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Beadlocks?


Mark B

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Yes, they are totally worth it if you intend to drive like a rally champion (time of the essence) where you fight gravity extensively at 10 PSI or take the hairpin bend at 100 kmph speed - all the time.

For regular leisure and fun off-road drive, beadlocks are really not needed.

If you are happily in sync with your tire's lowest pressure (depending on your tire + car weight + your driving style), then you can simply ignore the occasional pop-out (once in 3-6 months). These accidental, situational, occasional pop-out happen to all of us.

If you have a frequent pop-out then first you need to find the sweet spot of your tire's lowest pressure vs your driving style by bumping or reducing 1 PSI on each drive and then settle with that for the long run.

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@Mark B, you also have to take into account what your needs are. Beadlocks we’re designed for rock crawlers so they could air down large tyres (35s) so they could wrap around larger rocks and boulders and increase surface area and use the sidewall. Rock crawlers also go very slow. They are torque drivers.

Then there’s dune bashing where if you get to a certain extreme level, a beadlock will give you that same peace of mind that your vehicle can air down and not pop out as you tumble from ridge to ridge, bumps and all. This is why you’ll also see Baja drivers use them.

But, if you look at the Dakar rally which is the pinnacle of endurance that crosses many terrains, you’ll see that almost no teams use beadlocks. This is because, you can’t fix a beadlock on the go. Endurance and overlanders would rather have a forged and heavy load tyre that can be beaded on the go. They worry less about pop outs because a non-beadlock will enable them to fix it easily. Put it up on a jack, seat, air up, air down, go.

So, I would look at your driving use case and where you intend to draw out the performance. If you’re planning to do high speed desert driving or rock crawling, a beadlock will give you peace of mind and allow you to air down without debeading if you suddenly land with too much impact.

On the other hand, if you are planning to do long distance travel and want endurance and ease of operability, then a forged off-road rim that is load rated for your rig is the way to go.

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59 minutes ago, munkybizness said:

@Mark B, you also have to take into account what your needs are. Beadlocks we’re designed for rock crawlers so they could air down large tyres (35s) so they could wrap around larger rocks and boulders and increase surface area and use the sidewall. Rock crawlers also go very slow. They are torque drivers.

Then there’s dune bashing where if you get to a certain extreme level, a beadlock will give you that same peace of mind that your vehicle can air down and not pop out as you tumble from ridge to ridge, bumps and all. This is why you’ll also see Baja drivers use them.

But, if you look at the Dakar rally which is the pinnacle of endurance that crosses many terrains, you’ll see that almost no teams use beadlocks. This is because, you can’t fix a beadlock on the go. Endurance and overlanders would rather have a forged and heavy load tyre that can be beaded on the go. They worry less about pop outs because a non-beadlock will enable them to fix it easily. Put it up on a jack, seat, air up, air down, go.

So, I would look at your driving use case and where you intend to draw out the performance. If you’re planning to do high speed desert driving or rock crawling, a beadlock will give you peace of mind and allow you to air down without debeading if you suddenly land with too much impact.

On the other hand, if you are planning to do long distance travel and want endurance and ease of operability, then a forged off-road rim that is load rated for your rig is the way to go.

That’s some great feedback mate appreciate that, I’m not really planning on hard core driving just the weekend drive, and to date I’ve only had one pop out and have all the equipment to fix the issue, plus I changed my driving style so I don’t corner as hard anymore. 
but really appreciate your feedback 

1 hour ago, Gaurav said:

Yes, they are totally worth it if you intend to drive like a rally champion (time of the essence) where you fight gravity extensively at 10 PSI or take the hairpin bend at 100 kmph speed - all the time.

For regular leisure and fun off-road drive, beadlocks are really not needed.

If you are happily in sync with your tire's lowest pressure (depending on your tire + car weight + your driving style), then you can simply ignore the occasional pop-out (once in 3-6 months). These accidental, situational, occasional pop-out happen to all of us.

If you have a frequent pop-out then first you need to find the sweet spot of your tire's lowest pressure vs your driving style by bumping or reducing 1 PSI on each drive and then settle with that for the long run.

Thank you Garuav, I think you right, maybe not needed for the type of driving I’m doing 

1 hour ago, munkybizness said:

@Mark B, you also have to take into account what your needs are. Beadlocks we’re designed for rock crawlers so they could air down large tyres (35s) so they could wrap around larger rocks and boulders and increase surface area and use the sidewall. Rock crawlers also go very slow. They are torque drivers.

Then there’s dune bashing where if you get to a certain extreme level, a beadlock will give you that same peace of mind that your vehicle can air down and not pop out as you tumble from ridge to ridge, bumps and all. This is why you’ll also see Baja drivers use them.

But, if you look at the Dakar rally which is the pinnacle of endurance that crosses many terrains, you’ll see that almost no teams use beadlocks. This is because, you can’t fix a beadlock on the go. Endurance and overlanders would rather have a forged and heavy load tyre that can be beaded on the go. They worry less about pop outs because a non-beadlock will enable them to fix it easily. Put it up on a jack, seat, air up, air down, go.

So, I would look at your driving use case and where you intend to draw out the performance. If you’re planning to do high speed desert driving or rock crawling, a beadlock will give you peace of mind and allow you to air down without debeading if you suddenly land with too much impact.

On the other hand, if you are planning to do long distance travel and want endurance and ease of operability, then a forged off-road rim that is load rated for your rig is the way to go.

Really didn’t think of the repair on the go side of things it’s a very good point, 

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I think they are worth it 😇 … peace of mind during my solo drives.  

Maintenance is not as hard, I check and tighten the beadlocks from time to time on my own with a torque wrench, and no issues when renewing the registration.

Just my experience so far :) 

Cheers!

 

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Bead lock wheels add extra weight.

Also, Bead locked tyres CAN pop out as well, albeit rarely. However, if it happens, the tyre will have to be discarded most of the time.

As @Gaurav mentioned, if you are able to find the sweet spot of psi for your driving , coupled with good A/T tyres (thicker sidewall), you might not need bead locks.

 

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3 hours ago, Mark B said:

Thank you for your feedback, good to know. Do you even have balancing issues as I’ve heard they are known for having vibration? 

Difficult to tell with all the rattle and shaking in my in my car :) 

Jokes apart - I have not experienced this scenario, what can happen though is like with any other wheel you can bend parts of it, in a beadlock wheel notably the outer rim is usually prone to it.  

Other issues I’ve heard about are finding a jammed bolt, but this is something you can mitigate through proper maintenance, for example when assembling the wheels the first time, and every time you service them, request to apply anti seize lubricant to the bolts, Coppaslip or Loctite copper grease are examples …I carry my own in case the garage has run out of it :D and I also make sure they use a torque wrench, at the recommended torque setting for the wheel, instead of using a power tool.

 

 

Edited by Mario Cornejo
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