Beadlock Wheels Pros & Cons

[Lightguy]

I am waiting for my new XR Rubicon to arrive & trying to decide if to convert to beadlock Since they are beadlock ready. Aside from the cost ($174ea in Canada)
What are the cons mostly & why not street legal everywhere?

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[DOOKEY]

 

[Lightguy]

Weight never occurred to me that’s a good point. It is a daily driver hitting trails on the weekends 75% road 25% dirt.

 

[SilverSurfer]

I have a set of bead-lock wheels for off roading and use the stock wheels for daily driving.

 

[LCW]

Beadlocks have their place if you air down for off-roading. For daily driving it’s a waste. Just get fake beadlocks if all you want is the look.

 

[Lightguy]

The Xtreme Recon comes with the beadlock ready wheels so the additional weight would be the difference in weight between the ring & bolts it comes with & the beadlock ones. Not sure how much weight difference that would be.

 

[Lightguy]

Beadlocks have their place if you air down for off-roading. For daily driving it’s a waste. Just get fake beadlocks if all you want is the look.

I do air down when I go off road. No need to buy fakies since the wheels the XR comes with have the removable ring which will make a good rash ring. I was just fielding opinions on if it was worth spending the $$ to change to the beadlock rings.

 

[Jhawth]

For driving on the street only there is no need for beadlocks. Their purpose is for allowing you to air your tires down a lot lower than you could with non beadlock wheels and not have to worry about breaking a bead and having the tire come off.

Beadlocks only come in handy for offroading, so if you plan on wheeling frequently then it may be beneficial for you to run them in beadlock configuration.

I have kmc machete beadlocks, have had no issues with the ring bolts but I also took my time to assemble them correctly and accurately. I also check them somewhat frequently, but have never had one bolt that was loose even after ~4.5k miles. I go wheeling every 2 weeks roughly. It's been nice to air down to 5 psi when snow wheeling, and once summer rolls around the lower pressure will definitely help on the rocks.

 

[Roky]

I run them cause they’re cool……?

 

[Jhawth]

Do you have a torque wrench so you could check the bolts as recommended? If not buy one and learn how to use it. If that seems like something you don't want to mess around with no problem, just don't run them in beadlock configuration then! ?

 

[Lightguy]

Do you have a torque wrench so you could check the bolts as recommended? If not buy one and learn how to use it. If that seems like something you don't want to mess around with no problem, just don't run them in beadlock configuration then! ?

I have a torque wrench & use it frequently. I have no stress with running headlocks, I just haven’t & was curious for what I may not know.

 

[DavidArmen]

Pros:
-you can air down below 10psi without the fear of breaking a bead

cons:
-weight
-complication
-street legality
-maintenance

 

[Lightguy]

Hmmm……..10psi?

 

[SH556JL]

I was going to get a set of Hutchinson wheels, DOT beadlock. I ultimately decided it isn’t worth the hassle. More so when I don’t rock crawl and most of the off-roading I do is find between 15-20 PSI (mostly for more comfort), bead locks would be overkill.

 

[SilverSurfer]

Hmmm……..10psi?

I air down to 7.5 Psi when off roading in the dunes with the stock wheels but had the tire climb off the bead several times - This is the reason I rather bought the bead lock rims with a new set of tires.

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