Swapping wheels between makes of car

I am having a "discussion" with a German colleague about the feasibility of using one car maker's alloy wheels on another's cars. I reckon that as long as they need the same number of wheel nuts, it is possible to swap wheels between makes. He says not as they want to protect their brands.

So, within a given class of car, is it possible to swap wheels between brands? I have phoned BMW to ask and the guy at the Räder-service place laughed and asked why I would want to do it. I don't think he got the point it was theoretical.

So can a BMW 3 series alloys be fitted to eg an Audi A4? Will a Golf's fit a Ford Focus? Will a D3's fit an X5?

And actually, while we're at it, can you swap them between class eg using a 1 series' on a 3 series, or a TT's on an A4? (within reason - I don't expect a Polo's to fit a Toureg)

thanks

Different makes of car have different PCD's ( Pitch circle diameters ), ie the studs are spaced on a diff diameter.

Some are swappable but you need to check specific models.

Definitely can not be done. As bluedave mentioned, stud placement is different. I tried this with my BMW 3er-sized (aftermarket) winter wheels/tires, they would not fit on the Audi A3 despite being the same wheel size and tire size.

I assume that swapping same sized wheels between models from the same manufacturer will be ok however?

For example, would it work to use 225/45-R17 BMW 3-series wheels on a BMW Z4? I know this size is ok for both cars and both are specified as having Lochkreis 120, Lochzahl 5 and width 8J. I suppose the only risk is that the bolts would not align but this seems very unlikely?

I've have seen this done with older Merc AMG wheels, they were put on a BMW 3 series.

I disagree. it is often NOT possible, but sometimes possible. Rims are interchangeable for some manufacturers but not for others.

Don't forget the offset as well, it's not only the wheel nut type/spacing. The offset (it's probably got a technical name which I can't remember) controls the track spacing which is important to handling.