Unique Wheel and tire combo questions

[atvspeed4]

My friend is looking to get new tires for his H1 and I was thinking of buying his goodyear 37's from him with a 1" bodylift...yes I know, tierods, steering rack, front diff, fuel economy....

So for wheels I was thinking of these painted black:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/usw-70-6860/overview/

With these rim stiffeners welded in and painted yellow:

http://copperheadfab.com/index.php?action=productview&productid=65

Specs on stock wheels:

16"
7.5" wide
5.5" back spacing


Spec on new wheels:

16.5"
8.25" wide
4.75" back spacing


Guess my question is would this wheel cause even more rubbing? My only other option would be to also buy his wheels and run a 2" thick bolt pattern adapter. That would create the following but would be really heavy:

12 bolt wheel with 2" adapters:

16.5"
8.25" wide
5" back spacing

 

[jakesz28]

One experience I have had with 16.5 wheels is for some reason all the ones I have had stock steel, cheap steel wagon wheels, and a set of aftermarket aluminum wheels. All of them did not have the extra lip or ridge that the tire has to slip over while seating the bead. I would really want to see that part of the rim before you buy them. With out that lip or ridge I would not air down for trail driving. Every 15 or 16" wheel I have seen has had it. But I have never seen it on a 16.5 wheel.

 

[bebe]

What's the offset on the old school steelies??

Got it.

-3.00 can you get them in a 0..0 offset?

And the center bore might need to be bigger.

 

[bebe]

Guess my question is would this wheel cause even more rubbing?

Fender well - yes

Swaybar - yes

If you can keep the zero offset that would help keep the tire centered over the unit bearing which might help balance the weight distribution over the UB and save the bearings from too much lateral load.

 

[atvspeed4]

Thanks! I was hoping you would chime in. I always get confused, can you have two wheels with the same back spacing same width but different offset?

Also I will have to look into that extra lip that may be missing. That's interesting.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[bebe]

No.

You have to center the width of the wheel on the bearing or get it as close to OEM as you can. A zero offset give you a centered weight distribution. (inside /outside)

 

[bebe]

Also I will have to look into that extra lip that may be missing. That's interesting.

If you dismount an OEM H3 wheel you will see a very pronounced lip. There is a "J" code on the wheel that has something to do with the depth of the lip. Most new tires also have a deeper bead to fit inside the lip more securely.

This allows H3 owners to reduce the air pressure in their tires a bit more than other brands without blowing the bead.

Both of the issues we are discussing here (UB and the wheel bead) are why I kept both OEM wheels, knuckles and UB's. Far less worries with premature UB death, ABS issues and Traction Control /Stabilitrak. Keeps the computer happy.

I have yet to unseat a bead wheeling (Rock Crawling) on stock wheels, and the Hutchinsons I have on it now (Thanks again Timmay ) make it doubly difficult.

 

[Steve #1]

One experience I have had with 16.5 wheels is for some reason all the ones I have had stock steel, cheap steel wagon wheels, and a set of aftermarket aluminum wheels. All of them did not have the extra lip or ridge that the tire has to slip over while seating the bead. I would really want to see that part of the rim before you buy them. With out that lip or ridge I would not air down for trail driving. Every 15 or 16" wheel I have seen has had it. But I have never seen it on a 16.5 wheel.

This is the nature of 16.5 wheels. I would stay away from them unless the wheels were bead locks. Down the road when you go to replace the tires you will have few choices and they will be higher priced than their 16 or 17" equivalentes.

 

[atvspeed4]

This is the nature of 16.5 wheels. I would stay away from them unless the wheels were bead locks. Down the road when you go to replace the tires you will have few choices and they will be higher priced than their 16 or 17" equivalentes.

I doubt they will be higher price. They are a military surplus tire and there is a pretty continuous supply.

http://www.trailworthyfab.com/Tires

http://www.militaryoffroadtires.net/category-s/43.htm

 

[4speedfunk]

Some tire companies don't even offer 16.5" sizes. Its sort of considered a "dead size" around here. I think this market is mostly limited to old-school 70s-era full-size trucks, and Hummer H1 wheels (which alot of the Jeep guys run). Be sure the tires you want are available in that size before you buy the wheels. Also, like Bebe pointed out...the H3 has unusually large hubs, and you have to make sure you get wheels with a 4" center-bore to clear them. More often than not...that will be the deal breaker.

Three years ago...I took some late-model Silverado 17"x7.5" steelies and opened up the center bore to fit the H3. Hummer wasn't offering anything but alloys at that time but, nowdays you can get H3T spares and do the same thing. Also don't forget that many 6-lug Toyota, Nissan, and Full-size Jeep wheels fit the H3....as well as pre-90s Chevy 6-lug trucks (although they are usually only 15" dia.).

For instance...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-FJ-C...Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d35b2ee90&vxp=mtr

 

[atvspeed4]

Some tire companies don't even offer 16.5" sizes. Its sort of considered a "dead size" around here. I think this market is mostly limited to old-school 70s-era full-size trucks, and Hummer H1 wheels (which alot of the Jeep guys run). Be sure the tires you want are available in that size before you buy the wheels. Also, like Bebe pointed out...the H3 has unusually large hubs, and you have to make sure you get wheels with a 4" center-bore to clear them. More often than not...that will be the deal breaker.

Three years ago...I took some late-model Silverado 17"x7.5" steelies and opened up the center bore to fit the H3. Hummer wasn't offering anything but alloys at that time but, nowdays you can get H3T spares and do the same thing. Also don't forget that many 6-lug Toyota, Nissan, and Full-size Jeep wheels fit the H3....as well as pre-90s Chevy 6-lug trucks (although they are usually only 15" dia.).

For instance...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-FJ-C...Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d35b2ee90&vxp=mtr

Thanks guys, the only reason I am considering the 16.5 is to be able to run cheap 37" radial military take offs that are readily available to me both online and through my friend that has an h1. If I was just going to get larger tires I would keep my stock wheels as that will put the least stress on my h3.

 

[jakesz28]

This is the nature of 16.5 wheels. I would stay away from them unless the wheels were bead locks. Down the road when you go to replace the tires you will have few choices and they will be higher priced than their 16 or 17" equivalentes.

I have had a ton of old trucks all 3/4 tons and nothing was worse then walking out to the truck to find I picked up a thorn from a hedge tree. When the air leaked over night the bead would be broken down or no longer seated on the rim. Never again will I run 16.5' s with out a Beadlock.

 

[abearden]

Actually not that expensive to get the H1 steelies, double beadlocks, and surplus tires. For the cost of what I would have spent on new tires alone, I will be picking up a 5-wheel set for my truck. Not as easy as going down to the tire place and having them put a new set on, but a heck of a lot cheaper in the long run (especially for 37" radials). With the 2" adapters, the stock H1s are closer to stock backspacing (5" or so).

 

[atvspeed4]

Actually not that expensive to get the H1 steelies, double beadlocks, and surplus tires. For the cost of what I would have spent on new tires alone, I will be picking up a 5-wheel set for my truck. Not as easy as going down to the tire place and having them put a new set on, but a heck of a lot cheaper in the long run (especially for 37" radials). With the 2" adapters, the stock H1s are closer to stock backspacing (5" or so).

Exactly! Thats what Im thinking but not sure how much worse it will rub with the wheel being 0.75" wider and sticking out 0.5" further.

 

[Steve #1]

I doubt they will be higher price. They are a military surplus tire and there is a pretty continuous supply.

http://www.trailworthyfab.com/Tires

http://www.militaryoffroadtires.net/category-s/43.htm

OK, the exception to the rule, but I'll stand my my "fewer choices" statement.

 

[Expendable]

just remember that if the Humvee does get axed (since they're looking for a replacement :gaah that supply will dry out eventually.

IMO, The Humvee shouldn't get replaced but augmented with a vehicle we need for its current use where IEDs take a toll. but the Humvee still has its place since it's smaller and can fit into smaller aircraft, etc.

 

[abearden]

The thing is, you can get a complete Humvee beadlocked wheel set (5x) and tires for $1500 give or take. Given last I checked $300 a tire ain't bad if you can't source more you're not out any more than a tire change, and if you have swapped through a few sets of radials (at $500 a set) you're money ahead. I wish I knew if they would rub on the H3; I know I'm going to be trimming and shaping a fair amount to put them on my k2500 (no lift).

 

[Expendable]

This is true. but most of these tires are older and used. some used pretty bed. there have been plenty of cases where you buy a tire (unmounted) and mount and there are tiny holes which cause the tire to not hold air.

and this thread is about mounting onto an H3. so if you wanna use the Hummer/Humvee wheels you're going to need adapters for the difference in lug pattern and or modify the wheels like they do to use on Jeeps/Toyotas, etc. To Re-Center and to get the proper lug spacing/count.

Also the Hummer/Humvee wheels can be incredibly hard to balance since not many run true. Riding in a 94 Hummer with untrue wheels from Utah to CA we were getting rattled at 55MPH and we drove at 65MPH for a couple hours and that shook us so bad I'm surprised nothing came loose.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade or be negative. just bringing up some things I feel should be brought up.

 

[Kurt]

This is true. but most of these tires are older and used. some used pretty bed. there have been plenty of cases where you buy a tire (unmounted) and mount and there are tiny holes which cause the tire to not hold air.

and this thread is about mounting onto an H3. so if you wanna use the Hummer/Humvee wheels you're going to need adapters for the difference in lug pattern and or modify the wheels like they do to use on Jeeps/Toyotas, etc. To Re-Center and to get the proper lug spacing/count.

Also the Hummer/Humvee wheels can be incredibly hard to balance since not many run true. Riding in a 94 Hummer with untrue wheels from Utah to CA we were getting rattled at 55MPH and we drove at 65MPH for a couple hours and that shook us so bad I'm surprised nothing came loose.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade or be negative. just bringing up some things I feel should be brought up.

Its hard to get a set to balance well with surplus tires, often times the worst tires get surplused, including sets that look brand new but give a rough ride so they get surplused.

The rule now is that if theres 1 bad/damaged tire, they'll rotate out the entire set on a HMMWV.

So you got a built in 25% junk tire rate.

Just make sure you buy from a guy who buys hmmwv tires by the truckload, and not a middleman/reseller.

I deal with a guy in Riverside county, and we went through his barn, he just got a truckload of MT, MTR and BAJA TA's, I was trying to get 2 good load range E MT/R's , and a number of them needed repairs but looked otherwise fine.

If my truck was a trailer queen I'd run them again, but since I go on a 1000mi road trip once in awhile I'd like smooth highway riding and a warranty

The best military tire for the Hummer IMO is the BF Goodrich BAJA T/A