2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Cheap 35" tires/wheels...H2 takeoffs

[EGILLILAND]

Here’s how I did it.







Bought the tires/wheels on ebay…got a set of 5 for $725. New hummer buyers seem to be just throwing these away…. . they’d cost over $2K from a dealer. The tires alone will run at best $130 a piece…. that’s assuming you have 17” wheels to mount them on…and live next to the warehouse you’re buying the tires from…. shipping can be a killer.







Anyway here goes.







Bolt pattern is spot on…no mod required. Two modifications that are of concern.







Center hub hole diameter. The stock H2 wheels measure 4. 58”…where our second gen trucks measure 4. 75”. That comes down to (4. 75-4. 58)/2 = . 085 of metal to remove from inside of hub hole.

Centercaps…. . the stock H2 caps fit the front…but the rear axle hub won’t let them fit. You could cut a hole in the H2 caps to make them work on the rear hubs and you’re off and running. The H2 caps look OK…buy they’re kinda like ladies underwear…they might feel good but you don’t want your Dodge buddies catching you using them J. So you need to do some trimming of the stock centercaps to get them to fit the new wheels.

 

[EGILLILAND]

stand by for pictures

 

[EGILLILAND]

Here’s a pic of the stock (H2)wheel…note the lip on the inside of the hub hole…. you wind up removing most of this lip until you have a flush surface inside the hub. At first I opened up the wheel to exactly 4. 75”…. too tight a fit. Too easy for the wheel to bind slightly while mounting it. I recommend opening them up to 4. 77-4. 78”.

 

[EGILLILAND]

Ridge reamer in action. Just a basic old fashioned ridge reamer. The same one you used in high school shop to prep that block prior to honing and re-ringing. Just go slow…using some oil. Yes that’s an 18V cordless, running real slow!…. It took me about 20-30min per wheel.

 

[EGILLILAND]

Here’s the modified centercaps. Trimmed cap on the left, original on the right. Note the trimmed chrome section on top. You trim this one first in order to gain better access to the metal underneath. It’s just plastic and trimmed very easily using a small wheel cutter. I just held it flat against a shop table. I removed the bottom . 5 inch.







The next piece of cap I trimmed was the metal spring center that actually grips the lug nuts. I removed the bottom approx 3/8” to make sure it would seat against the lugs correctly. Overall the fit was OK…could have been better. I’m a little paranoid so I’m going to play around with either some silicone or strategically placed JB weld to make sure they only come off when I want to. I made a test run down the bumpiest road I could find…almost catching some air…. . hubs stayed…. hope they keep on staying.

 

[EGILLILAND]

That’s about it. . 35” tires and wheels, brand new for less than the cost of the tires…. Plus a little redneck engineering.







Semper BOMbing.



PS. If you'd like higher res pictures to look at just PM me... I'll zip them up and send them out.



Cheers all,



Gill

 

[jkern]

the problem is though, unless you get the hub hole perfectly round, like turn it out on a lathe, the tires and wheels will never balance on a tire machine cause the center may not be perfectly round.

 

[EGILLILAND]

Totally agree. I took the chance with the ridge reamer. There are the same concerns as well with an engine block. I was fairly confident using the reamer because as long as you START with a concentric circle... you should finish with a concentric circle. . as long as the reamer is used correctly.



Same concern about balancing as well for those out there that machine more metal off for the centercaps to fit. The "out of balance forgiveness" reduces more and more the further out from center that metal is removed.



Biggest reason I think this mod is OK... (for now, I'll update everyone after a summer of driving) is the minimal amount of metal required during the removal.



I'll keep the information coming. .



Gill



PS... I ops checked the ride up to 90+... . ride is smoother with this setup than with the Cooper 285s/steel 16's I was running. Pretty sure the balancing held.

 

[Brand-X]

If the tire and wheel are out it will show up on the balancer, then you could have them balance it on the pins that go in the stud holes...



George

 

[Hemiless]

How's the backspacing?

EGILLILAND



How is the backspacing on these H2 rims compare to the stock second generation rims? Have you had any rubbing problems lock to lock or when bottoming out the suspension? what is the tire type and size you are running.

Nice job on opening up the centers I would have never thought to use a ridge reamer. Dad used a mill 25 years ago to open up the centers of old chevy 6bolt 16" wheels so we could run them on our Landcrusier. Never had any problems and I don't think you will either.



I saw a set of the H2 wheels powdercoated black on Ebay and they would look awesome on a CTD dodge.



Would love to see a higher Res picture of your truck sporting the h2 wheels.

 

[vssman]

Originally posted by EGILLILAND

…buy they’re kinda like ladies underwear…they might feel good but you don’t want your Dodge buddies catching you using them...

WHOA!!! That's a little too much detail. LOL

 

[Chipstien]

:-laf :-laf :-laf

 

[EGILLILAND]

vssman



I wouldn't know... . but we shouldn't hold anything against our Ferd driving friends for their choice of undergarments.

 

[EGILLILAND]

Hemiless

Let me throw a tape measure on an old wheel compared to the H2 spare I have left to modify. I'll post the numbers I get.



I had another Dodge dude who had done this tell me they had 5. 5" backspacing... . I'll verify that before I call in fact.



Stand by for words,



Gill

 

[CFAR]

Have you had any problems with rubbing?

 

[RussW1911]

How much of a lift do you have on the truck to get them to fit?

 

[EGILLILAND]

Zero rubbing yet. Pretty sure I won't. I've read in other links elsewhere that there is some minor rubbing possible on a control arm with the wheel on the lock and hitting a big bump at the same time.

 

[EGILLILAND]

PS no lift kit on my truck. I think if you were inclined to add one of the 2" leveling kits out there it would be all but impossible to hit anything on the truck.

 

[EGILLILAND]

Here's the pictures of my project I posted into the readers rigs section:



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&userid=8509&albumid=16282



Here's another thread from another site detailing some different perspectives on the same project.



http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?threadid=36278



One more from the TDR:

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=92941



Take care everyone,



Gill

 

[2broke2smoke]

will the h2 tires fit on the wifes '03 without any mods?