HMMWV directional tires right?

[dirtyfingernails]

Acquired a number of trailers (M116A3) on GL to get these HMMWV rims for my truck. All the tires are pointed in the same direction. I'm assuming they are a directional tire. Three questions:
1. Is the orientation correct in the photo labeled pass?
2. If I break down the rim, can I just flip the tire on the rim and not worry about changing any of the runflat stuff inside (or does that stuff have an orientation also)?
3. Is breaking down the wheel difficult? I've done old Dodge MV combat rims with no problems but they have a tube. BTW, I bought new o-rings--would that be all I need to replace? (okay 4 questions)
Thanks!

 

[Lifer]

The right front tire is mounted correctly. The driver's side tire is backwards. I've never dealt with run-flat tires, but I'd imagine that you can just dismount them and flip them on the rim. Many tires now have arrows molded into the sidewalls showing the desired direction of rotation. If a tire has been run in the opposite direction from what the factory suggested for a long period of time, flipping it could be a problem. The tire may have developed a "set" that could result in damage to the tire when run in the "correct" direction.

 

[Jake0147]

Good advice. The first thing I would do is wander around the rest of the vehicle. You might get lucky and find another backwards one on the opposite side...?
I'm not familiar with these tires, but I believe that they are radial construction? If so, according to pretty much all tire manufacturer's and most all auto manufacturer's, reversing the rotation is not an issue, and in fact some actually recommend it (where the tire is not directional...). OTOH, IF there is a difference in the basic construction that makes the construction directional, then you'd be better off switching it sooner than later. You won't find OEM recommendations on that, as obviously they are directional and the recommendation is to put it in the correct orientation only...

Another thought- Again, I don't know about these specifically, but the military does their own testing, and if they determine that a directional tire performs just as well either way, they have been known to consider them non-directional and treat them accordingly.

If it were mine, I'd line them all up correctly and not look back.

 

[dirtyfingernails]

Lifer, Jake,
Thanks for the advice guys. I have 6, so I will use one as a test.

 

[Smokinyoda]

Are M1101/02 (HMMWV) tires directional?

Wasn't sure where to put this since technically they are HMMWV tires. Anyway are these tires directional? Noticed on all my trailers the tread pattern on one side is opposite of the other side. Even the set I put on my 1028 two are what I would call correct, the other two are reversed. Just wondering if I should take them off the rim and switch them or is it nothing to worry about. Hate to break them down for nothing.

 

[Trailboss]

They are non-directional as per TMs

 

[Smokinyoda]

They are non-directional as per TMs

Thanks for confirming that, was getting mixed results after doing a google search (never thought to check TM...).

Is this a common practice for the military to reverse the tread, or are mine just oddballs?

 

[KansasBobcat]

Agree nondirectional. The H1 manual states that they can be changed to point one direction for COSMETIC reasons! Be prepared to argue with your tire dealer that they are nondirectional.

 

[GMVguy]

HMMWV Tires - Directional or Non-Directional?

Hello,

Humvee tires are described often as non-directional, but they have the tread points going in one direction. Are they still non-directional, even though the points could face different directions?

 

[RustyM923]

Always follow the directional arrow on the sidewall.

 

[GMVguy]

Always follow the directional arrow on the sidewall. View attachment 559127

Nice truck. So if there is no directional arrow on the sidewall, is it safe to say they're non-directional?

In your reference picture, the tire tread is pointed in opposite directions, which is actually how I see most of the HMMWV's. Driver side pointing toward the rear and passenger toward the front. Maybe they do that to make em standard for rotating?

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

The HMMWV tires are not directional...regardless of pattern...but other tires can be.
MT's, MTR and BF Goodrich are not.

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

Nice truck. So if there is no directional arrow on the sidewall, is it safe to say they're non-directional?

In your reference picture, the tire tread is pointed in opposite directions, which is actually how I see most of the HMMWV's. Driver side pointing toward the rear and passenger toward the front. Maybe they do that to make em standard for rotating?

so, I have heard, but cannot verify...the reason for the mismatched mounting is to confuse the enemy as to what direction the truck was moving....just what I have been told.

 

[GMVguy]

so, I have heard, but cannot verify...the reason for the mismatched mounting is to confuse the enemy as to what direction the truck was moving....just what I have been told.

Makes sense... And probably quite effective against recent enemies.

 

[Augi]

The tire is mounted on the rim so the date code faces out when installed on the vehicle. That way all wheels are built the same and the date code can always be read. Since the date code is always on the same side of the tire, the tire tread on tires mounted to one side of the vehicle "face backwards".

Augi

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

My theory sounds more cool....LOL

 

[KansasBobcat]

I know we have discussed this before. Be prepared to argue with your Goodyear/tire dealer on this issue. I usually take in a TM and an AM Gen sales brochure that shows the chevrons all going the same way. The date explanation is a good reason. I have bought some M1101 trailers with both tires with chevrons forward. Also the H1 manual states that they are nondirectional but can be mounted with chevrons forward for COSMETIC reasons.

 

[GMVguy]

Interesting... So I took the 200lb wheel & tire to five major tire shops in my area to find out if I can (and should) reverse the tread, some national chains. Four of them said they can't do it. Some said it'll break their equipment. One (Quality Tire, who mainly does commercial tires) said they can do it (for $25) if they order the O ring (another $30), and that it would wear better if all tires were going in the right direction. But for the sake of rotation, I might want to keep it as is. Like Augi said, there will always be two that point backwards, but over time they will even out... If I had two of them flipped on the wheels so they all faced forward, I'd only be able to rotate them on one side. So we are staying with the original configuration - two forward, two backward, date codes out. And the rabbits will never know I'm chasing them...

 

[Augi]

Flipping the tires on the rims is not a task to be taken lightly. You will have to pull the run flats out of the tires and flip them around too. The thick part that makes up the run flat portion of the run flat/beadlock must be mounted so that it is offset to the inside of the vehicle.

"These will break our machine" is often code for "We will have to charge you the hourly rate to work on these and we don't want to bother".

These tires can only be removed by unbolting the rim halves because of the bead lock. Expect them to get 1-2 tires done per hour.

Augi

 

[emmado22]

Once you figure out the secret of how to do it, you can do 1 tire in 15 minutes. I use the dual ratchet strap method to compress the runflat.