37x14x18 Nitto tires on an H2

[Jim M]

I saw an H2 at the dealer that featured 365/60 R18 Nitto TerraGrappler tires on Boyd Coddington 18x10 polished rims. The dealer wanted $5000 for the upgrade and I almost passed out. I've been doing the research and found both the rims and tires for a little less than half that. But the tire/wheel combo was so tight! ("tight" means good to all you old folks). Using a tire metric conversion calculator I found that those tires were 37x14.5x18.

Here's my question: I like to off-road. No real rock-crawling. Mostly sand, dirt and snow in So Cal. #1 Do you think that these wider tires would rub when off-roading. I've read some posts about ordering wheels with a specific offset, but I'm clueless there. #2 Do you think there's any difference off-roading with 18" rims vs. 17" rims assuming 37" tires?

If I get them, I will definately post pics, before and after. The dealer pointed me to www.SMAHummer.com (http://www.SMAHummer.com) where you can see the wheels and tires but they only sell to Hummer dealers.

[Jim M]

I saw an H2 at the dealer that featured 365/60 R18 Nitto TerraGrappler tires on Boyd Coddington 18x10 polished rims. The dealer wanted $5000 for the upgrade and I almost passed out. I've been doing the research and found both the rims and tires for a little less than half that. But the tire/wheel combo was so tight! ("tight" means good to all you old folks). Using a tire metric conversion calculator I found that those tires were 37x14.5x18.

Here's my question: I like to off-road. No real rock-crawling. Mostly sand, dirt and snow in So Cal. #1 Do you think that these wider tires would rub when off-roading. I've read some posts about ordering wheels with a specific offset, but I'm clueless there. #2 Do you think there's any difference off-roading with 18" rims vs. 17" rims assuming 37" tires?

If I get them, I will definately post pics, before and after. The dealer pointed me to www.SMAHummer.com (http://www.SMAHummer.com) where you can see the wheels and tires but they only sell to Hummer dealers.

[SJ]

Jim M:

I'm far from being an expert, but I've wheeled casually since I was old enough to drive an old '81 K-5 Blazer. To cut to the chase, I have yet to read any magazine that endorses anything larger than a 17" wheel for off-pavement use.

I'm a regular reader of Four Wheeler, JP Mag, Land Rover Owner International, and sometimes I grab Off-Road and Petersen's. All of these resources seem to knock larger wheels for the following unified reasons:

- Added Weight
- Reduction of Sidewall Flex
- Larger Diameter = More Prone to Scraping on Rocks and Other Obstacles

JP Mag went so far as to call anything larger than 17s completely worthless.

Personally, I'd go the opposite direction with a 16" wheel on my H2, but don't know if that size will clear the calipers & brake assembly. I'm a fan of 15s and 16s for wheeling, but the "STREET" look has folks going with 18s, 19s, 20s, and even 22s+.

It's your hard-earned dollars so go for what makes you happy.