Military Tires

[Quackaddict]

OK got a quick question. Around here there are a million sets of military tires for sale. They mainly come in 2 flavors the 36x12.5 goodyears and the 37x12.5 goodyears. I have run the 36's before and while they are a hard tire and will last forever I am just not a huge fan of them. So I have been pricing several different tires.

Throw in this monkey wrench I found a set of old style aluminum slots in 8 lug which I really like issue being they are 16.5 and tires go for around $400 bucks each, while I can get the 37x12.5 military M/T's for about $300 a set.

My question is how well do the 37" version do on the road as far as handling and ride etc. Just trying to get some opinions on that version as I have never run them

[71blksuper4x4]

I used to run those on my old 72'. They are fine. A lot smoother riding than the 36"s. (I ran those as well) They do tend to wear down much like the 36"s, but for $300/ set, you can't go wrong if setup for them. Trevor

[Quackaddict]

Originally Posted by 71blksuper4x4

I used to run those on my old 72'. They are fine. A lot smoother riding than the 36"s. (I ran those as well) They do tend to wear down much like the 36"s, but for $300/ set, you can't go wrong if setup for them. Trevor

yeah that was my thinking I can buy 4 sets of these for the price of 1 set of regular tires, and here in DFW there is an army depot up north so these tires are always very easy to come by.

My truck right (just bought 2 months ago) actually has the 36's on them, gonna get my new rims and a set of 37's then sell the 36's. so I should come out almost even. on tires but go up in size.

[Mike C]

I've been thinking about going to the radials as well. Not super happy with the driveability of the Bias tires. How much taller are they? I can go up a little in height with my 4" lift, but not a lot. The 36's are almost identical in loaded height to my 35" BFG MT's that came off.

[Quackaddict]

There are 2 sizes in the military pull-offs that I was referring to the 36x12.5 and 37x12.5 both are on 16.5 rims. Now there are ton more sizes of pull-offs but these are the HUMVEE pulloffs not the big trucks heck you can get 52" military tires.

[71blksuper4x4]

Pretty sure when my set of the 37"s were new, they measured almost a true 38". Once they wear though, yes the right at 37"s. It's been several years since I ran them, but I ran them until I lifted it higher for 42"s. I'll dig for a pic of them on it. Trevor

[Mike C]

Sorry if I was unclear, I thought it was obvious we were talking 36 & 37 Humvee tires.

The loaded height of my 36's is the same as my 35" BFGs, right at 34". By loaded I mean mounted on the vehicle with 22 lbs of air measured from the ground to a level across the top of the tire. I would figure the Michelin radials would be about 35"-36" loaded measured the same way.

[Quackaddict]

Which Michelin radials? I haven't seen those the 37's I have seen were Goodyear m/t's.

[Mil-Spec]

How cool is it that this topic came up? My old dry-rotted 31x10.5 tires that came on my 79 Burb are giving up the ghost. And I'm seriously thinking about going with the HMMWV 37s.

My questions are, what is the recommended lift for tires this tall?

And also on some other board they were bashing these tires, saying their pavement handling characteristics were horrible. Now I've driven HMMWVs and other military types on and off road but never noticed anything negative.

Anyone that has driven on them, have anything bad to say about them?

Thanks

[renegade6]

I've had 37"s on a HMMWV and driven on the autobahn and they are a lot better than the 36"s.

[msgross]

Originally Posted by Mil-Spec

My questions are, what is the recommended lift for tires this tall?

I think that you will need a 6" lift minimum, and larger if you plan to bounce it around hard on the trail, depends on the truck though. You could also trim some metal if you had rubbing...

[Dieselwrencher]

I've ran bothe sets of the goodyears and I like the 37's a lot better. It has a lot to do with them being a radial vs. a bias ply. The only problem is around here the 37's aren't as plentiful for some reason.

[Mike C]

They are available lots of different places on line. I got a quote for 5 of the Michelins delivered from California to Texas for $580. His tires are 90% tread used. I paid $550 delivered for 5 36" Goodyears brand new which is what I am running now. Don't care for the biasply ties.

Anybody with loaded height measurement on the 37's?

[Quackaddict]

well these are gonna have to be my second set of tires, I ran across some 37" Super Swamper SSR's on rims for $300 so I picked them up. I like that the new rims are 16.5 so as soon as the SSR's are gone I will go the the 37"

My question would be the same as Mike C can anyone tell me how tall the 37's are once on the vehicle because the SSR's fit but I am thinking of adding a 4" lift to my truck so they have more room they look a little "stuffed" but if the HMVEE 37's are much shorter I may save the money and deal with it.

[71blksuper4x4]

If the 37"s are close to being new or new... they measure almost 38" tall. If they are 1/2 tread or so, they are more in the 37" range. Trevor

[Quackaddict]

cool I will be adding the additional 4" for sure...............but then I am gonna want to run some 39's

[motomaster99]

Does anybody know where to get 6 lug 16.5 wheels to run the humvee tires on a half ton? I don't want to upgrade to 3/4 ton axles because my factory axles are 4.11 posi and i've seen half ton axles with much bigger tires go through hell and not break (I don't plan on beating my 71). I have a new set of the 37 radials I picked up for $300.

[81k10]

my 87 is on the 37x12.50s and they ride REALLY good for big tires. ive had all kinds of tires over 35 inches and personally they are my favorite. they ride the best. they clean out the best. and they are cheap. if our military has used them for years and we all know they beat the living $#it out of stuff with no problems. they are top dog in my opinion. just my $.02

[Davidmichael]

I would always go with the 37's in stead of the 36's. They are just made better IMO.

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by Davidmichael

I would always go with the 37's in stead of the 36's. They are just made better IMO.

That's because the 36's are bias ply and the 37's are radials. Night and day difference.