I'm in the hunt for new tires (and lockers, gears, hd axles). Currently on 235/85's with 16x7 terrafirma beadlock ready wheels (TF107). I really want to do the Dusy Ershim trail this summer and 31.7" tires ain't going to cut it

I was SO close to ordering BFG KM3's on 315/75r16 last week, but I hit a snag on the wheels... I need at least 8" rims. No worries, I thought I'd get the beadlock kit ($700) which turns my rim into an 8" rim. But TF no longer manufactures them... bummer. RoversNorth and AB have 1 set left in stock, but I can't source a 5th beadlock ring, and I'm wary of putting in somewhat consumable parts that are no longer made. So then I went on a hunt for new wheels... and I came up with this crazy idea:

16.5" beadlock hummer wheels with military tires. I know... sounds crazy... but the more I thought about it, it sounds like a decent idea. 90%+ tread tires are like $80 a pop. My only concern is weight, and stuffing a 37" tire in there. (prepared to do a lot of trimming)

Link: 12 Bolt Hummer Wheel Special w/Tires




Full set of 5 wheels are tires for like ~$2,200
Put 8 or 10oz of Equal Flexx or airsoft bb's in there and good to go

Talk me out of it...

Talk me into it...

 

will bolt pattern match?

 

Yes, Trailworthy Fab can make them in whatever bolt pattern you want

 

Sooooo heavy and hate changing them...... That is all

 

Where would the spare tire go? Also, in regards to the weight and size, are you concerned that you will over tax any of the steering or drive line components?

 

I have a custom made steel swingaway. I made it to support 35" tires, but with a little modding, I can get 37 on it. As for weight, my concerns are the brakes. Jeep has aftermarket options for upgraded stopping power, but I haven't seen any for the rover.

For steering/driveline I have:
- HD steering rods
- front and rear double cardan HD woody shafts (rotoflex delete)
- adjustable HD panhard
- extended brake and ABS lines
- HD cross pin in the transfer case center diff
- Rear panhard. Very stout DOM tubing
- HD castor corrected front arms

and I will have:
- HD axles, HD CV joints (Ashcroft)
- HD gears, and ashcroft lockers
- Lemforder tie rod ends

So yeah I think that covers everything, except for brakes. I'm pretty soft on the pedal and prefer to take my time with picking good lines, and generally will winch before trying to gun it through if I'm stuck

 

Another thought (keep in mind I am trying to talk you out of this per your request), besides the brakes how much decrease in power do you think this will cause?

 

I have no idea. I plan on putting in 4.12 gears (and I have 1.41 gears in the transfer box), so that will bring RPMs back to factory spec.

 

I ran those on my CJ6 for a while. A couple of things:

The picture you showed is a super swamper-they don't come with those. They are Goodyear Wranglers

They are HEAVY. I know others mentioned that already, but look it up. If you remove the runflats it takes a lot of weight out, but that is no easy job. I pulled mine off the rims by setting a engine hoist on the rim and then pulling the runflat off. Not sure if / how one could put them back...

They are not easy to balance. I ran 3 golf ***** in each one, and they were OK.

I switched to a metric size (315) on aluminum wheels and my jeep has a ton more pep and faster braking. they do amount to 4 large 140 lb flywheels to get started and to get stopped.

Lastly, and perhaps most important. I had to run special steering arms as the Hummer wheels have a ton of offset and the rim sets way back over the steering and brakes. If you are doing custom wheels in a 16.5 keep in mind that those 16.5 tires are the easiest to roll off the bead. Google is your friend.

I would never go back.

 

Those are all good points, I'll just add:

- These wheels weigh 72 pounds each, plus 60 ish for the tire
- No run flats, they use pvc inserts instead
- normal hummer wheels do indeed have a large backspacing (7" I think), but these wheels from Trailworthy Fab are custom, and you choose the backspacing .. probably 4"

The weight is a problem, no doubt. 72 pound wheels is what... just over twice the factory alloy's?

What are my other options? I guess I need new rims. I don't want to go back to factory alloys, I want a beadlock. One idea is to get the cheap 16x8 steelies and weld on beadlock rings, but I'm not sure I want to go through that. A 17" rim would be ideal for optimal tire options.