GCM 2

I would have to disagree. There is no "constant maintenance" of checking the torque on the ring bolts, it's not like it's a weekly thing. I have run beadlocks on my daily drivers for about 15 years now. I check them maybe every month or two, it takes about 5 minutes to do all four wheels. If you are running one of the top name brand wheels and not some homemade job, you shouldn't have issues. We are talking about 24-32 bolts per wheel, that's a lot of surface area clamping force, if you lost a bolt on the trail or around town, you probably wouldn't know it until you were back home doing a check on the bolts. I rarely, if ever, have a bolt that has loosened up. I would hardly call that constant maintenance, I check my oil more often than then I check my ring bolts.

Edit: The ATX Slabs are absolutely one of, if not the best, beadlock wheel out on the market right now.

ryant

Do you see that going from an aluminum standard 17" rim to a 17" atx slab could be a reason that could cause any extea stress on a rubicon Dana 44 axle?

RedFox

^^^^Weight difference should be negligible in that case, correct?

EVO MFG

good post!

RodCyn

A little off topic, but bead lock related:

I have always wondered why is only the front side of the wheel bead-locked?

What about the rear/inside facing part of the wheel?

Isn't the inside part of the wheel also susceptible to breaking the bead at low pressures?

highoctane

One torque check per month, about 15 min. You could even do every 2 weeks. That's 30 min per month. The maintenance isn't as constant as you would believe. Once per YEAR I remove the bolts and rings, clean the bolts, apply new anti seize, and replace any bolts that need it. This takes maybe 2 - 3 hrs, once a year.

GCM 2

The outside tire sidewall comes into contact with surfaces more than the inside.

It does happen rarely, but if this is becoming a constant problem with your wheels then you have four choices;
-you are airing down too much, keep more psi in the tire
-run a double beadlock wheel = outside and inside lock rings
-run an internal beadlock style rim
-take an Offroad driving course, you may need to refine your driving techniques slightly

ryant

Anyone try omf bead locks?