[Angus Martin]

Hey guys, I've heard of people doing this but does it work? Asking as whenever I run low psi I always get dirt in the bead and have a slow leak for a few weeks afterwards, cheers.

[Gwagensteve]

I don't think it's as effective as duct tape.

[Angus Martin]

Not much chop then. I'm toying with the idea of beadlocks down the track sometime, but I've heard the can be prone to leaks and require re torquing of the bolts every so often, does it come down to installation more than anything?

[1DYX]

Beadloks should be checked for tension periodically, but once done up, rarely loosen, that I've seen, anyways.

The dirt in the beads is also damaging the bead rubber, so you should clean it out asap. damaged bead rubber just mean more leaks, and more time pumping the tyres back up.

Driving less aggressively off-road will result in less dirt in beads, but sometimes it's just gonna happen.

Get the bead locks. You won't be disappointed

[Gwagensteve]

Yes- depends very much on installation. The trolley tug's beadlocks basically don't leak at all (which I fitted) but I've had persistent problems with others. There's variables of rim bead seat design and tyre bead bundle shape that make a big difference, along with the quality of welding. Obviously a made-as-a-beadlock rim is far superior. I have experience with KMC and Walker Evans and they're perfect.

Don't rule out duct tape. A few guys in our club run it and they went from huge issues with debeading to nothing.

[Angus Martin]

Thanks on the advice guys.
Sorry Steve. I took that duct tape comment as sarcasm, what's the go there? I've never heard of using it.

[alien]

When I had Simex ET's they used to peel back on the rim and lose pressure all the time at around 10psi. Problem was, they needed to be down at 6psi to function. I ended up throwing tubes in.. this meant i could run 5-6psi no worries.

Balancing was a bit trickier and they weighed a bit more but it worked until I got sick of the tyres.

[Gwagensteve]

Angus Martin wrote:

Thanks on the advice guys.
Sorry Steve. I took that duct tape comment as sarcasm, what's the go there? I've never heard of using it.

A few wraps of duct/gaffer tape around the bead seat before mounting the tyres makes them much, much tighter on the rim. Obviously it takes more pressure to seat the beads and more force to unseat them, but it really does work.


3-4 wraps is normally sufficient, but it depends on how loose the tyres are and the condition/shape of the bead seat. One guy took 6 wraps.

Whilst tubes eliminate the tyre burping at low pressure, it doesn't prevent the tyre spinning on the rim (and makes for a fiddly fix as the valve core tends to get sucked inside the rim with some pressure in the tube, preventing debeading the tyre, nor does it prevent debris getting between the tyre and bead. Low pressures increase the likelihood of the tyre pinching or chafing the tube too.

I don't like tubes. I've found them unreliable at low pressure.

[MrRocky]

I too have found tubes no good under 10psi as they seem to get lost in the tyre and valves disappear.
Some brands of tyre are crap at holding on at low pressure as are some types of rim.
Tyre size and rim combo are also relevant.
For me 235/85r16 lt tyres on gv alloys (factory rims seem to be the best rims but steelies are a bit fragile) worked out to be spot on for the harder rock stuff i drive and thats down to 4psi on a regular basis, however in muddy clay/sand ruts beads got clogged and needed tyres of to be cleaned out

[Angus Martin]

Yeah cool, thanks guys. Anyone got experience with gecko beadlocks?

[Gwagensteve]

Jono165 runs custom spec 16" gecko beadlocks on his car. They seem excellent.

They are a "normal" rim with a beadlock welded on, so whilst they're factory made, they're basically the same as you can replicate yourself if you have the skills and equipment. I only say this because if your existing rims are otherwise ideal, it might not be worth buying completely new rims just to get a beadlock.

[Angus Martin]

I thought he did, good to hear then.
Cool, I was gonna get new rims anyway with a bit more offset so that's alright. And I can always sell my current rims.
Am I right in saying if you wanted normal 15x7" rims you'd get 15x8" beadlocks?

[Gwagensteve]

Opposite. If 15x7 was what you were running now, and you were ordering steel beadlocks, you'd order a 15x6. Beadlocks also change the tyres position on the rim so the offset goes another 13mm negative because the tyre now mounts on the outside of the wheel, the centreline of the tyre moves 13mm outwards.

A beadlocked 15x8 is suitable for a 12.5" tyre.

[Angus Martin]

Oh yeah gotcha, so I'm wanting about a neg 23 15x7 so I'd just order neg 23-13 (or whatever they have that's closest) 15x6. Thanks

[Gwagensteve]

Yes, assuming you're staying on the same size tyre.

[Angus Martin]

Same width yes, I'll be getting a 33x10.5.
Thanks for the help Steve.

[tanshi]

weld ons,

ive had them for 5 plus years now. aired up my tyres twice. never torqued them up either.

[Angus Martin]

Where did you get yours from Darren?

[Red89]

I love both sets of weld ons I have had, niether have leaked or come loose although I do know of people who have randomly lost a bolt or 2.

[Angus Martin]

I'd trust my welds on a lot of things but I'm not sure about beadlocks,I've only taught myself to weld in my spare time.
Anyway, I used to have 15x8" rims, roughly -25 and I really liked this offset compare to my current -13, but prefer the narrower rim so what offset beadlocks would I get if I wanted the same width but an inch less between the beads, (equivalent of 15x7")?
Bit of a puzzle...

[tanshi]

i had the one and only pair of TSOR beadlocks.

[Gwagensteve]

Angus Martin wrote:

I'd trust my welds on a lot of things but I'm not sure about beadlocks,I've only taught myself to weld in my spare time.
Anyway, I used to have 15x8" rims, roughly -25 and I really liked this offset compare to my current -13, but prefer the narrower rim so what offset beadlocks would I get if I wanted the same width but an inch less between the beads, (equivalent of 15x7")?
Bit of a puzzle...

And that's why I don't work in offset - because it's a nightmare to work that kind of thing out. Backspacing is far more relevant for fitment in a 4WD.

I'm a bit confused about what you're asking. are you looking for the overall width you had with your -25 8's or the inner guard spring clearance? because -25 on an 8" rim is 3" of backspacing. That's the same as -13 on a 7" rim and would be 0 on a 6" rim. ignoring tyre bulge, all three offer the same clearance and the same distance between the inside of the tyres.

If it's overall width you're looking for you'd need a beadlocked 6 with something like -38 or something, which is going to be a custom rim.

-25 8 rim is pretty wide - I wouldn't run that wide with a 33 10.5.

[Angus Martin]

That's a very good point.
I must've measured the offset on my old rims incorrectly, it was a few years ago too. It was on my old coily on 15x8s and they stuck about two inches out of the guards, And i just remembered coilys have wider diff housings.
Sorry about the confusing way I wrote it, I'll simplify it. What I want is the tyres to stick about 2" out of factory WT guards on WT diffs, with the 15x6" beadlocks. I found this a good mix of stability and capability as well as protecting my panels a bit and allowing me to keep driving whilst up against a bank.
Thanks of the help, I just don't want to buy something I'm unsure of if I'm gonna be getting the right offset.

[jono165]

Haven't been on here in a while but a couple of notes.

- My gecko beadlock are 16x6 and they were ordered as 16x6 not a 16x5 + 1" for the Beadlock
- The number of duct tape wraps depends on the tape. If using good Nashua brand tape 3 wraps is plenty. More for the cheap thing stuff is required.

[Angus Martin]

Thanks Jono, how did you go about ordering offset, did you just do it how you normally would or did you have to take into account what Steve said about?