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Beadlocks

 
Well after seeing a couple of my buddies really do a double take on my beadlocks, I realized not many people really understand them. We all know they clamp the tire to the wheel, but its different to actually see it.
 
Here is one of my beadlocks wheels:
 
Beadlock Wheel

 
This is with the tire mounted, you can sort of see the tire bead in between the wheel and the beadlock ring:
 
Beadlock wheel with tire mounted

 
All 32-bolts removed:
 
Beadlock wheel with bolts removed

 
Once the ring is removed you can see the tire bead rests underneath the ring, but on top of the wheel:
 
Beadlock wheel with ring removed

 
This is with the tire removed, you can see the flat mating surface on the wheel for the tire bead:
 
Beadlock wheel with tire removed

 
For comparision, here is a standard wheel:
 
Standard wheel

 
Side by side, a beadlock wheel and a standard wheel.
 
Standard Wheel vs Beadlock Wheel

 
This is a closeup of a beadlock, I have spacers in there to simulate the gap of where the tire bead sits:
 
Closeup of Beadlock wheel

 
Close up of a standard wheel:
 
Closeup of Standard Wheel

 
Ok, so that should clarify how they work, now why do you need them? Beadlocks do allow you to air down farther without blowing a bead, and they keep the tire from spinning on the wheel. However there are also other things to consider. One is weight, most beadlocks wheels are going to be heavy, adding unsprung weight, the ones in the picture weigh in at 43 pounds each, just the wheel. They are also quite a job to assemble. This is my stack of 128 bolts, all of which will be torqued no less than 10 times each, many times much more than 10 times each, to get an even clamp, and for the bead to seal.
 
Pile of Beadlock Wheel Bolts

 
Now that I have done it several times, it still takes me one solid hour of torquing, per wheel, the bolts to 12 ft-lbs, to seat the beadlock ring.
 
Personally I've never been hasseled over my wheels on the street, and the fact is there is no specific law against them (Here in my state at least). Next some say they are not DOT approved, however, niether is any other wheel sold here in the USA. Wheels generally don't carry DOT approvals, tires do. A quality beadlock wheel will not leak, and can be run daily if you so wish.
 
There are other options vs. buying beadlocks. You have two options too that will allow you to use your current wheels.
 
This link will show you the how to mount tires on beadlocks.
 
© Copyright 2006 - 2023 Mike Lee