hummer h2, h1 beadlock, or grind for 15s

[Apocalypse]

Hey all. I was wondering if anyone had some advice on wich you would go with and why. Ive been trying to use the search function but apparently "h1 beadlock" is a very commonly used word here. "h2" provided no results.

Ive got a d60/14ff detroit 4.56 gears. im looking at 3 options. 17'' hummer h2 8 lug as im seeing lots of new tires out that only come in a 17, such as the 42'' kevlar mtrs. Or a 16.5 hummer h1 takeoff with the hummer 37'' radials. Or 15x10 with caliper grinding so i can run the 35/12.5 15 bfg km2s i have spare.

I can sell the km2s to go to my tire fund and wanted some advice from thos more experienced with tire selection. due to gearing im looking in the 37+ range on tires but can deal with it if i need to run the 35s (33.5 due to being way undersized. why cant they call them 33s ?)

heres my combo if it matters 6.2 diesel or 383 gas depending on wich gets used in this blazer/465/205/ D60/14bff-4.56

 

[MTBLAZER89]

I voted 17's as it is a pretty popular new size for tires and if you plan on running 38" plus tires I like the extra sidewall for looks and stability when aired down on a side hill.

The H1's are great, but tire selection is still limited to Interco and even that is still limited and unless you are running dually hubs then you have to mess with recentering them.

If you can find some H2 take offs then go with that. If you want bead locks then buy some 17" bead locks. If you have to have double beadlocks then look up Stazworks

 

[Greg72]

I went with an H2 wheel (17") using a 38" KM2....

The 16.5" offers a decent selection of tires, but the tire companies are slowly migrating people away from that size to the 17" and (gasp!) 20" wheel sizes.

Keep in mind, the H1 has about 7.25" of backspacing, the H2 wheels have about 5.5" of backspacing.... a lot of the "normal" 8-lug wagon-wheel style wheels that guys use are only around 2.75" of backspacing..... so it would be good to borrow a wheel to check for clearance, not just around the caliper but also around the steering arm and tie rod ends. Deep backspacing is cool, but when you move the wheel/tire that much deeper over the hub there is more to consider.

Here's a shot of the H2 with the 38" KM2. It's only an 8.5" wide wheel, and even though the tire is a 14.5" wide design, the look isn't too "bloated"....

Hope that helps you a little bit...

 

[496truck]

I voted 17" H2s availabilty and ease of use.

 

[84zz4ss]

What will your primary use be?

 

[blazin' j]

agreed with the 17's n h2's due to availability

 

[K5dreamer]

yeah i voted 16.5's. but thats because its what im gonna be running......

17s are a much better idea in the real world.... 16.5in tires are getting hard to find, youre pretty much limited to brands like pitt bull and super swamper. bfgoodrich offers their A/T KO's (excellent all around tire, had them on my jeep and LOVED them) to fit the 16.5 rim, but only up to 35in in size.

 

[mudboggink5]

I voted for the h1s. cause i run them, and love em. easy to install the tire, and you can run looooooooooooooow presure.

 

[Merv]

I plan on having a set in each size. In case a nice set of use tires comes up, i can go with what ever.

 

[garydan]

How much grinding is required to run 15's? I'd like to stay with 15's and I'm doing a 3/4 ton swap. I'm putting in the 14bolt FF now with a disc brake conversion and I have newer pro-comp m/t 35" tires for my stock 15" rims. I'd like to not have to get all new tires if possible.

Also.... question on the H2 rims, is there any modification to the rims required to run on a d60/14b FF setup?

 

[Apocalypse]

thanks for all the answers guys. i appreciate if anyone else wants to chime in to.

I keep hearing about recentering the h1 beadlocks. what kinda cost is onvolved with that ?

the blazers predominantly DD with a bit off offroading for fire calls and farm work. it dosent see a whole lot of miles but im not wanting something that will wear down in a year of work as some of the guys on the tsl radials have worn them down in a few months. kinda hard to swallow a 1500$ bill every few months. so something like the km2 or mtr are a must


PS to garydan The h2 17s fit with no modifications. and the 15s require between 1/8 to 1/4 inch taken off the outside of the caliper and backing plate depending on what backspacing you run.

 

[jeeptuff]

How much grinding is required to run 15's? I'd like to stay with 15's and I'm doing a 3/4 ton swap. I'm putting in the 14bolt FF now with a disc brake conversion and I have newer pro-comp m/t 35" tires for my stock 15" rims. I'd like to not have to get all new tires if possible.

Also.... question on the H2 rims, is there any modification to the rims required to run on a d60/14b FF setup?

I run 15's on FF14 and D60 with no grinding. 3.75" BS = no grinding required.

 

[Apocalypse]

I run 15's on FF14 and D60 with no grinding. 3.75" BS = no grinding required.

Hey jeep if ya dont mind me asking what brand rim and width are you running? some rims seem to taper differently and give a different grind profile to the caliper. would love to run 3.75 without grinding as i could run the tires i have for a bit while waiting to catch a set of the H2s cheap

 

[82355]

thanks for all the answers guys. i appreciate if anyone else wants to chime in to.

I keep hearing about recentering the h1 beadlocks. what kinda cost is onvolved with that ?

the blazers predominantly DD with a bit off offroading for fire calls and farm work. it dosent see a whole lot of miles but im not wanting something that will wear down in a year of work as some of the guys on the tsl radials have worn them down in a few months. kinda hard to swallow a 1500$ bill every few months. so something like the km2 or mtr are a must.

I voted 16.5".

http://www.trailworthyfab.com/

This guy makes sweet recentered Hummer wheels. They are failry pricey, but they are a double beadlock. The 37x12.50x16.5" tires are redicuolously cheap as well. He sales them for $75 a piece in great condition.

Martin

 

[jeeptuff]

Hey jeep if ya dont mind me asking what brand rim and width are you running? some rims seem to taper differently and give a different grind profile to the caliper. would love to run 3.75 without grinding as i could run the tires i have for a bit while waiting to catch a set of the H2s cheap

Rockcrawlers, ordered at 4wheel parts, they are 15x8 with 3.75 BS. I love em, I really like the more tire less wheel for off road application. I think they were like $45 a piece and took 2-3 days to be shipped to the door. I had new 35's when I grenaded the 12 bolt and converted over to 3/4 ton running gear and couldnt justify buying 16.5 or larger diameter wheels and tires. Hope that helps.

 

[Apocalypse]

Looks like im picking up a set of H2 wheels and the takeoff tires tomorrow. 350$ for 4. not a bad deal considering they come with 50% tread 35 inch bfg atko allready mounted and balanced.

i dont air down so the beadlocks would be rather lost on me. this truck will primarily be used for the volinteer fire dept and i dont have time to air down

 

[jerden]

I'm running H2's right now. $300 for them on craigslist and BFG AT's had about 40-50% of the tread left. Worked perfect for me after I did the the disc brake conversion on the 14bolt.

 

[uao85]

I voted 17" h2 rims which I run on my truck along with 37" km1 mud terrains. If you keep your eye out, you can score a set pretty cheap, got a set of 4 for $100 brand new from a guy that changed his mind, and then got a set of 37" tires with 50% tread for $100. If I were to do it again, and didnt find such a good deal, I would have gone 16.5" wagon style wheels with a set of 37" humvee radials. Reason being is there is a guy I know about in Texarkana that has literally a few thousand of them he got from the base that is down the street from his house. In fact I still might get a set to run later on down the road.

 

[jamber2541]

15 inch with minimal grinding, tire availability was the reason