so i traded my Stratus for a Saturn...

a 1999 SL1 with the SOHC race engine and a 5 speed race ready transmission...

i have now officially owned one of every domestic GM branded vehicle, which is some sort of an accomplishment worthy of some sort of a reward...

anyways, just a stupid question that popped into my head: is there a junkyard swap to put 5 lug wheels on this thing? the last car that i owned with 4 lug wheels was my 79 Sunbird, and that was almost 20 years ago... 4 lugs just look stupid to me, and i've got this sweet set of 17" wheels in the basement that fit 5X100 and 5X114 bolt patterns...

there are 4 to 5 lug adapters out there, not sure how trusting I am of them though. not sure if theres a easy hub swap for saturns

also this thread is worthless without pictures!

No. There are 5 lug rear hubs that bolt up, nothing for the front. The brakes will require a bunch of fab work as there are no easy caliper or rotor swaps.

4x100 provides much better wheel options for the chassis. Trade your sweet 17" wheels for some 4x100 15x8s. Problem solved.

What was so wrong with the Stratus that you traded it in on a SOHC Saturn? It wasn't slow enough?

what are the rear hubs that bolt in?

a little research shows me that the front hubs press in like the ones on my Neon, but i don't suppose the specs on them are the same...

regarding brakes: caliper brackets are easy to make. can't be any harder than the brackets i made to put the LS1 F body front brakes on my 86 Camaro...

As to why i traded even up: the Stratus had the silly autostick transmission and i couldn't get myself to feel right in it, the Saturn has a 5 speed and everything just feels "right" about the car... except the stupid 4 lug wheels, no car has ever looked right with 4 lug wheels.. also, the potential of close to 40 mpg is appealing to me...

Early 90s Grand AM I believe.

Seems like a lot of fab work to change the # of lugnuts.

The L-Series front hubs press in I think but they are 5x110. You could redrill to 5x100 to match the rears I think. We talked about this on sixthsphere.com before. I used to think it was a good idea, now I firmly believe it is a terrible idea.

4 lug = 20% less rotating and unsprung weight of lugs and studs than a 5 bolt. 4x100 means the weight is closer in to the rotation center than 5x114, so also better.

For performance, unless you are literally breaking 4 stud wheels, then 5 studs is worse.

For looks, I can't help you there. Maybe get 4/8 spoke or mesh wheels? or something with a lug cover?

Pics of the purchase!!!

rcutclif wrote: 4 lug = 20% less rotating and unsprung weight of lugs and studs than a 5 bolt. 4x100 means the weight is closer in to the rotation center than 5x114, so also better. For performance, unless you are literally breaking 4 stud wheels, then 5 studs is worse.

not sure if serious? if your trying to argue the added weight of a single lug nut and stud (at each corner) will effect performance then your probably the kind of guy who takes a poop before you drive anywhere to reduce your gross vehicle weight for better mpg.

edizzle89 wrote:

rcutclif wrote: 4 lug = 20% less rotating and unsprung weight of lugs and studs than a 5 bolt. 4x100 means the weight is closer in to the rotation center than 5x114, so also better. For performance, unless you are literally breaking 4 stud wheels, then 5 studs is worse.

not sure if serious? if your trying to argue the added weight of a single lug nut and stud (at each corner) will effect performance then your probably the kind of guy who takes a poop before you drive anywhere to reduce your gross vehicle weight for better mpg.

Well, I was being serious. Not in a 'you will feel seat of the pant difference' way but more of a 'optimizing as many variables as possible to gain an overall advantage' way.

Some racers swiss-cheese (or turn the rotor down to minimum-allowed thickness, or both) their brake rotors to reduce unsprung rotating weight. Others use aluminum lug nuts. Unsprung weight is rumored to be 2-3x as valuable as regular weight on a race car, and rotating and unsprung weight is more valuable than that.

I guess the real point was that "even if small, technically your current setup is probably better, at least performance-wise".

Oh, and I do try to poop before races (both auto-related, and back in the day when I was a swimmer).

i can think of a hundred more important things to do to a '99 SL-1 besides finding a way to get 5 lug wheels on it.

rcutclif wrote: 4 lug = 20% less rotating and unsprung weight of lugs and studs than a 5 bolt. 4x100 means the weight is closer in to the rotation center than 5x114, so also better. For performance, unless you are literally breaking 4 stud wheels, then 5 studs is worse. For looks, I can't help you there. Maybe get 4/8 spoke or mesh wheels? or something with a lug cover?

but it's got a 5 speed and the cat converter is falling off, so those two things offset any perceived loss of performance from the increased weight of the lug nuts.. i might even swiss cheese the airbox to let the 85hp monster under the hood breathe..

petegans wrote: Pics of the purchase!!!

close your eyes... now, imagine a 99 Saturn SL1, blue in color, with dirt on it and the front hubcaps missing...

novaderrik wrote: i might even swiss cheese the airbox to let the 85hp monster under the hood breathe..

Careful with that monster! A '99 has 100hp.

yeah, but it's got 240,000 miles on it, so i doubt if it's still making triple digit horsepowers..

Wow - so much hate for a poor four lug wheels

novaderrik wrote: yeah, but it's got 240,000 miles on it, so i doubt if it's still making triple digit horsepowers..

lots of extra carbon buildup in the combustion chamber = more compression = 101 hp!

novaderrik wrote: ....i've got this sweet set of 17" wheels in the basement that fit 5X100 and 5X114 bolt patterns...

Too bad you didn't keep the Stratus, you could have used those wheels.

yeah, but the Stratus was just awful to drive in every way.. even the wiper switch pissed me off in that thing..

someone wanted to see a pic.. i hope it lives up to all of your lofty expectations of what a base model Saturn 4 door from just before the new millenium is supposed to look like:

and, yes, that is my Neon serving as a shelf for the topper from my pickup..

base model my ass. that has power steering.

And a passenger side mirror.

Ever thought about taking the neon for a drive with the topper on it?

no, but i have thought about finding a DOHC engine and 5 speed trans for it to replace the junk SOHC/auto stuff that's in it, then caging it and racing it in a Chumpcar race or two...