Beadlock Spacer needed?

[Deepsea1212]

I just ordered some KMC grenade beadlocks and plan to put some 38x13.5 milestar Patagonia tires on them. Does anyone with this particular setup know if I need to order the Beadlock spacers?

17x9 wheel -38

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[rayzjeep]

This is a great question....I don't know the definitive answer but I would suspect that you don't need one since the Pats are a lighter side wall tire with a "normal" thickness bead. I wish the manufacturers would put their bead thicknesses on the tire spec sheets to help us out. I have Trail Ready beadlocks with Yokohama MT G003s and I didn't need a ring...but maybe I should have... Seems to be ok for the last 12k miles...

 

[Remorseless]

I just ordered some KMC grenade beadlocks and plan to put some 38x13.5 milestar Patagonia tires on them. Does anyone with this particular setup know if I need to order the Beadlock spacers?

17x9 wheel -38

Just did KMC Riots myself (though not with Patagonias) and IMO bolt one together first before deciding, but do it on a warm day when the tire's been sitting in the sun for a hot minute. There can be tire-to-tire variation in the bead and variation wheel-to-wheel, and I found that wheels put together on warm days seated better than ones done on cold days, so best to just bolt one together and see what you're working with since there's a whole bunch of variables and tolerances at play.

 

[Upsidwn]

Just to add data for anyone in the future, 17” KMC Grenades and 40” Maxxis Razr’s need beadlock ring spacers

 

[Deepsea1212]

I called Northridge 4x4 and asked them. One of them had similar setup and said I shouldn’t need a spacer. I’ll report back with my finding when my tires arrive. What are y’all’s preference to weights vs balance beads? I have never used beads before and know it can be somewhat controversial.

 

[J0E]

I just ordered some KMC grenade beadlocks and plan to put some 38x13.5 milestar Patagonia tires on them. Does anyone with this particular setup know if I need to order the Beadlock spacers?

17x9 wheel -38

Call KMC?

From raceline
Due to varying tire bead thickness, a beadlock spacer may be necessary. If the beadlock ring cones/bows inward towards the center, then one or more 1/8" beadlock spacers may be required. Overtightening the bolts or using a thick beaded tire without a spacer can cause bolt fatigue and failure.

You can look up the exact requirements from the beadlock manufacturer. I needed spacers for my Nitto 38x13.5R17's, but they have much thicker sidewalls than Pats.

 

[Some Random Guy]

I called Northridge 4x4 and asked them. One of them had similar setup and said I shouldn’t need a spacer. I’ll report back with my finding when my tires arrive. What are y’all’s preference to weights vs balance beads? I have never used beads before and know it can be somewhat controversial.

See if any shops will even try to balance your wheel/tire combo. Around here shops max out at 37”. Also, be prepared for multiple trips if you need to tear some down to rotate the tire in the wheel. I did that with my 33’s and got down to only a few weights per wheel instead of stacks per wheel.
If you go beads, stay away from counteract. They’re too small and foul up their own valve cores.

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