What Kind of Wheel Can I Use on my H1 ?
Updated October 11, 2011
This article is not a ‘how to’ on wheel and tire maintenance. I started writing it when I received an email asking what the inside scoop was on Hummer wheels. This is my take on the subject.
The factory one-piece steel wheels are hub-centric, and use the flanged lug nuts. All other wheels, are lug-centric and use the "acorn" lug nuts. What this means is that the one-piece factory wheel depends on it's fit over the hub for centering and support. Because of this the hub hole in a one piece wheel (4-3/4") is about 1/32" in diameter smaller then the other Hummer wheels.
The correct way to measure the width of a wheel is from bead seat to bead seat.
Another important factor in wheel maintenance is lug nut torque. See the article on mounting and balancing wheels.
Because New aluminum wheels have some crush value left in them they should be retorqued at 50, 100 and 200 miles. After that they should hold their torque.
Another question that gets asked a lot is how shinny can you polish an aluminum wheel? Cepek says that you can only get them to a certain level due to the amount of porosity in the material / castings. Once you reach a certain point the harder you try the worse they look.
All the Hummer H1 wheels use a standard 8 bolt x 6.5" pattern found on Chevy and older Ford trucks. This doesn't mean that you can use just any wheel on your Hummer. Wheel load capacity is most important. It would be pretty devastating if a wheel cracked in half as you were driving down the highway at 65mph. A Hummer is much heavier then most trucks, especially loaded with accessories and requires a wheel that can stand up to the weight and off-road abuse. My stock 98 wagon weighs 8000. The factory 2 piece steel wheel is rated at 3,400 pounds. The Cepek 17" aluminum wheel is rated at 4,500 pounds. Most owners don't realize that the stress and strain on the truck is much more on the road due to the speed of the truck. Hitting a bump off the road at 2 or 3 mph is much less stressful than hitting a pothole at 30 mph or the constant punishment of driving at 60+ mph..
All H1 Hummer wheels have a 7" backset. Backset is the distance from the back of the wheel to the inner edge hub contact plane of the wheel. Several issues stem from changing the offset. One is clearance between the inside of the wheel and the suspension parts / geared hub. Another has to do with loading of the hub bearing. If you change the location of the tire you change forces on the spindle of the geared hub. The first thing you're going to notice if you have the wrong offset is that the tires are sticking out beyond the wheel wells. You will get road dirt, snow and slush kicked up all over the sides of your truck. An extreme example of what not to do are those customized 'low riders' with their wheels sticking way out beyond the body. If your wheel is cantilevered out way beyond its' design limit it acts as a big lever, multiplying all the forces acting on the hub. Changing the backset also changes where the center line of the wheel will be in relation to the steering and suspension geometry. This effects alignment which in turn will effect handling and tire wear.
The third issue with aftermarket wheels is the location of the air valve hole. You will need custome CTI lines to make this work. If the hole in the rim for the wheel fitting isn't pointing up you will have problems fitting CTI lines to the wheel.
There are only 2 companies making proper wheels for the H1; AM General and GT / Cepek.
The H1 and the H2 have the same bolt pattern. H2 wheels have a smaller hub. H2 wheels are 17" X 8.5". I've seen H2 wheels used on H1's but it's not a good idea because of the backset. You have to machine the H2 hub out 3/32's so the wheel will fit on an H1. I don't know that the load capacity of the H2 wheel is enough for the H1. The backset of the H2 wheel is not the same as the H1. The Backset of the H2 wheels are 5.625". This means that they stick out another 1.375".
Here's a story that illustrates the point:
Cepek was shipping new wheels to a small automotive company as replacements for KMC beadlocks and some Interco IROK 39.5" tires. they had purchased from Predator to install on one of their customers Alphas.
Being in the wheel business, Cepek knows that If you purchase wheels from KMC for an H1 they will put a disclaimer on their invoice saying that "these wheels are not load rated or designed for use on an H1 and are not to be used on that vehicle".
Predator told them that they were built specifically for the H1 and would have no problem.
The owner of the H1 had the wheels installed, headed out for the Glamis Sand Dunes and one tire and wheel failed enroute to the dunes. He apparently had to purchase another tire and wheel to make it to his destination..
As I understand the story, he spent a day or two at the dunes, and on the way back home had the same problem and had to purchase another wheel and tire just to get home.
Basically, the ring bolts and ring blew off the wheel part way and ruined both the tire and wheel each time.
The company that did the install called Predator and they wouldn't do anything so the installer called KMC directly and was told that the wheels weren't rated nor certified for use on an H1 therefore no warranty would be allowed.
The installer had apparently called Predator again, and was told that these wheels were made specifically for the H1. When the installer informed Predator that they had contacted KMC directly and were told the exact opposite, Predator was supposed to look into this and get back.
According to the installer this has been going on for 7 months and their customer is fed up with waiting and wanted something done.
Long story short they have ordered Cepek / GT wheels and are giving them to the customer since they are responsible for the installation.
I also heard that Predator is now refusing to do anything about this, and I would guess the installers only option at this point is to sue Predator for the damages.
I'm also sure that they simply installed the tires on those wheels with no consideration of bead width and used no shims to compensate for the thicker bead, and were not advised to do so by Predator.
