Swapping wheels undergoes various stages. When a vehicle is brand new, purchasers frequently can’t wait to upgrade from the original wheels to something custom and either performance-oriented or stylish. Subsequently, as cars age, individuals may switch newer wheels from the same maker onto their older model, as illustrated by the ongoing craze of Accord Sport wheels on first- and second-gen Honda CR-Vs.
Eventually, after that trend settles, daring enthusiasts of bolt patterns and offsets take the risk of fitting wheels from distinct manufacturers in an attempt to be distinctive. Occasionally, the outcome is spectacular—like the instance of this Honda Odyssey on sixth-gen Camaro wheels recently shared in The Drive‘s Slack, a sight I can’t seem to look away from. What are your preferred cross-OEM wheel swaps?
Nap Arias via Facebook
There are several well-known classics in this domain. Bentley, Audi, and Porsche wheels fit quite nicely on 2000s Volkswagens due to their shared architecture and 5×112 bolt pattern. Mercedes Alphards on VWs are also relatively common. Corvette wheels on ‘80s and ‘90s BMWs have been a craze for some time, but recently, I witnessed someone reversing the trend by equipping E65 7-series rims on a C5 Corvette. Kudos for originality!
One interesting find lately is the application of first-generation Mini S-Lites on early-2000s Toyota Corollas and Honda Civics, attributed to a shared four-lug bolt pattern between many Japanese and European budget cars. As a Mini proprietor, I find this amusing because the S-Lites are surprisingly hefty and fragile—I’m planning to swap them out as soon as I can procure tires for the 16s I acquired from a newer Cooper model.
But enough about my thoughts—what non-brand-specific wheel selections do you admire? What catches your eye and makes you exclaim, “Wow! I wish I had come up with that.”
