H1 wheel insert question.

[k5blazerguy]

I didn’t get a pic while I was in the garage today. I found a pic online similar to the inserts I got with some h1 wheels I bought, they aren’t runflats it looks like they would just hold the bead. But was wondering if u guys ever use these or how well they work? I couldn’t find a whole lot of info online about em. I only have 3. So would need to find another.
I bought a set of 12 bolts and also have 3 other 24 bolt wheels. The 24 bolt wheels all have the 3 piece mag inserts with the outer rubber. I don’t really want that extra weight in the wheels. And can’t really spend money on pvc now. Are these rubber ones any good? Where would I find another?

 

[obijuank5]

They come up on Ebay how and then. What I run is an older version of that which is just two skinny ones instead of one large one. Works well. Make sure your widths are right and your tire bead is not too thick. It should say radial or bias on the insert. It's the shape of the part that touches the bead of the tire. I run bias inserts on bias tires but I dont know how much youd need to accommodate a bias tire on a radial insert. Capeesh?

 

[urbex]

You need _something_ inside the tires, otherwise you just have a set of stupid heavy 2 piece 16.5 wheels, no bead lock. The inserts are how the bead locks work on those wheels.

Problem with this design is that it is dependent on a particular bead thickness which can vary from one tire brand to another, which is why the PVC inserts are cut to match a specific tire. Run a tire with a wider bead, and you'll never get the wheel halfs properly seated together, run a narrow bead, and you won't get bead lock.

 

[k5blazerguy]

Makes sense. Thanks! I’m gonna be runnin the MTRs. Just bought a new set. Those inserts came with some 12 bolt wheels I bought.
The 3, 24 bolt wheels I also bought have the 3 piece Mag inserts. I’m gonna have to find another 24 boot cuz I’m liking how they look better. It sounds like I just need to break down and get the PVC inserts too. I thought about just not having an insert at all.

 

[Blue85]

It's very hard to set the bead on the H1 wheels when you don't have an insert. This varies by tire, of course. With an insert it's so you easy you don't have to do anything but air up. Without an insert, H1 wheels are worse at holding a bead than most regular wheels. While the width of the inserts varies with the tire type in theory, TWF sells the same insert for 8-bolts, 12-bolts, radial, bias - most tires. There are specific tires for which they sell a different insert, but I don't know any of those details.

Normally the Hutchinson rubber inserts are for 17" wheels or the big 20" or whatever they are for 2.5-ton. I haven't seen them for 16.5, so be sure you're getting the right thing. I don't think anything for the aluminum 2-piece wheels carries over to the steel ones. The PVCs can be a pain to get in the tire (although there are tricks), so something more flexible would be nice for the sake of installation

 

[obijuank5]

The rubber ones are kinda nice cause they squish a little.

 

[urbex]

It's very hard to set the bead on the H1 wheels when you don't have an insert. This varies by tire, of course. With an insert it's so you easy you don't have to do anything but air up. Without an insert, H1 wheels are worse at holding a bead than most regular wheels.

ALL 16.5 wheels can be a bear, because they don't have a safety bead on the wheel. It's not just limited to H1s. The bigger issue is that many people attempt to run ancient military tires on them than have hardened up, and don't allow the sidewalls to flex into position. It wouldn't matter if you had H1 wheels or any other 16.5 wheel, this issue would be present.

That said, I've never had a problem getting tires to seat on those wheels, though it helps a lot to have high air flow available....not the typical 20 gallon portable garage compressor running 1/4" hose. Or the ether method, lol.

I had a bunch of the Hutchinson rubber inserts for my 16.5 tires back when I was still running the H1s, though the runflats were much more common.

 

[k5blazerguy]

Got some pics. This is what I have. You think they would work for the MT/Rs?
The other pic is what the 24 bolts had in em. Hadn’t seen an insert like this.

 

[Blue85]

From what I read, all 12-bolt and 24-bolt wheels are 8.25" between the bead seats, so any inserts should swap between them. What's puzzling me is why your insert is wider than mine when supposedly the 24-bolt rim is narrower than the 8-bolt. The 8-bolt is supposedly 8.5" and my inserts are 6 7/8", while yours are 7 3/16". Can the tire bead actually be only 1/2"?

 

[k5blazerguy]

From what I read, all 12-bolt and 24-bolt wheels are 8.25" between the bead seats, so any inserts should swap between them. What's puzzling me is why your insert is wider than mine when supposedly the 24-bolt rim is narrower than the 8-bolt. The 8-bolt is supposedly 8.5" and my inserts are 6 7/8", while yours are 7 3/16". Can the tire bead actually be only 1/2"?

Those rubber inserts came with a set of 12 bolt wheels I bought. But the guy only had three.
I came across another guy that had 3 24 bolts with punctured sidewalls that I got for a good price and couldn’t pass em up. I now have like 6 12 bolt wheels and 3 24 bolts, but of course I’m a pain in the ass and like the look of the 24 more. So gotta buy another 24 from somewhere and may sell the 12 bolts. Was seeing if these rubbber inserts would work, cuz I don’t want the mag inserts, but I can’t even find one online to buy. They don’t seem common.

 

[urbex]

8 bolt, 12 bolt, and 24 bolt wheels were all intended for 3 completely different tires.

8 bolts were also intended for bias ply tires, whereas 12 and 24 bolts were for radial tires. Bias ply tires typically have thicker beads than radial tires. 12 bolts were built for higher PSI and loads than the 8 bolts, and 24 bolts even higher than the 12 bolts. I don't recall off the top of my head was the load rating is on each of them, but even the 8 bolts are rated higher than what any of our trucks would realistically be hitting.

I agree that the 24 bolts just look cooler than the 12 bolts, and the 8 bolts look like they belong on a CAT loader of some sort, lol. I sold my last set of 24s some time ago when I thought I'd never again play with anything bigger than my Samurai, and regret it now that I have the K5....

 

[muddermilitia]

Just save up the money and get the PVC inserts and be done. I got mine from Feltz Tire up in Marshfield Wisconsin. They were much cheaper than Trailworthy on everything they sold (Hummer tires, wheels, and inserts) In fact, looking at their website right now, TWF charges almost double than Feltz for a 24-bolt H1 wheel....

https://feltztire.com/poly-beadlock-16-5-hmmwv-wheel.html $10 less than TWF so now you just saved $40. Website says out of stock. But when I bought mine a few years ago, he said he does them in runs. So should be back in stock soon

They are so easy to mount, I wish all wheels were like this. Lay the tire down on its side. Set the insert upright, in the opening in the tire. Soap up that part of the bead on the tire where the insert touches. Then sit on the insert, might have just bounce on it a little and the insert will pop right in. Then twist it inside the tire while pulling up on the bead. Slap it over the wheel and bolt the two pieces together after you grease the O-ring and set that in place

 

[82355]

ALL 16.5 wheels can be a bear, because they don't have a safety bead on the wheel. It's not just limited to H1s. The bigger issue is that many people attempt to run ancient military tires on them than have hardened up, and don't allow the sidewalls to flex into position. It wouldn't matter if you had H1 wheels or any other 16.5 wheel, this issue would be present.

Incorrect. Most 16.5” wheels don’t have a safety bead. GM 16.5” wheels used with tubeless tires have a safety bead.

Martin

 

[82355]

Just save up the money and get the PVC inserts and be done. I got mine from Feltz Tire up in Marshfield Wisconsin. They were much cheaper than Trailworthy on everything they sold (Hummer tires, wheels, and inserts) In fact, looking at their website right now, TWF charges almost double than Feltz for a 24-bolt H1 wheel....

https://feltztire.com/poly-beadlock-16-5-hmmwv-wheel.html $10 less than TWF so now you just saved $40. Website says out of stock. But when I bought mine a few years ago, he said he does them in runs. So should be back in stock soon

They are so easy to mount, I wish all wheels were like this. Lay the tire down on its side. Set the insert upright, in the opening in the tire. Soap up that part of the bead on the tire where the insert touches. Then sit on the insert, might have just bounce on it a little and the insert will pop right in. Then twist it inside the tire while pulling up on the bead. Slap it over the wheel and bolt the two pieces together after you grease the O-ring and set that in place

I see Feltz Tire is still in business. Anyone else bought tires from them?

Martin

 

[imiceman44]

Incorrect. Most 16.5” wheels don’t have a safety bead. GM 16.5” wheels used with tubeless tires have a safety bead.

Martin

I had some of those.
They were better than the no safety bead but didn't take much lower pressure and little side pressure and they still popped off.
They were also hard to find.
I stopped looking for 16.5" anything since the selection shrunk to a few offerings, and now even 16" is getting bad.
I just switched to 17"

 

[82355]

I had some of those.
They were better than the no safety bead but didn't take much lower pressure and little side pressure and they still popped off.
They were also hard to find.
I stopped looking for 16.5" anything since the selection shrunk to a few offerings, and now even 16" is getting bad.
I just switched to 17"

They did fine for me at single digit pressures.



Martin

 

[imiceman44]

They did fine for me at single digit pressures.

View attachment 527866

Martin

Those superswampers are stiff, they hold better, I had softer tires and at 15 psi on sand they were not holding enough