Had my H2 wheels and tires installed today! The folks couldn't find a tire pressure rating for the H2 wheels and warned me not to inflate them over 55psi. They called the local Hummer dealer and even they didn't know.

Does anyone know the pressure limitation on the H2 wheels? One thing for sure, the rig handles a lot better with the 265/70R/17 Michelin LTX's and I think it looks a heck alto better!

Nice looking set-up!

Max psi cold on the H2's tires is 50 psi.
I would use the psi on the tire. You will have to keep an eye on the tire and adjust the psi depending on how the tires wear.

Im running 80psi in the rear and 70 in the front and am getting excellent wear on the tires. Most of my wear and feathering comes from the rear tires. Alcoa makes the H2 rims, and IIRC, they are 3400lbs rated wheels and can be aired up to 80psi.

I have 50 psi front & rear

The tire guys advised not to inflate the rears of 50psi since they couldn't find the pressure rating of the rim. I'm of the mind the H2 rims wouldn't have problem with it, but it would be nice to know for sure. Since a max pressure rating is usually stamped on them.

I don't know who manufactures the Hummer H2 wheels, however since they are OEM equipment, you may rest assured they were made by the parts supplier with the lowest bid... By that I mean, I don't feel they have a substantial amount of strength margin above what they were designed for, specifically Hummer H2s (which have a maximum axle rating of 5,000 lb for the rear axle, and max tire pressure of 50 psi).

Note, I am NOT talking about what load/weight the H2 BFG tires are rated for, but rather to what load rating and air pressure the rims were designed given their OEM application.

Based on their OEM application, the rims would then have a minimum load rating of 2,500 lb per wheel, and maximum tire air pressure of 50 psi. It MAY be acceptable to slightly exceed that occasionally, but I would NOT reccomend running them consistently at loads substantially over 2,500 lbs and air pressures substantially higher than 50 psi. While they are unlikely to ever fail at a load of 2,501 lb or air pressure of 51 psi, running them continuously at 3,500 lb and an air pressure of 80 psi is not a good idea...

So, if you have fifth wheel towing in mind, you may want to consider other rims with KNOWN higher load and air pressure ratings.

With all that said, I presently have H2 rims with H2 BFG 315/70R17 tires on my truck, but I only run 30~40 psi because that's all I need in order to have a good ride and sufficient load capacity.

With smaller tires, you would need higher air pressures, and for that reason, to me, it seems not quite prudent to use relatively small tires on H2s. (not trying to flame anyone)

I know there are also those who say the H2 rims are junk because they are cast aluminum. I do not agree. As a mechanical engineer, I understand the tradeoffs between the manufacturing processes used to produce the rims, their strength and their per unit costs.

By that I mean, forged wheels are stronger when compared on a pound for pound (of aluminum) basis, or forged wheels can be equally strong, but lighter in weight compared to cast wheels. Forged rims also cost a hell of a lot more to produce. The flip side of this is cast rims (and heat treated--which H2 rims are heat treated) can be as strong as forged rims, but only if they have thicker walls, sections, etc. resulting in a heavier rim for a given level of strength. And cast rims cost less to make.

I hope this helps.

With all that in mind, I'm glad I don't tow heavy loads. Thank you for the qualitative analysis!

I was just bs'n with Nick (Diesel Power) and he's been doing sled pulls using his H2 wheels without any problems. At 40,000lbs drag weight with full power applied without any wheel failures, I'm not concerned 'bout it anymore. . .