# Are The Tires On Military Vehicles (Armored cars, APCs) Bulletproof? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 29, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281 "2010-11-29T14:28:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/1 "2010-11-29T14:28:38Z")
If you have been watching the news from Brazil, the Rio de Janeiro police have begun a huge military operation, to wrest the favelas (slums) from the control of the drug gangs. In their efforts, they have mobiled several battalions of Brazilian Marines, who are using APCs and armored cars to break down barriers that the gang members have set up in the roads. My question: are the tires on these vehicles bulletproof? I haven’t seen any of them with flat tires. i assume that they would have to be either “run flat” or bulletproof, otherwise it would be easy to immobilize them. It is very good news-it looks like a lot of the criminals in Rio are going to get caught, and the heads of the major gangs arrested. I only hope that the government follows through and improves living conditions in the favelas-and give these people hope for a normal life. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/2 "2010-11-29T15:28:12Z")
I know tires on BobCats are sometimes foam filled to make them puncture resistant. ---
**Author:** ![ramel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb8c5e/32.png) [@ramel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ramel)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/3 "2010-11-29T15:38:05Z")
Wheeled armoured vehicles usually have run flat tyres. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/4 "2010-11-29T17:39:37Z")
Are they even inflated or are they solid rubber? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/5 "2010-11-29T17:54:29Z")
**ramel** has the correct answer. I used to work with guys who did armoring of diplomatic vehicles. And yes, they are inflatable. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/6 "2010-11-29T18:02:47Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > **ramel** has the correct answer. I used to work with guys who did armoring of diplomatic vehicles. And yes, they are inflatable. Except the OP didn’t ask about diplomatic vehicles. The answers depends on the vehicle in question but they are either extremely thick or solid rubber. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/7 "2010-11-30T05:40:54Z")
The current wheeled armored vehicle in the US Army the Stryker does not have bullet proof tires. The tire pressure can be adjusted from inside to change the traction. They are also run flat tires that can go for a while after punctured. ---
**Author:** ![AmunRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AmunRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmunRa)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/8 "2010-11-30T07:14:54Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Except the OP didn’t ask about diplomatic vehicles. > The answers depends on the vehicle in question but they are either extremely thick or solid rubber. I can’t speak for other countries, but no US military vehicle has solid rubber tires, nor are the tires generally especially thick. They are pretty much just standard tires. Mostly run-flat, but older vehicles may not even have that. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/9 "2010-11-30T18:01:08Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Except the OP didn’t ask about diplomatic vehicles. > The answers depends on the vehicle in question but they are either extremely thick or solid rubber. He asked about armored cars. I never saw a military vehicle with solid rubber tires during my 23 years, but perhaps things have changed. Typical military tires are 16-ply, but armored vehicles will have run-flats. ---
**Author:** ![GreenHell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@GreenHell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenHell)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/10 "2010-11-30T21:41:35Z")
Actually, he asked about “military vehicles”, which is a superset of armoured military vehicles. I’m a veteran of the U.S. Army and we had several types of wheeled vehicles in my forward support battalion. All tires were pneumatic and most were run-flats. However, none of these vehicles were armoured. All our armour was tracked. (1993-1998, i.e. pre-Stryker) ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/11 "2010-11-30T22:06:16Z")
I’m just speculating here, but it seems like it’d be pretty hard to shoot out a normal heavy duty truck tire. Some of these are almost puncture proof, and I’d imagine if they can hold up to a nail with the partial weight of a big truck pushing on it, holding up to a bullet isn’t that much harder. Maybe the sidewalls are significantly weaker than the treads, but the ones I’ve seen being used in corrals and playgrounds and the like seem to have pretty thick rubber all around. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-tires-on-military-vehicles-armored-cars-apcs-bulletproof/562281/12 "2010-11-30T22:16:35Z")
> **[Run-flat tire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run-flat_tire)** > > A run-flat tire is a pneumatic vehicle tire designed to resist the effects of deflation when punctured, allowing the vehicle to continue to be driven at reduced speeds for limited distances. First developed by tire manufacturer Michelin in the 1930s, run-flat tires were introduced to the public market in the 1980s. They have increased in popularity over time. > There are three basic technologies currently available, described below. > The origins of the commercial self-supporting run-flat tire star...