beadlock wheels?

[yotaoffroad44]

I have a 92 Toyota pickup as my daily driver and project truck. I'm considering buying some beadlock wheels for it, however they are kinda expensive. Is it worth it to get the beadlocks or are regular wheels fine?

[NorCalToy]

well if its DD they arent street legal. idk if that matters to you or not, its because the bolts can get stressed and break causing the tire to become flat and you to potentially wreck and die. if i rememer correctly.

[WHITE_TRASH]

Beadlocks ar illegal because they are not retard proof.  The general public would never check the torque on the bolts and they would eventually come loose and leak causing the moronic user to scratch their head and find someone to blame for their issue.  Eventually they would talk to a shady lawyer and sue the wheel company for selling such a crap product thusly costing the wheel manufacturer money.


Well, thats my take on it anyway.... 

I wouldnt worry about getting popped too badly, just grab some eaton beadlocks and don't look back beings they are a spitting image of the mock locks that all the mall crawlers run these days.

[yotaoffroad44]

Well my truck has alot of things on it that arent street legal so that part doesnt bother me. But i just dont know if it would be worth the cost.  Frankly i dont want to be in the middle of nowhere and have the bead break on my stock wheels.

[WHITE_TRASH]

So toss some weld ons on the stock wheels and save about $600 over buying aftermarket ready made wheels...

[yotaoffroad44]

Well i have to buy new wheels anyways since im running 33" 14.5x15 and the tires are way to wide for the stock toyota wheels.

[94MtnYote]

 What about Staun internal beadlocks?

[Tallchevy]

17" wheel

http://www.centerlinewheels.com/wheels_detail.php?mw_id=33&sw_id=390

http://www.high-impact.net/wheels/dot_approved_beadlocks.htm

What about Staun internal beadlocks?

X2

[DTB]

So toss some weld ons on the stock wheels and save about $600 over buying aftermarket ready made wheels...

do those balance out well?

[yotaoffroad44]

i tried to balance them myself, it was a pain and it still vibrates bad at about 60

[WHITE_TRASH]

If you pay attention when you mount them to be sure they are centered they will run down the road just fine.  On my old sx's I'd run up to 85 no problem.  Just dropped in a couple shots of bb's to balance them out.

[bigarms23]

or try hutchisen beadlock company they are one of the few that offer street legal beadlocks

[jimbo74]

or try hutchisen beadlock company they are one of the few that offer street legal beadlocks

beadlocks are legal.... there is no law that states they are illegal

[DTB]

beadlocks are legal.... there is no law that states they are illegal

doesnt a wheel have to be DOT approved to pass inspection?

[jimbo74]

doesnt a wheel have to be DOT approved to pass inspection?

and where does DOT say that they are illegal?

[WHITE_TRASH]

Modification to a DOT approved wheel voids that certification.  So yea, welding a beadlock to it voids it Im pretty sure.   Although I have yet to find an officer that can find that nugget to give a ticket.

[BruceTS]

Beadlocks are not Illegal, just that there is no law that says they are legal. DOT standard only adresses the rim profile, as long as that remains the same, then they are legal. Now with that said I have my stock Toyota rims with OMF beadlocks, rim profile hasn't been modified, just how the tire mounts, so technically my rim is still DOT approved.......

As for here in Cali, no CHP will cite you for beadlocks, every officer that I have spoken with, says there is no law that states they are illegal. I've been driving on mine since 2004 and have never lost a bolt or have ever had one come loose. Actually they are safer since you can run on a flat without worry of the tire comming off the rim..... As for balancing I just use dynabeads.

[KDXSR5]

He is in Wyoming, no need to worry about inspections or legality here. Just get some weld on ones, or do the Stauns. I am doing Stauns eventually. Nice to see you here.

[Duffil]

the thing with beadlocks is this: do you really need them? honestly, how many times have you lost a bead?  I've never lost one, i've had a slow leak once while in the snow at 8psi...I have never been wheeling and had somebody blow one...except on a bone stock 00 grand cherokee. to me, it's not worth the investment.

[Gittinit]

the thing with beadlocks is this: do you really need them? honestly, how many times have you lost a bead?  I've never lost one, i've had a slow leak once while in the snow at 8psi...I have never been wheeling and had somebody blow one...except on a bone stock 00 grand cherokee. to me, it's not worth the investment.

Good point. I never lost a bead after going to 36x13.5 on my 8" rims. I did get small pebbles between the bead, and the rim, on numerous occasions, which caused my tires to loose air pressure.  I also scrubbed the outer surface of my rim up pretty good on the rocks in hotsprings, whiched caused a verry razor sharp edge. I'm Glad I wasn't driving my rig to and from the trails.

A air source on my rig might have been a better investment.

[RCKSQRL]

the thing with beadlocks is this: do you really need them? honestly, how many times have you lost a bead?  I've never lost one, i've had a slow leak once while in the snow at 8psi...I have never been wheeling and had somebody blow one...except on a bone stock 00 grand cherokee. to me, it's not worth the investment.

x2

I have gone round and round with this one. As a fellow DD/wheeling rig I never go down far enough to loose a bead. (only one I lost the tire was slashed already and I kept going) I usually am down around 10psi on the rocks with 37's on 15 x 8 rims and dont have an issue. I am going to invest my money elsewhere unless it becomes a trail rig only which I have a hard time imagining.
just my thoughts

[yotaoffroad44]

ya i looked up some beadlocks and they wanted $250 a rim! i think i would rather save up and get a sas kit

[bigarms23]

you can also buy a diy beadlock kit from copperhead fab they sell them for $45 a wheel

[Plekto]

Or you could *gasp* run tubes.

[844x4]

Maybe this is a stupid question but here goes....
Running a bead lock only lockss the outer bead right?  What keeps you from poppong the inner bead off?  I have always wondered this....
I was also thinking about the weld-on locks, but thought it might be hard to get the wheels balanced, especially if they aren't centered perfectly.

[WHITE_TRASH]

Look at a wheel closely the inner bead is a bit bigger than the outter so the tire has an easier time making it over that  side of the wheel.  That holds the inner on much better.

Just make sure the tires are centered, drop in a couple shots of bb's and don't look back.

[BruceTS]

the thing with beadlocks is this: do you really need them? honestly, how many times have you lost a bead?  I've never lost one, i've had a slow leak once while in the snow at 8psi...I have never been wheeling and had somebody blow one...except on a bone stock 00 grand cherokee. to me, it's not worth the investment.

Personally I have never lost one, but I do run beadlocks. Now for others that I have wheeled with, I have seen a half dozen lose a bead. Big Mike debeaded 2 tires on the Rubicon a few years back. Another thing I've seen is the tire slipping on the rim, throwing the balance off, so do you really need them?   Another thing to consider is they do a great job protecting the rim and valve stem.....

As for balancing, my rims run true and have never taken much weight, I ended up going with Dynabeads because I kept losing wheel weights.

[abnormaltoy]

And just like anything...an ounce or prevention is worth a pound of cure. Why do people put roll cages on when most have never rolled.

[WHITE_TRASH]

I wheeled harder before I got a cage.....