Does anyone own beadlock wheels?
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Andy in Pa
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Weight is a drawback, especially if your using steel wheels. Also very pricey for nice ones like alloy Walker Evens or Trail Ready wheels... Most only protect the outer bead, but do nothing for the inner bead. Have seen many loose an inner bead with this type. Most "blowing the tire bead off the rim" issues can be managed with the right combo of rim/tire size, and careful pressure monitoring.
I have had great luck with Staun inner beadlocks on my Jeep. Inner Air Lock also makes them. Keeps both inner and outer beads in place, and in many cases you can even drive on them with a flat tire for a short distance if needed. Allows me to run 0-10psi in my tires on my Jeep with no problems (only short term with 0 psi, but could move the Jeep to a place where I could fix it with no concerns of rolling the tire off the wheel).
Bumbo
New member
I have a friend that runs a couple nice set on a UTV and mentioned that even if it's just the outer bead, its still good for what I wanted it for...
Bead lock was more of a get-home insurance type of purchase. I probably won't air down to the single digits unless I really needed to, but it was to provide a little additional insurance in the desert running pressure in the low to mid teens.
Having at least one side locked means I can't spin the tire in the rim if I poped a beat or went completely flat, and its still able to put power down even if the inner did pop.
Not sure if I am dreaming up of scenarios that are very unlikely, but id figure 2 is better than 1, and 1 is better than none.
Bumbo
New member
I am carrying the spare regardless... and I am at the largest size I can carry under the truck. Any bigger than I need to consider alternate carry methods.
In my mind the point of a beadlock was so you can air down even more aggressively without worrying about tires coming off the rim?
Maybe I should try airing down more aggressively but I don't... I generally stop around 15-17 on regular rims just because I don't want to risk it.
Perhaps I am being too conservative with air down PSI? Most of my driving is actually in sand, in the deserts, and not rock crawling so I am still moving at speed and putting lateral forces on my tires at speed... I figure I want to maintain some air pressure...
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Inv4drZm
Senior Member
Exactly. Fun fact: for high-horsepower setups beadlocks are needed to keep the rim from spinning inside the tire.
Are you not satisfied with the ride at this point? IMO 12-15psi is the max you would want to risk driving at, you can always try it and have the spare ready in case you blow a bead just to try it out. From my experience the lower you go the smoother the ride is, even dropping from 20-15 psi provides quite a big difference. At some point, you need to start looking at your suspension setup to smooth out your ride, you can only air down so much.
Bumbo
New member
At this point I am still playing around, learning, and figuring out what I like. Part of the fun is the experimentation.
Its not that I am not satisfied, but a have a bit of tuner inside me where I am always asking the question, how can I improve it...
I am at the point where I am considering spacers for more offset, but instead of going that route, I am considering rims, and if I am buying rims for off-road use, ill consider a beadlock rim.
Another thing that interested me was people saying how much easier it is to put the tire on the rim yourself... it's pretty easy to swap new rubber onto the same rim.
That would be good for me since I have some spare tires and no rim for those tires.
Its not that I am not satisfied, but a have a bit of tuner inside me where I am always asking the question, how can I improve it...
I am at the point where I am considering spacers for more offset, but instead of going that route, I am considering rims, and if I am buying rims for off-road use, ill consider a beadlock rim.
Another thing that interested me was people saying how much easier it is to put the tire on the rim yourself... it's pretty easy to swap new rubber onto the same rim.
That would be good for me since I have some spare tires and no rim for those tires.
I have 5 sets. 3 are Hutchinson, 2 are wheels that I modified. Lighter the better. Forged aluminum is stronger then cast. Most people are fine with an outer beadlock. Weld on steel rings have a tendency to wobble and leak air. Mine are mostly for very low pressures on deep snow.
My newest set are aluminum 17" double beadlocks off an H1. I picked up a set of 42.5" Boggers. The factory rubber runflats are made for Radial tires so I have to make some PVC inserts for the bias ply tires. Already ordered some different schrader valves because the CTIS wont work on my vehicle.
My newest set are aluminum 17" double beadlocks off an H1. I picked up a set of 42.5" Boggers. The factory rubber runflats are made for Radial tires so I have to make some PVC inserts for the bias ply tires. Already ordered some different schrader valves because the CTIS wont work on my vehicle.
Andy in Pa
New member
I would be most worried about loosing a bead at speeds higher than 20mph, that's for sure. I can only imagine how fast a flat tire/wheel could dig into the sand/dirt in the desert and roll over a rig cruising along at even 30mph. For this reason, I would ONLY use a double bead lock wheel in that environment. One is better than none though, I see your point.
nevada
Senior Member
what tire/wheel are you running now?
keep in mind, most bead-locks probably aren't "legal" on road. it would be up to the LEO whether you were hassled or not.
that said, maybe a set of inner air locks would be a better choice. still bead locks. they lock both the inner and outer bead, and are 100% street/dot legal. since they are internal.
standard bead locks work good, but probably not for how you will be using them. higher speed stuff, you really don't want to air down too low. slower speed, you can safely go single digits, and not lose the control you would when going faster.
with the correct wheel/tire combo, you could go down to 10 or so, without bead locks, and be in good shape. again, that's slow speed stuff.
with the inner air locks, it really wont matter. you could run whatever pressure you needed for any situation.
ive got standard bead locks now, but when I swap wheels again(going to tons) I will be going with the inner air locks.
Bumbo
New member
[MENTION=84120]nevada[/MENTION]
I am running my 16" SR5 rims with Michelin ltx m/s2 for the street.
Off Road: BFG KM2 in 255/75/17 on a 17" OEM FJ rim.
I understand the traditional beadlock probably isn't DOT legal...
There are times I can see myself driving to the sand box with them on, but if it's actually a saftey hazard to run those rims on the road I would not do it.
I am running my 16" SR5 rims with Michelin ltx m/s2 for the street.
Off Road: BFG KM2 in 255/75/17 on a 17" OEM FJ rim.
I understand the traditional beadlock probably isn't DOT legal...
There are times I can see myself driving to the sand box with them on, but if it's actually a saftey hazard to run those rims on the road I would not do it.
nevada
Senior Member
I don't think it is actually a safety hazard. although, just like anything, it COULD be.
if you are smart, and re-torque the lock ring bolts like you are supposed to, you shouldn't have any issues.
ajordan1975
New member
H1 wheels are 16.5" i ran a set for many years
ajordan1975
New member
You understand wrong.
Manufactured beadlocks are DOT approved (i.e. Trail Ready, Allied, Walker Evans, etc.). The none DOT approved wheels are the DIY beadlocks.
Hummer Duramax Alpha and 10 year anniversary wheels are 17" aluminum Hutchinson.
http://www.adv4x4.com/6017022.html
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nevada
Senior Member
BL's
I ran a set of raceline monsters on my JK for several years. No one died, dogs didn't sleep with cats, water didn't run up-hill, and it passed state inspection every time (even with "for off-road use only" stamped on the inside of the wheel. They didn't leak air, balanced just fine (even with 38's) and I rarely re-torqued the bolts. While a typical tire shop won't install them, I could usually talk discount into balancing them for me. Unless you're airing down to single digits, beadlocks aren't needed. Be warned, they typically run really w-i-d-e -- mine were listed as 17x9's but made a 12.5" wide tire bulge. The cast aluminum wheels aren't necessarily heavier than any other wheel, especially if you opt for aluminum rings. If you're really worried about weight, you can opt for a forged set but they're about 4x the price of the cast. If you're considering beadlocks, you're probably not worried about unsprung weight though as the weight difference between a highway tire and a mud tire is more than a beadlock and non-beadlock wheel. For reference, a raceline on 35" Toyo MT was about 95 lbs and on a 38" GY MT/R-k was about 120 lbs..
I've wheeled a lot of miles at single-digit pressure and have never lost an inner bead. In just about every possible scenario, the weight of the vehicle is on the outer sidewall. Even desert race trucks and KOH cars usually only run single beadlocks. Rock bouncers run doubles.
I ran a set of raceline monsters on my JK for several years. No one died, dogs didn't sleep with cats, water didn't run up-hill, and it passed state inspection every time (even with "for off-road use only" stamped on the inside of the wheel. They didn't leak air, balanced just fine (even with 38's) and I rarely re-torqued the bolts. While a typical tire shop won't install them, I could usually talk discount into balancing them for me. Unless you're airing down to single digits, beadlocks aren't needed. Be warned, they typically run really w-i-d-e -- mine were listed as 17x9's but made a 12.5" wide tire bulge. The cast aluminum wheels aren't necessarily heavier than any other wheel, especially if you opt for aluminum rings. If you're really worried about weight, you can opt for a forged set but they're about 4x the price of the cast. If you're considering beadlocks, you're probably not worried about unsprung weight though as the weight difference between a highway tire and a mud tire is more than a beadlock and non-beadlock wheel. For reference, a raceline on 35" Toyo MT was about 95 lbs and on a 38" GY MT/R-k was about 120 lbs..
I've wheeled a lot of miles at single-digit pressure and have never lost an inner bead. In just about every possible scenario, the weight of the vehicle is on the outer sidewall. Even desert race trucks and KOH cars usually only run single beadlocks. Rock bouncers run doubles.
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ajordan1975
New member
Go to any Allied, Trail Ready, or any other website that sells beadlocks. They will tell you if they are DOT approved or not.
https://www.google.com/search?q=dot...me..69i57j0.7767j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
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I run the KMC beadlocks on my rig. They work perfect and don't leak at all. Only thing is that the rim/tire combo I have weighs about 100lb per tire. I have aired down to 5psi to rescue a jeep and couple full size trucks out of the snow before, so that is definitely a fun time. Also, the confidence that your bead isn't going to flop off on every rock on the Rubicon is also a nice feeling.
In California, literally every bro-dozer fullsize truck and mall crawler has fake beadlocks, so no CHP's even bother looking at your truck to determine if the beadlocks are real anymore.
In California, literally every bro-dozer fullsize truck and mall crawler has fake beadlocks, so no CHP's even bother looking at your truck to determine if the beadlocks are real anymore.
