |
| 5.3L V8 Hybrid 2WD | 235/75R16 | 7Jx16 ET31 |
| 5.3L V8 Hybrid 4WD | 245/75R16 | |
| 6.0L V8 2WD | 275/55R20 | 8.5Jx29 ET31 |
1999 – 2003 (Pre-Facelift)
| Trim Level | Tire Size | Rim Size |
| 4.3L V6 2WD4.8L V8 2WD5.3L V8 2WD | 235/75R16255/70R16 | 7Jx16 ET31 |
| 4.3L V6 4WD4.8L V8 4WD5.3L V8 4WD | 245/75R16265/75R16 | |
6.0L V8 2WD (2003) | 275/55R20 | 8.5Jx20 ET22 |
How to Retighten the Lugs on the Chevy Silverado
If it’s been a while since your last tire change or rotation, then there is a chance that your lug nuts have loosened up a bit and are not torqued to the same specification anymore.
Factors that can affect your lug nuts’ tightness include excess dirt, rust, or even paint that has accumulated within the wheel’s components.
As a result, you need to make sure that they get cleaned up and torqued back up to the recommended values with a torque wrench.
As we discussed earlier, the Silverado 1500 keeps the same 6-lug pattern across all of its generations.
Thus, the correct way to tighten the lug nuts one by one would be to follow the 6-lug criss-cross pattern shown above.
This is to ensure that there is an equal amount of clamping force that’s distributed across the wheel’s mounting face.
Take note that if you’ve completely removed the lug nuts beforehand (meaning the car is still on jack stands), tighten them to about half the recommended torque value first.
Attempting to tighten them fully while the car is still on jack stands is a very risky safety hazard.
Only tighten them to the full torque specification of 140.1lb-ft (190Nm) after you’ve completely lowered the car back to the ground.
After finishing the tightening process, it’s generally recommended to test drive the car for at least 50 miles (80.5km) and check the tightness of the lug nuts again afterward.
Other Cars that Use the Same Lug Pattern as the Chevy Silverado
The Silverado 1500’s 6×5.5-inch (6×139.7mm) lug pattern is actually the most common pattern used for a lot of pickup trucks with the same half-ton (1500) carrying capacity.
The “Sierra”, the Silverado’s GMC counterpart, is one of the best examples of pickup trucks that use the exact same lug pattern.
Another one would be the latest generation Dodge Ram 1500, which is actually one of the Silverado 1500’s direct competitors.
But what about the Ford F-150? It has the “150” in its name that denotes its 1500-pound carrying capacity, making it part of the half-ton category.
While it does use 6 lugs just like the other pickup trucks, its lugs actually form a slightly smaller diameter of 5.31 inches (135mm), thus not having exactly the same lug pattern as the Silverado.
Through this minute difference, we can see how important it is to have a car’s lug pattern down to a T.
The failure to see such small differences can lead to potential issues and safety hazards while driving, so make sure to only use the recommended specifications for your car.
