Heads Up! Guys with OE Beadlocks getting an Alignment

[hosseface]

Alright, Long Story -

So I have the OE Beadlocks. I did mid perch on my truck Tuesday & an alignment at my shop.

I have one of the best alignment machines you can buy - A brand new Hunter Hawkeye Elite with the adapters that don't "clamp" the wheels - they just clamp the tires and have a soft "rubber" wheel protector to cushion the area where the head touches the wheel.

If anyone with OE beadlocks goes in for an alignment:

Make sure the shop either puts masking tape on your wheel between the alignment adapter and the wheel or make sure they put a fender cover or microfiber towel or something along those lines in between the alignment head and the wheel because the "damaged free" heads WILL SCRATCH our beadlock wheels!

I found out the hard way. I took my alignment readings before I did the perch adjustment just to compare before and after readings.

I then pulled the OE BFGs off and popped me on some bad a$$ Nitto Trail Grappler MT tires,(that's another story - I love them!), raised my truck to mid perch and did the final alignment.

After I took the initial readings when I was putting on the Nittos, I noticed those stupid heads scratched the heck out of my wheels. It took me about 3 hours with scratch x and a high speed buffer to get the scratches out.

I guess those heads are meant to work with aluminum and chrome wheels. You don't really see too many wheels that are actually painted like the OE beadlocks.

Just a heads up. Also threw in some before and after pics.

 

[Evilmonkey]

Thanks for the heads up! Good info to know.

 

[Ms. MI Raptor]

Yikes! Thanks for the warning.

 

[BAJASVT]

What about removing the beauty rings before doing the alignment? If you remove the ring, Is there anything for the alignment heads to attach/clamp to?

 

[OrangeAddict]

Or Just have the shop buy ya new ones if they mess the rings up. Worked for me. They won't do that again.

 

[Baron138]

Good to know, thanks.

 

[srt10viper]

Is there any part numbers for just the SE beauty rings???

Thanks

 

[Glo]

Is there any part numbers for just the SE beauty rings???

Thanks

afaik they are only sold complete with tire from Ford

 

[Ramrodthrusterpuppy]

What about removing the beauty rings before doing the alignment? If you remove the ring, Is there anything for the alignment heads to attach/clamp to?

This^

When I had my 37s mounted, I had the shop remove the beauty rings so they wouldn't get scratched. Yeah, it's a bit more time for them but they were happy to do it in order to mitigate the risk of scratching up my expensive wheels. Underneath the ring, it is a typical wheel with a bead rim.

As far as purchasing the beauty rings separately...I've tried several dealers and they all quoted prices for the whole wheel, not just the ring.