PSI & Beadlocks

[roaniecowpony]

I'm reminded of an old friend, former airplane partner, and mentor, that is now RIP. He, another great friend, and I were at the Cowboy Christmas expo in Las Vegas. Friend #1 tries on some flashy hair-on chinks (short chaps) and walks to a full length mirror and does the side profile turn. Friend #2 spits his beer up laughing. I tried to not piss friend #1 off and kept my beer down. It was all about profiling. No sale for the vendor, of course.

I'm not above profiling too. I used to ride, tall, flashy red horse, the best old vintage saddle and tack, a $500 hat, and flashy silk bandanas that the ladies all wanted to steal. So, if a guy wants to profile with some beadlocks or $4000 shocks, I'm good with it.

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[jellis4148]

Exactly. Just because someone has no need for something and most likely doesn't realize the implications of putting them on their rig they should just blindly dive in and spend the money to do it, right? Who are we to help them consider those potential issues beforehand?

That's not what I meant. Nothing wrong with telling someone the pros/cons and maybe what issues you've had with them, but some people just want to say it's a bad idea because based of off what they have heard and not experienced. I did research, read the forum, and watched videos for about 2 months before I bought mine. Now I've experienced the good/bad with them, and I would buy them again with no hesitation.

 

[Willys41]

I was in Moab in April for the first time with my new Dirty Life bead locks and that's when I came to appreciate bead lock.
I think that most people who go off road can benefit from bead locks.
We where exploring and came across cobble stone rocky road and was only going to investigate the trail..
After a few slow miles of getting beat up I decided to air down from 28psi to 10psi. What a difference in the ride.
I can now travel farther faster smother.

Before leaving for Moab I made some changes to my air up system.
First was installing H-47 large bore tank valves in my new wheels. These are a large valve used on large tracker wheels.

https://yourtireshopsupply.com/product/694/large-bore-tank-valve-hah47

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093KHZF9D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Second installed an onboard ARB twin compressor and running 3/8 air hose to both sides of the jeep with quick couplers and covers.
To get air volume from the pump I tossed the little 1/8 hose coming off the compressor and had a 1/2 hose made running to a manifold.
I can now air down from 28psi to 10 psi in 30 seconds per wheel with out removing schrader valve and air up two tires at the same time from 10psi to 28psi in 2 minutes.
It is now a short and easy process.
I also keep a small torque wrench with a socket in the jeep so I can check ring bolts at any time.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C8MVHQ47/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[wibornz]

I have put on 132,000+ mile on bead lock wheels with 37s.

I put 37 in tires on bead lock wheels on my Jeep the 2nd day that I owned it. The Jeep had 92 miles on the Jeep when the bead lock wheels and 37s were put on the Jeep. I have been through 4 sets of tires and currently on my 5th set of tires. I run the tires at 26 to 28 psi for normal driving. I do bump the rear tires up to 30 psi when towing the camper. I have ran them at 37 psi towing the camper for a few thousand miles with no issues. I have towed a camper approx 67,000 miles.

When off roading, I run anywhere from 18 psi to 3 psi. Depending on the terrain. I would say the most common psi I run off road is between 8 and 10 psi. I have many thousands of miles off road.

If you want bead lock wheels, buy them. Just know that they are very expensive to run. There is a level of maintenance that they require and if you are not mounting your own tires, expect the cost to be a bit of a hassle to get a tire mounted on a bead lock wheel. If you can find a shop that will do the work. Shops around me charge $125 an hour to mount tires on bead lock wheels. So $625 to mount 5 tires....... Let that sink in. Also, I replace all the bead lock bolts every time I mount new tires. Maybe that is a little excessive, but I don't get broken bolts in the rings. Also know that if the bead lock ring bolt breaks, and it does happen, depending on the wheel, you may have to get the bolt extracted. That can get expensive too. Many of the better wheel, the bolt spin out the wheel. as the bolt stick through the wheel. Wheels like Dirty Life Wheels, the bolt will have to be extracted, or you will will have to weld a nut to the bolt to remove it. I check the torque specs on the bolts when I rotate the tires.

I mount bead lock wheels for myself and six of my friends. It takes me on average about 45 minutes per tire. That is to just mount them. It is an all day ordeal though. By the time I take the tires off the Jeep, deflate the tire, remove the ring, clean the ring and wheel up, take the tires to the local tire shop to remove the tire from the wheel. ($7 a tire) worth every penny as most tire are a bitch getting the inside bead to break, come back home and mount the tire to the wheel, set the ring and anti seize the bolts, and torque the 120 bolts down, It is an all day thing.

Is it worth the hassle, it depends on how you wheel your Jeep and what you want. Bead lock wheels do allow you to do harder obstacles..

I could not make this climb in Disney Ok at 12 psi. I made several attempts. I aired down to 7psi and made the climb. I was the only one on bead locks and the rest of the Jeeps you see in the video were not able to make the climb.



This is what a bead lock wheel with a 37 looks like with all the weigh loaded on to a tire with 6 psi looks like. If you are wheeling like this, you may need bead locks. A standard wheel, you would most likely pop the tire off the bead.

Bead lock wheels were not needed here

I was stuck here. I dropped the air pressure to zero, and crawled out. No winch at the time as it was broke. If I was not able to get out, it was an 11 mile walk to the closest road or until I ran into someone on the trails that could give me a yank.

So at the end of the day buy what you want, but just know what you're getting into with a bead lock wheel. Also with the extra weight from the tire/bead lock wheel combo, expect to replace ball joints more often, and steering components. Tie rods ends, drag link rings. track bar bushings and so forth.

The cost is more than just the cost of the beads lock wheel.... I how this helps with the pros and cons.

 

[Ratbert]

I have put on 132,000+ mile on bead lock wheels with 37s.

I put 37 in tires on bead lock wheels on my Jeep the 2nd day that I owned it. The Jeep had 92 miles on the Jeep when the bead lock wheels and 37s were put on the Jeep. I have been through 4 sets of tires and currently on my 5th set of tires. I run the tires at 26 to 28 psi for normal driving. I do bump the rear tires up to 30 psi when towing the camper. I have ran them at 37 psi towing the camper for a few thousand miles with no issues. I have towed a camper approx 67,000 miles.

When off roading, I run anywhere from 18 psi to 3 psi. Depending on the terrain. I would say the most common psi I run off road is between 8 and 10 psi. I have many thousands of miles off road.

If you want bead lock wheels, buy them. Just know that they are very expensive to run. There is a level of maintenance that they require and if you are not mounting your own tires, expect the cost to be a bit of a hassle to get a tire mounted on a bead lock wheel. If you can find a shop that will do the work. Shops around me charge $125 an hour to mount tires on bead lock wheels. So $625 to mount 5 tires....... Let that sink in. Also, I replace all the bead lock bolts every time I mount new tires. Maybe that is a little excessive, but I don't get broken bolts in the rings. Also know that if the bead lock ring bolt breaks, and it does happen, depending on the wheel, you may have to get the bolt extracted. That can get expensive too. Many of the better wheel, the bolt spin out the wheel. as the bolt stick through the wheel. Wheels like Dirty Life Wheels, the bolt will have to be extracted, or you will will have to weld a nut to the bolt to remove it. I check the torque specs on the bolts when I rotate the tires.

I mount bead lock wheels for myself and six of my friends. It takes me on average about 45 minutes per tire. That is to just mount them. It is an all day ordeal though. By the time I take the tires off the Jeep, deflate the tire, remove the ring, clean the ring and wheel up, take the tires to the local tire shop to remove the tire from the wheel. ($7 a tire) worth every penny as most tire are a bitch getting the inside bead to break, come back home and mount the tire to the wheel, set the ring and anti seize the bolts, and torque the 120 bolts down, It is an all day thing.

Is it worth the hassle, it depends on how you wheel your Jeep and what you want. Bead lock wheels do allow you to do harder obstacles..

I could not make this climb in Disney Ok at 12 psi. I made several attempts. I aired down to 7psi and made the climb. I was the only one on bead locks and the rest of the Jeeps you see in the video were not able to make the climb.



This is what a bead lock wheel with a 37 looks like with all the weigh loaded on to a tire with 6 psi looks like. If you are wheeling like this, you may need bead locks. A standard wheel, you would most likely pop the tire off the bead.

Bead lock wheels were not needed here

I was stuck here. I dropped the air pressure to zero, and crawled out. No winch at the time as it was broke. If I was not able to get out, it was an 11 mile walk to the closest road or until I ran into someone on the trails that could give me a yank.

So at the end of the day buy what you want, but just know what you're getting into with a bead lock wheel. Also with the extra weight from the tire/bead lock wheel combo, expect to replace ball joints more often, and steering components. Tie rods ends, drag link rings. track bar bushings and so forth.

The cost is more than just the cost of the beads lock wheel.... I how this helps with the pros and cons.

Great analysis of the pros and cons.

 

[zouch]

doesn't sound like you need Beadlocks; i've routinely run sub-teens without beadlocks.

i've found that even @10-12PSI is not as low as i want for snow; at 5-6PSI people float *over* snow. (at least the snow we play in in the Sierra; snow isn't the same everywhere.)

I run mine at 16lbs offroad

 

[zouch]

can't remember if i've seen you mention it before, but do you run TPMS with those valve stems?

I was in Moab in April for the first time with my new Dirty Life bead locks and that's when I came to appreciate bead lock.
I think that most people who go off road can benefit from bead locks.
We where exploring and came across cobble stone rocky road and was only going to investigate the trail..
After a few slow miles of getting beat up I decided to air down from 28psi to 10psi. What a difference in the ride.
I can now travel farther faster smother.

Before leaving for Moab I made some changes to my air up system.
First was installing H-47 large bore tank valves in my new wheels. These are a large valve used on large tracker wheels.

https://yourtireshopsupply.com/product/694/large-bore-tank-valve-hah47

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093KHZF9D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Second installed an onboard ARB twin compressor and running 3/8 air hose to both sides of the jeep with quick couplers and covers.
To get air volume from the pump I tossed the little 1/8 hose coming off the compressor and had a 1/2 hose made running to a manifold.
I can now air down from 28psi to 10 psi in 30 seconds per wheel with out removing schrader valve and air up two tires at the same time from 10psi to 28psi in 2 minutes.
It is now a short and easy process.
I also keep a small torque wrench with a socket in the jeep so I can check ring bolts at any time.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C8MVHQ47/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Willys41]

can't remember if i've seen you mention it before, but do you run TPMS with those valve stems?

They are an added valve stem.
I drilled and taped a 1/4 pipe thread in the wheels and installed them.
The biggest benefit is they allow very high volume of air in and out and they only cost about $7
The second benefit is I can have a gauge on the standard valve stem wile filling with the large bore valve stem.
It makes for a fast air down and fast are up.
Like I said the biggest improvement you can make to any system is eliminate any small hoses like what comes with the ARB compresses.
The fitting / hose on the left is the one that comes off the ARB compresses that I replaced with a 1/2 hose.
The fitting on the right is a jaco high volume coupler fitting.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09GW4J3P3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[wibornz]

While working on the Jeep yesterday, I noticed this on my ATX Slab bead lock wheel.

 

[zouch]

yeah, thanks; but the question was: "do you run TPMS with those valve stems?"

They are an added valve stem.
I drilled and taped a 1/4 pipe thread in the wheels and installed them.
The biggest benefit is they allow very high volume of air in and out and they only cost about $7
The second benefit is I can have a gauge on the standard valve stem wile filling with the large bore valve stem.
It makes for a fast air down and fast are up.
Like I said the biggest improvement you can make to any system is eliminate any small hoses like what comes with the ARB compresses.
The fitting / hose on the left is the one that comes off the ARB compresses that I replaced with a 1/2 hose.
The fitting on the right is a jaco high volume coupler fitting.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09GW4J3P3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Willys41]

yeah, thanks; but the question was: "do you run TPMS with those valve stems?"

I have the factory TPMS in the rubber valve stems.
No TPMS in the large bore valve stems. They will not fit. And if you adapted them to fit it would greatly reduce air volume passing though the valve.
You can see in picture the small hole in the factory rubber valve stem that greatly reduces air volume.

 

[zouch]

thanks; that's what i wanted to know!

No TPMS in the large bore valve stems. They will not fit.

 

[wibornz]

I use the Apex Design Rapid deflate valve stems. They drop air crazy fast. Like form 30 PSI to 10 PSI in or about 10 seconds. They have a bracket that set the TPMS sensor off to the side.

Look here.

https://www.apexdesignsusa.com/collections/inflation-deflation-products

I love these valve stems.
https://www.apexdesignsusa.com/products/rapid-precision-valve-xl

 

[ColoradoMike]

I run mine at 16lbs offroad

You've got "beadgrip" wheels and you run them at 16 PSI offroad? That seems a little pointless; I do NOT have beadgrip (or beadlock) and I run mine at 14-15 PSI offroad. If you're not going below 15 PSI, why would you have beadgrip or any other kind of special wheel?

 

[Ratbert]

You've got "beadgrip" wheels and you run them at 16 PSI offroad? That seems a little pointless; I do NOT have beadgrip (or beadlock) and I run mine at 14-15 PSI offroad. If you're not going below 15 PSI, why would you have beadgrip or any other kind of special wheel?

Agreed. I run mine (AEV Borahs w/o beadlocks) at 12 PSI when doing the more extreme stuff and for when flying into / across dunes at high speed.

People that don't air down significantly, but still spend a crapload in the more extreme gear that allows it seem to either love to throw their money away or simply love to brag about their gear.

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