Tires: 15 rims fit on 95 RAM but ??, caliper clearance, stud bolt

Question
Barry:I have 4 good 31 X 10.5 X R15LT tires on my old 1989
Dodge W100 that I'd like to use on my 95 RAM 1500. Stud
pattern is perfect,clearances are OK, tire OD looks very
close to current 245 R75 X16 LT's (235R75X16 on OEM plate). But
the rim center hole is slightly larger in the 15" rims
(clearance for the front 4X4 hubs). Just how important is
center hole "fit" before I make the swap. (I do see some " after-
market" rims that only specify stud bolt pattern.)
Thanks
Robert

Answer
Robert,

What the center hole does is center the rim on the hub and that eliminates one potential source of vibration.  Without the center hole piloting the wheel, then the bolt circle does - and that's not the best way.

I'm not that familiar with Chrysler products, but there may be some lug nut issue involved as well.  Because the intent of center hole piloting is to center the wheel, many vehicle manufacturers are using the lug nuts strictly for clamping.  The way to tell is that the lug nuts don't have a conical seat.  I'm guess this is not the case here.

There may also be some brake caliper clearance issues, but it sounds like you already made a dry fit.  If you didn't I'd recommend you do that before committing yourself to this course of action.

Hope this helps.