Collection: Chevrolet Cobalt Genuine Rims

The Cobalt replaced the Cavalier for the 2005 model year and ran in the United States through 2010, always as a single generation on GM's Delta platform. The nameplate is simple. The wheels are not. Most Cobalts ride on four-lug 15x6 steel wheels, but a second hub family with a five-lug 5x110 pattern appeared on the SS and on some LT cars, and the SS itself covered three engines with three different wheel and tire packages. Sedan and coupe bodies shared wheels within each trim, so the real dividing lines are trim, lug count and model year.

The figures below come from GM press material as reproduced in published specifications, OEM wheel listings carrying Hollander interchange data, and tire and fitment databases used only as a cross-check. Where sources disagreed, the difference is noted.

Chevrolet Cobalt Quick Specs

Chevrolet Cobalt OEM Wheels by Model Year

The standard Cobalt is the straightforward half of the story. Base, LS and LT cars from 2005 through 2010 use a four-lug hub, with 15x6 steel wheels as the entry point and a 16x6 alloy with 205/55R16 tires above it. The OEM listings checked put both at ET42. Some fitment databases print ET46 for the 15x6, but the Hollander-indexed OEM data was treated as the stronger source. Tire databases also show 195/60R15 on later cars, so the tire column carries both sizes.

Five-lug wheels on non-SS cars are the first trap. Databases list LT cars with five-lug wheels in three forms: 16x6 at ET42, 16x6.5 at ET40 for 2007 and 2008 (OEM part 9597622), and 17x7 at ET42 with 205/50R17 tires. These share the SS hub rather than the standard LT hub, so a bolt-pattern check comes before any size check.

The year-by-year changes that matter for wheels are few. The Cobalt launched for 2005 with the standard four-lug cars and the SS Supercharged coupe. The 2.4L SS followed in late 2005 as a 2006 model, in both coupe and sedan form. The Supercharged was cancelled after 2007, and the 2.4L car was renamed Cobalt Sport for 2008, which left the turbocharged SS as the only SS until production ended with the 2010 models. Everything else, including the standard 15x6 wheel, carried through with no documented specification change.

Chevrolet Cobalt Sedan and Coupe OEM Wheels

No GM specification or OEM interchange listing reviews assigns different wheels by body style. A given trim and year used the same wheel on the sedan and the coupe, and the tables above and below reflect that. The differences that do exist are availability, not fitment: the SS Supercharged was a coupe only, the 2.4L SS and the standard trims came in both bodies, and the SS Turbocharged was a coupe until a sedan arrived for 2009 and was dropped again for 2010.

Chevrolet Cobalt SS OEM Wheels

The SS is where assuming a single specification goes wrong. The 2005-2007 Supercharged coupe rode on 18x7 broad-spoke wheels, polished or painted, with P215/45R18 Pirelli tires. The 2.4L SS, sold as the SS for 2006 and 2007, used a 17x7 broad-spoke wheel with a narrower P205/50R17 all-season Pirelli. When GM revived the SS with a turbocharged 2.0L in 2008, it moved to a forged, split-spoke 18x7.5 wheel styled after the Corvette, with P225/40R18 Continental performance tires and Brembo front brakes.

The tire pairing matters as much as the wheel. A 215/45R18 on an 18x7 is a different package from a 225/40R18 on an 18x7.5, and neither should be read as simply an 18-inch SS setup. GM also gave the Supercharged and Turbocharged cars the sport-tuned FE5 suspension, while the 2.4L SS used the milder FE3, so the wheel and tire choices followed distinct chassis tuning rather than a shared SS template.

The Supercharged 18x7 and the Turbocharged 18x7.5 share a bolt pattern, bore and ET42, which is exactly why they get confused. They are half an inch apart in width and were fitted with different tires. Several fitment sites list every SS as 17x7 or 18x7, and some OEM listings span 2005 to 2010 for the 18x7, but GM's own turbo specification is 18x7.5, so the turbo should be treated as its own application. Offsets for the SS wheels come from OEM wheel listings, not from GM publications.

Chevrolet Cobalt Wheel Sizes, Widths, Offsets & Fitment

Across the range, factory widths run from 6 to 7.5 inches and offsets from ET40 to ET42, all positive. The tight offset band makes width and bolt pattern the useful identifiers. The 4x100 hub is shared by every steel wheel and the base alloys. The 5x110 hub covers every SS and the five-lug LT cars, with a 65.1mm center bore agreed on by every source checked. Fitment databases list M12 x 1.5 lug hardware on both hubs, though that figure was not confirmed against GM service documentation.

Wheel identification by eye is unreliable here. A 16x6 four-lug alloy and a 16x6 five-lug alloy look alike in photographs but cannot be swapped, and the polished 18x7 and the forged 18x7.5 can share a similar spoke count while differing in width. Counting lugs, then confirming full diameter and width, separates the Cobalt's wheel families more reliably than styling does.

The four-lug center bore is the one number sources disagree on. Most databases give 56.6mm, and a smaller group gives 57.1mm. No GM document confirming either value could be accessed during research, so the figure is shown as approximate. The HHR and Pontiac G5 appear in the same wheel interchange listings as the Cobalt, but those listings were used only to identify part numbers, not as a source of Cobalt specifications.

Chevrolet Cobalt OEM vs. Replica Wheels

Some drivers choose replica wheels for their similar appearance or price. If your goal is to replace a damaged factory wheel, a genuine OEM wheel offers the best path to the correct fit, finish, and overall appearance, without the extra research replica shopping usually requires. We offer genuine OEM at replica price levels, often less. Here's how the two options typically compare:

Chevrolet Cobalt Wheel Fitment Questions

What size wheels does a Chevrolet Cobalt have?

Standard cars use 15x6 steel or 16x6 alloy wheels on four lugs. The SS uses 17x7, 18x7 or 18x7.5 wheels on five lugs, depending on engine.

Do all Cobalt SS models use the same wheels?

No. The 2.4L SS used 17x7, the Supercharged used 18x7, and the Turbocharged used a forged 18x7.5.

What is the Cobalt SS bolt pattern?

Every factory SS uses 5x110 with a 65.1mm center bore.

Final Thoughts

The Cobalt looks like a one-wheel-size car until the five-lug hub shows up. Four-lug 15x6 and 16x6 wheels cover the standard cars, five-lug 16x6, 16x6.5 and 17x7 wheels cover some LT cars, and the SS splits into 17x7, 18x7 and 18x7.5 packages, each with its own tire. Matching the full dimension, bolt pattern and application is what makes a wheel correct. Finish Line Wheels carries genuine OEM wheels for these applications.