Bead lock thoughts and recommendations?

[Curious Hound]

I'm getting ready to buy new tires. I've pretty much made up my mind on getting BFG mud terrains. But I'm also thinking about bead lock rims if I can get some for a reasonable price. I have been airing down to 12psi for offroading, which seems to work OK. But that's pretty low for normal rims. What's your experience with airing down?

Who has good advice on;

A - to bead lock or not to bead lock

B - brand ( decent quality and low price)

 

[Dirtman]

I run 10psi on the beach with regular rims, granted there's not much side force driving on soft flat sand though. When I wheeled in the pines I did 15 psi with regular steel rims and never had a bead pop. Just carry a can of starting fluid if you gotta reset a bead.

 

[Curious Hound]

Just carry a can of starting fluid if you gotta reset a bead.

I've seen those videos.

 

[Dirtman]

It works fine if you're not an idiot and spray a whole can in there. You only need a quick spray around the circumference of the rim. I've done it plenty of times and haven't blown myself up or launched a tire into orbit yet.

 

[Dirtman]

Might be bad for the TPMS sensors though... Never did it on a rim with them in it. Do sensors like explosions?

 

[dvdswan]

This...

Or this...

 

[Dirtman]

The first pic is how it's done right. No death or flying tire, just a pop with a lil fire.

The second one is just from overfilling a lawnmower tire that probably takes 10psi max.

 

[dvdswan]

I've never had to do it, but I've seen it done a couple of times.

 

[JOLENE_THE_RANGER]

i ran regular wheels on my prerunner for YEARS with no issues. when in glamis (dunes) i would usually air down to 8-10 psi and would drive fast and corner hard with no issues. never popped a bead off. now, i have beadlocks ONLY because the wheel i wanted is only offered in a beadlock. if it came in a standard version i would have bought that instead.

a great inbetween option to both is methods new trailseries wheels. they offer a little bit more bead grip than standard wheels. heres a link to read up a little more about that

Trail Series

The Method Race Wheels Trail Series features our patented Bead Grip Technology bridging the divide between beadlock and street wheels. Air down in confidence on the trails, rocks, and dunes with Bead Grip!

www.methodracewheels.com

as far as brands... for beadlock wheels i love method race wheels and ultra race wheels, they are among the few making a quality beadlock wheel in a 15" size for running a 35/12.5 r15 tire which looks great on rangers.
if youre in the market for a larger wheel, id look at the same brands and add trail ready, and kmc to the list.

 

[sgtsandman]

It’s my understanding that bead lock rims are not road legal. You might want to check on that before you buy. It might just be a state law or it may not.

As far as the tire pressure, IIRC going down to 10 psi is still safe without worry of popping a tire. I think most recommendations stop around 12-15 psi though. I don’t have the percentage table near me at the moment to confirm that.

 

[Curious Hound]

It’s my understanding that bead lock rims are not road legal. You might want to check on that before you buy. It might just be a state law or it may not.

As far as the tire pressure, IIRC going down to 10 psi is still safe without worry of popping a tire. I think most recommendations stop around 12-15 psi though. I don’t have the percentage table near me at the moment to confirm that.

I’m finding out that there are a bunch of different types of beadlock systems available. Some are DOT approved and many are not. Found some I like that are DOT approved. But $500 each is way out of my budget right now. I think Ill wait.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I have heard they are fine for road use functionally but you have to stay on top of checking the ring bolt torque. I doubt you will get pulled over today in the sea of fake beadlock wheels.

I go down to 15psi but I don't do half the crap you do.

 

[Dirtman]

Not to detail this here but I've also seen single beadlocks and double beadlocks. What's the point of a single beadlock? Just for show or is there some reason that you would only need to lock the bead on the outer side?

 

[Curious Hound]

Not to detail this here but I've also seen single beadlocks and double beadlocks. What's the point of a single beadlock? Just for show or is there some reason that you would only need to lock the bead on the outer side?

I’ve been wondering that myself.

My thought, whether right or wrong is that it has to do with their use. The beadlocks seem to be prevalent in circle track racing (dirt tracks?). In that use, there is heavy side loading when cornering. That would tend to push the outside bead away from the rim and the inside bead toward the rim on the outside wheels. The inside wheels see less loading due to centrifugal force. So beadlocks on the outside is good enough.

For offroad use, the forces on the tires come from all angles, depending on the terrain, rocks, etc. so it seems to me that double beadlock is better for offroading. But single beadlock is probably better than none.

 

[Dirtman]

Kinda sorta makes sense but in circle track racing while the right side tire is being pushed inward the left side tire is being pushed outward so you would still technically still need double beadlocks, especially once the track starts getting grooved and force is coming from all angles. BUT most professionally sanctioned dirt track racing doesn’t allow bead locks anyway and have rules per track about minimum tire pressure to prevent tires from coming off. I work on the "pit crew" (3 drunk guys in a trailer) of a sportsman 602 class dirt car, our home track usually mandates about 25-30 psi minimum depending on the current track condition and no beadlocks are not permitted in any class.