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DIY beadlocks

S

slobin3d

I'm a stupid C U N T!
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
4,307
Location
In the Garage!
I'm looking to do a set of weld on beadlocks on my XJ. I have cragar soft 8's on there and want to air down and not have to replace my wheels. I've seen a few different ones out there, but don't really know what all my choices are and where to look for the best bang for the buck

DSCF0415.jpg

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I am at the same point on my grand build.
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f197/project-war-wagon-939083/

Since i am running a built dana 30 front I am having a hard time justifying the added rotating weight of the weld on beadlocks. Especially since all of them are 1/4'' steel and than adding to plates plus hardware will probably double your weight per wheel.

If what your doing is trailriding and light rock crawling you will pry be ok with out them.
 
I've been looking for a while now. Is 250-280 for a set of 4 pretty standard. I'm thinking I might want something with a thinner ring then most these guys are showing I don't really care about or for the fancy designs. and I could save on the rotating mass with a smaller diam. ring.

Anyone know of a good build thread or walk through because I'm not really getting how they mount"thumbsup"
 
I looked at DIY beadlocks for a long time before I finally bought what I did. Ultimately, I decided that there were too many drawbacks. They must be used with steel wheels so welding on that extra ring w/hardware REALLY bumps up the weight of an already heavy wheel. D30 u-joints sure won't like that. Not to mention most of the ones I see don't have a good way to center up the tire relative to the wheel. So if you drive on the street much and the tires aren't dead centered you could end up with some really bad vibrations and shakes....which will also help wear down that poor D30's ball joints. I was concerned about weight to preserve that D30 so aluminum outer rings were what I wanted. Only one manufacturer offered them and they were pricey!

So I bit the bullet on some Trailreadys. With steel wheels and aluminum rings they were really friggin' heavy! My 15x8 wheel w/35" tire combo was about 100 lbs. each, if I recall. Performance was great, though. I would air down to 4-5 psi regularly and could air them up for daily driver duty, too.

It's a long story and I'll spare you the details, but I recently decided to sell the wheels/tires when it was time to get new tires. And I picked up some 15x8 aluminum wheels for a new set of 35's. So far I've aired down to 9 psi and it hasn't even thought about burping any air. In the future, I'll likely just install some Staun internal beadlocks, but honestly, I don't know if I will.

Beadlocks definitely have a high "coolness factor" that I must admit I kinda miss. But it's nice to have a lightweight wheel that will help my components live. It's also nice to be able to get a balance and alignment without having to shop around for a shop that won't hassle me about my beadlocks. Lastly, remember that airing down will really reduce your ground clearance. So airing down will only get you a benefit to a degree until you start hanging up on stuff you didn't have to worry about before.

Anyway, sorry if I'm preaching to the choir! :)
 
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slobin3d said:
Thats the kind of thing I'm looking to know. I haven't really been able to find a good explanation of how they work. or how they mount
Click to expand...

Well, as has been mentioned, they weld to the outside of your current wheels and that will add ~1" to the overall width. So that's something else to keep in mind. Honestly, depending on the kind of wheeling you do and the weight of your rig, size of your wheel/tire combo, etc., you may not even need beadlocks. So if you're unsure, let us know some more specifics about your rig and the kind of wheelin' you plan to do with it. A narrower wheel is definitely better at holding a bead than a wider one. And a lighter rig can get away w/o beadlocks more than a heavy one. Those are the big criteria, IMO.

Here's two write-ups that show some DIY beadlocks installs. The latter one is a bit more informative.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=935884&highlight=diy+beadlocks

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f37/diy-beadlock-install-write-up-223920/
 
89 cherokee 4dr 4.0l, 3" lift, 33" swampers, cragar soft 8's 15x8 locked rear axle. stock front. Has 30/35 for now, Have a 8.8 for the rear and will eventually get 4.11's when the new axle goes under"thumbsup"

around here local its alot of trail riding not a ton of rocks, but lots of snow wheeling. there are some rocky trails if you know where to look, but nothing like in Utah or Cali
 
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slobin3d said:
89 cherokee 4dr 4.0l, 3" lift, 33" swampers, cragar soft 8's 15x8 locked rear axle. stock front. Has 30/35 for now, Have a 8.8 for the rear and will eventually get 4.11's when the new axle goes under"thumbsup"

around here local its alot of trail riding not a ton of rocks, but lots of snow wheeling. there are some rocky trails if you know where to look, but nothing like in Utah or Cali
Click to expand...

Honestly, I wouldn't spend the money on beadlocks at this point, especially if you're not locked up front. It simply wouldn't yield much of a benefit. With an open front you're going to be limited in the trails you can take on. Now if you install that 8.8, lock the front, and do some really aggressive trails, maybe. But with just 33's you'll lose so much ground clearance running down in the 5-7 psi range. So you'd want to air up to at least 8-9 psi to get some reasonable ground clearance while keeping a compliant sidewall. Well, then you don't really need beadlocks because you're running enough air. :mrgreen:

So there's my extra long-winded take on the subject! :ror:
 
Tommy R said:
Honestly, I wouldn't spend the money on beadlocks at this point, especially if you're not locked up front. It simply wouldn't yield much of a benefit. With an open front you're going to be limited in the trails you can take on. Now if you install that 8.8, lock the front, and do some really aggressive trails, maybe. But with just 33's you'll lose so much ground clearance running down in the 5-7 psi range. So you'd want to air up to at least 8-9 psi to get some reasonable ground clearance while keeping a compliant sidewall. Well, then you don't really need beadlocks because you're running enough air. :mrgreen:

So there's my extra long-winded take on the subject! :ror:
Click to expand...


Eff'r no you got me looking into lockers:ror:


Looking at a aussie locker for the front. same price range as the DIY beadlocks
 
I've been pondering the same and have done some research. TommyR already has covered most everything. You or a buddy needs to be able to weld well, as pinholes will leak and drive you crazy.

Some of the kits are only 1/4" thick and will "cone" badly after all the bolt are tightened. Not sure it really hurts anything, it just looks scary.

Allied makes beadlocks with nice rolled rings for about $180 each or so. I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't be that happy with a set of DIY's.

I wouldn't beadlock the wheels on your rig. Better off spending the $$$ on other stuff.
 
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