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Ok yes another 16.5 wheel question.

5K views 31 replies 16 participants last post by  leojr 
#1 ·
Ok well ive searched and searched and cant find the answer to my questions.

I have 4 humvee tires W/ full rubber run flats, dot approved goodyear's straight off base, but obviously ford screwed us with the lug patterns.

#1: If i buy Mickey Thomson 16.5 wheels will these tires stay on at normal psi and be safe to put my daughter in the truck...i do wheeling but never air down or anything like that.

#2: If I were to go and buy some trail worthy fab custom wheels, can i run them as DD safely(again i have a daughter).

#3: What back spacing should i run? I have after market wheels now with 4.5 but i truelly love the wide stance look...is a 2.5 backspacing to agressive or just go 3.5...yes i know I might have to cut my bumper but thats ok, i only have a 4inch lift anyways so the 37's will rub regardless for now.


Thanks for the input guys.

-Ed
 
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#2 ·
not that this answers your question but here is My 2 cents

I have 16.5's on my Blazer they were High $$ Rims and bought years ago just before they basically did away with them as the norm 8 lug rim

I will need new rubber some day And I think it would be time to ditch the rims
and get a saftey bead on say an 18 " like I have on My Superduty
 
#3 ·
i wouldnt put my daughter in a truck with militray tires (used ones at that) without having them beadlocked.

try and find a 16.5in rim that is beadlocked, regular 16.5 dont have a bead to retain the tire like the other size rims do. if safety is paramount, stick with a 16/17/18/etc rim size.

just my opinion but being military... i have seen what those tires go through.
 
#4 ·
Well that goes to my second question. If trail worthy fab wheels are good for DD then ill just buy a set of those.

My issue is $1400 on tires is down right stupid when i can get the humvee wheels for $150 set of 4 with 90% tread.


4 tires at $350 = $1400

4 TWF wheels at $200 = $800 but tires are time a dozen
 
#7 ·
The issue with 16.5s breaking the bead out wheeling is when they are aired down. If you don't air down, then it's a self correcting situation as I see it.

Unless the tires are cut or the sidewalls split, I would run them on my rig. In fact, I have a set of 16.5 Convo Pro Centerlines in the garage for some military 37s eventually.

Karl
 
#9 ·
? what are you after ? ?



yes the demise of the 16.5 was the lack of retention when proper air pressure
was compromised and since you have no control if you get a puncture

you have no control whether your tire leaves the seating area and causes a roll over or complete lack of steering etc
 
#10 ·
? what are you after ? ?



yes the demise of the 16.5 was the lack of retention when proper air pressure was compromised and since you have no control if you get a puncture you have no control whether your tire leaves the seating area and causes a roll over or complete lack of steering etc
While I am not devaluating this statement, I would think that a blow out on a lifted front could have the same hazards.

Karl
 
#11 ·
I work in the tire industry for a living and my .02 cents is this:
Stay away from the 16.5" for highway use period.

They are way to dangerous in a low pressure situation! yes blow outs can happen even on standard 16/17/18 etc but the chances of the wheel/tire loosing the bead and rendering that steering point useless is extremely small, on the other hand the 16.5" with a 10psi pressure loss can dismount and if that is a steering axle you will turn the steering wheel and the wheel will turn but the tire will go where ever it wants and take you with it.

Bottom line for me is simply this, if the tires you want are $1400 who cares? pay for that safety and don't let $350 in 16.5" take offs make your truck unsafe!!!
 
#12 ·
How many sets of 16.5s have you owned? I know plenty of people who go wheeling on 16.5s, they just don't air them down. If they are so unsafe, why can I still get tires? BFG still sells 35x12.50-16.50 ATs.

Karl
 
#13 ·
^ The fortunate part of being in the industry is I do not need to own the products but only service them for reviews and hands on type experience... Of course companies still make the tires because there are "wheelers" that still run these because they have 16.5" wheels and have yet to remove them, in the OP's first post he mentioned his daughter twice so I am only assuming he is looking for a "safe" combo and with my industry experience I would never say a 16.5" combo is safe on the highway and this is why I gave my .02 cents worth sir.

people can offroad anything they want, when it comes to highway there are different standards and requirements.
 
#15 ·
Good point, the OP did state he was concerned about safety. I went off track a little, sorry about that.

It's not that I think they're 100% safe, nor do I disagree with anything zmann said, but I don't think they are death traps either. Driving a lifted truck has inherent dangers regardless of what tires you use.

Karl
 
#20 ·
We are on the same page then :)
 
#16 ·
What is so different in a 16.5 rim versus a 16 or 17? I'd suspect it is more the tire design, not the rim size? :shrug:
 
#17 · (Edited)
Sorry, I thought someone else would peg this first.

All other wheels have a groove to hold the tire bead near the wheel lip. MOST 16.5 wheels don't. I say most because the 16.5 Centerline Convo-Pros that I picked up off CL for my Souper Doody do have this groove. Anyway, without this groove/lip, when you air down your 16.5s (air down as in below 20 psi), a lateral load while wheeling can break the bead.

So, while 16.5s may be easier to dismount, a blow out on the front of a lifted truck, regardless of the wheel, is going to be a carnival ride.
 
#18 ·
Lurnin on here everyday guys , thanks for the info :thumb:
 
#19 ·
I'll take any 16.5 wheels any of you dont want...

Running them with 37" mil take off's...
 
#23 ·
the Humvee was restricted to 55mph on the highway,when I was driving them up and down I80 all the time when i was in, so there is no problem running the tire on the highway....

did you get the wheels with them? if so just get them reentered and run them(trail-worthy fab should be able to do it for you),

as for the trail worthy fab all they are is re-centered Humvee wheels and if they can handle a 10k+ pound Humvee at 55mph im pretty sure a 8k super duty will be no problem for them
 
#24 ·
I spent 12 hours going 80-90mph for 900 miles a few weeks ago... Total mileage that weekend was 2900 miles, most of it over 75 mph.

None of the tires I have run have anything other then OZ stamped on the side.

I know a guy that used to run them on a drag truck that did over 110 mph... No issues.
 
#25 ·
my roomates had some 24 bolts hummer wheels 16.5 x9.75 on the 37 semi directional tires on his dodge for months now no issues...

we had problems with tire shops not wanting to mount them so we used some starting fluid with an air hose hooked to the valve and did the trick.

the 37 semi are safe tires and I would trust them as any other tire for a powerstroke. I have considered them for quite sometime. ebay has the wheels for 366 shipped and the tires from 100dallrtireman .
 
#26 ·
Figures you live in Cali... LOL

I had no issue with tire shops mounting them.
 
#27 ·
with proper maintenance your good, Remember about 15yrs when ford did its Firestone tire recall? Well the issue then wasn't with the tires it was tire pressure. Well needless to say the tires got too warm when the customer neglected them by not checking tire pressures and the tires failed. Every car I owned had recalled tires on them thanks to ford never a had a issue neither did any of my friends...
 
#30 ·
I just put recentered hmmwwv wheels on my fj40 rocking d60s off a 90s ford. And he can do our bolt pattern and 3.5in bs if I want for my truck. I have an 07. Will they fit the brakes? Is 3.5 in bs enough?
 
#32 ·
Great part about recentering is you can have just about any bolt pattern welded in.
 
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