Finished building my Hummer beadlock rims

[Brian1]

Well I think this fits here in offroad fabrication more than tires/wheels forum. I just finished up building a set of recentered hummer beadlock rims for my crawler. Im not going to go too in-depth about the build because the wheel buildup will be featured in a 4x4 magazine tech article in the future.

I went with hummer wheels because I needed a beadlock for my 16.5" rim size tire which are known for loosing beads easily. The stock hummer wheels have about 7" of stock backspacing which is excessive and will not clear many steering setups including mine. I bought new pressed centers from USA6x6 with my 8 lug pattern. You can get them in others as well.

Started by cutting out the stock center with a plasma. Next was placing the wheel on a jig to weld the new center in. This is the important part so the wheels run true. 0.030" is supposedly the industry standard for wheel runout. The center was tacked then bolted on to my rear axle and rotated with an indicator. Then they got welded up.

Next the rock rings got welded on the outer shell. This is to reinforce the wheel lip which is flimsy on the 8 bolt wheels. The ring is 1/4" and is from Ballistic Fabrication. The cut outs around the outside allow for mud to be washed out.

The beadlock is a newer design from 66CJDean at Performance Cryogenics. It is basically a cage that gets welded together and put inside the tire which locks both beads in place. I put a tack on each joint to make sure they dont come apart, shown where the pieces of tape are.

The 2 wheel halves bolt together making tire mounting very easy.

 

[Brian1]

Next the outer shell was bolted on and each nut torqued to 65 ft-lb

The finished wheel and tire combo shown below. Each one weighs in at a backbreaking 150lbs

 

[RangerX]

Nice, Brian! What are those, 38's? Post a pic when you get then on the Jeep.

 

[Brian1]

Nice, Brian! What are those, 38's? Post a pic when you get then on the Jeep.

Yeah forgot to mention they are 38.5x14x16.5 Swamper SX tires. Thanks!

 

[Randall]

I don't suppose you want to make me some...

 

[IZwack]

I don't suppose you want to make me some...

umm me too im too far tho

 

[tdavis]

The finished wheel and tire combo shown below. Each one weighs in at a backbreaking 150lbs

Almost better than putting water/ballast into the tires! Nice job.

Where did you get the original hummer wheels from?

 

[GJarrett]

Whoa! Brian when I first opened the thread I thought you were going to put them on your Explorer..... you sure couldn't claim "almost-stock-sleeper-wheeler" with those on, LOL

Great job

 

[Brian1]

Haha Gerald, I dont think they would quite fit the Explorer in its current state. I have plans to use H2 wheels with beadlock rings when that stage finally comes around.

Tom, I got the stock wheels off ebay for about $46 each including shipping. That has been the cheapest i have found once shipping was factored in.

Hopefully the 150 lb tires will keep me planted on the ground during climbs especially with the short wheelbase.

 

[Brian1]

Randall and IZ, if you guys want wheels pre-assembled like this I would recommend Dean at Performance Cryogenics although he does them with flat plate centers instead of pressed. Do not buy manufactured wheels from USA6x6, they dont have a good reputation for that. Off the shelf parts are no problem with them though.

 

[mrboyle]

Looks good Brian!

 

[Randall]

Randall and IZ, if you guys want wheels pre-assembled like this I would recommend Dean at Performance Cryogenics although he does them with flat plate centers instead of pressed. Do not buy manufactured wheels from USA6x6, they dont have a good reputation for that. Off the shelf parts are no problem with them though.

I'll probably end up getting mine through Stazworks, that way I can get the outer rock ring to say 'Demon4x4.com - Wheelin' Demons'!

 

[funkeymonkey4x4]

OK ...CHECK THIS OUT.

I have a couple 94 explorers I use to off road only through every type of terrain you can imagine. I have been running 33 x 12.50 scab tires and I am tired of tire problems(cost involved). I wish I could have some tweels but cant afford that option even if they were being produced for passanger vehicles.


Leaves me with the only option I have. I have about 6 wheels 8 lug - 2 pc 12 bolt hummer wheels.
I also am sitting on some where around 20 alright to good condition hummer tires to use.

Just have to find a way to get them to bolt onto the stock axles. I am limited with funds to do this but I have made up my mind. I am going to have me some big tires. I need help with Ideas of what you or others have done to mount these on a stock explorer axles.

please don't go off one clearance issues from height. My motto is if it don't fit, I will cut it to fit. If its not needed it to go v room, it can be cut off and if needed I can always weld brackets or block it for height. I can make it as high as I need it to go to make them fit.

Issue at hand:
I just need to know whats needed in backspacing and how to convert from the 5x4.5 lug pattern stock to the 8x6.5 hummer bolt pattern. any ideas?

hope to hear from you all soon. If i get this together I will make a thread showing how I completed the task and any mechanical weakness involved in the design which will be found guaranteed. I brake something every time we go out.

thanks for your time and happy trailing!!!!!

 

[IZwack]

I just need to know whats needed in backspacing and how to convert from the 5x4.5 lug pattern stock to the 8x6.5 hummer bolt pattern. any ideas?

I dont think you have a choice in backspacing unless you buy/make new wheel centers, cut the old ones out, and weld the new ones in. Since funds are limited, the best option is to probably go with wheel adapters.

 

[Brian1]

Wow, old thread bump! I was surprised to see this one come back up. I have since made another set of wheels when I got new tires, maybe I should do an update.

funkeymonkey4x4, just buy these wheel centers with the 5 on 4.5 pattern and weld them in your wheels. This will be your best and strongest option. http://www.trailworthyfab.com/H1-Hummer-Bead-Lock-Pressed-Wheel-Centers.html

 

[funkeymonkey4x4]

I really do like this concept but the only problem I see with welding in these wheel centers is I believe they would interfere with future stud replacement for the two piece wheel studs. how have you overcome this problem?

brian1, I also i saw that you had used 8 bolt instead of the 12 bolt that I have. the more the bolts, the more compounded I see this problem being. how have you over come this problem?

I am sure you can get away with a single stud missing in worst case scenario but there would be more problems as the wheel is stressed with the lack of stud becomes lack of studs as more and more break do to the additional stress applied until you have too large of a leak to maintain any type of pressure.

by the way thanks guys for taking the time to reply to my questions.

 

[Brian1]

I really do like this concept but the only problem I see with welding in these wheel centers is I believe they would interfere with future stud replacement for the two piece wheel studs. how have you overcome this problem?

The wheel centers I used and the ones I linked to have the holes in them. You just have to pay attention to the orientation you weld them in at so the studs can pass through the windows. My 12 bolts are the same way, it does make it a little harder and you lose the ability to press the studs back in (from the back) but you just draw them in with a nut in that case.

Alternatively you can buy new bolts with a flange and put them in backwards with 2 wrenches as one of my friends has done. He kept breaking and damaging them on rocks because he doesnt use a rock ring so he installed them backwards with the nuts on the inside.

Hang on a few and I will update with my 12 bolt wheel build...

 

[Brian1]

UPDATE

Last year I got new tires and built new H1 12 bolt wheels for them. Hummer wheels are 16.5" and are a 2 piece design that bolt together. There are a few versions and differences. The most common are 8 bolt for bias tires and 12 bolts for radial tires. There are at least 2 versions of the 12 bolts which uses different o-rings. Im not going to dive into too much Hummer Wheel tech since there is alot of info already out there.

I started out with 5 bone stock 12 bolt H1 rims that had 37" tires mounted on them. I broke them all down and removed the rubber runflats from the tires. A HD ratchet strap was used to compress the runflat and then I tied 1 end of the tire to a tree and the runflat to my Explorer, a gentle tug popped all of the runflats out with ease.

Next up I plasma cut out the old wheel centers to install new centers to achieve a more desirable backspacing. The 12 bolt wheels are harder to cut than the 8 bolts but I did manage to use the other half of the wheel for a rough template and then cleaned up the cut with a grinder and then flap wheel. No pictures of this step, I forgot!

Next I dropped the pressed centers in from the back until they bottomed out on the lip, took a few measurements and then tacked them in place. I mounted them up and checked the runout, all in the area of .030"-.040" which was good enough for me. Each one was fully welded around the inside of the lip.

Next up was the beadlock options. There are several out there including cut down magnesium runflats, cut down rubber runflats, PVC beadlocks and fabricated steel beadlocks. I have run the fabricated steel runflats for several years before in my old wheels (see above) and that is the route I went again. They are very light compared to the others and are very easy to install inside the tire. This time I made my own. I redesigned the old ones I had to be bolt together and then cut them on my CNC plasma table. They are made from 1/4" steel and I experimented with the width untill I got it right. Pitbull Tires have an extremely thick bead and required a custom width that was different than the stock runflats/beadlocks.

Welding the pieces together

Here is one tacked together and shown installed on the wheel. You can see how it clamps the bead on both sides.

And installed in the tire

Once those were all made it was time to move onto the valve stem. 8 bolt wheels use a common valve stem and the 12 bolts use an oddball oval hole brass and steel stem. I wanted normal rubber stems so I ordered up a package of 25 on Ebay (TR415 stems, 1 1/4" tall). I welded up the oval hole, ground it smooth and then redrilled it to the size speced by the stem. Note that the maximum rim thickness for the stems is exceeded by the H1 wheel but so far no issues at all.

Piece of flattened copper tube to be a backdrop to the weld

Drilling the holes

After the holes were drilled it was time for rockrings. I didn't like any of the available rockrings on the market so again I designed and then cut my own out of 1/4" steel. Each one was welded and then painted. The final step just before tires was to install the stems. A little soap to lubricate them and an invaluable tool for installing valve stems. Using the right tool made installation easy.

And done, ready for tires!

Installing the tires is pretty easy. Prop the wheel up on a block of wood and drop the tire down onto the wheel. I used new O-rings from Marco Rubber (online supplier), greased them up slightly and then put the outer shell on. Tighten in a criss-cross pattern and in various torque stages. Impact torque sticks >>> torque wrench for this application. 12 bolts x 5 wheels = 60, torqued in 2 different stages = 120 times!!

And all finished

Assembled weight of the 41.5 Pitbull on the H1 wheel is 182lbs each!

 

[Kevlar7R]

damn impressive work!

Reminds me of when I made a replica Ferrari with a stick welder, some old washing machines, and a 1972 pinto. Okay no... That didn't happen.

 

[94_Xploder]

Nice work! I wanted to get a set for my SAS'd tacoma but I ended up selling it before finishing it the 3rd time lol