Questions on Ford Bead Lock wheels

[2014RubyRed]

It appears LiftLaws already did the research and there is no laws in the US about beadlocks. They are street legal.
LiftLaws.com - Are Beadlocks Street Legal?

One has to wonder how a beadlock can be run 60mph through the desert off road and be safe but can't be safe on the streets? That doesn't make sense. Manufacturers put "off road only" on the wheels for liability reasons to cover their ass.

I have to wonder for the casual 4 wheeler if bead locks are even necessary, if simply airing down to say 20psi on the stock BGS KO2's is sufficient.

I stand corrected. The stamping on some wheels was what I was thinking. Although they appear to be street legal, the final paragraph on the link states that there is a lot to consider before using them everyday on the street/highway. Especially with the size and weight of our Raptors. I could see Jeeps and other lighter trucks not worrying too much about it, though.

 

[ovrlnd]

I assume that to run the beadlocks, you need a tire machine to unmount the tire, and then after you've switched them you'd have to rebalance the wheel?

That sounds like something you'll do once just to try and then either leave them as beadlocks from then on, or switch back to standard mount and never use the beadlocks again.

 

[Addictive Desert Designs]

True beadlocks are not 50 state legal. The 17 Raptor has beauty rings around the edge of the wheel. You can take that off to actually bolt the tire to the wheel. From the factory, Ford will not set them up as a true beadlock.

 

[Craigy]

From the sound of it, I would guess that somewhere between 0% and 0.1% of Raptor owners ever beadlock their tires.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

it all depends on what you are doing. most of the time you dont need beadlocks. an exception would be in soft sand where you are driving around and tire pressure needs to be low.my first truck was set to beeadlock so i could air down to 12psi. i spent many days in the pismo sand dunes. i found that generally above 20 psi you dont need beadlocks. there are some exceptions to this, but in general the average driver wont push hard enough at 20psi to pop a bead. out in the desert i rarely air down, and a lot of guys will drop to 25psi. for what the stock truck can handle, beadlocks should only be needed in soft sand or crawling, but we all know our trucks dont crawl well. the reason you pop a bead at 20 psi is because you have too much traction turning. being that i used to drift and rally, i never experienced this in the truck because i am able to slide the back end of the truck the way i want. car control is much more important with our trucks than beadlocks in my opinion.

 

[Erock4129]

From the sound of it, I would guess that somewhere between 0% and 0.1% of Raptor owners ever beadlock their tires.

I guess this is really what I'm getting at, athestically, the bead locks wheels are much better looking, don't plan on hitting the dunes, occasional off road, would they be okay daily driving? I've gotten mix responses thus far.

 

[SilverBolt]

I guess this is really what I'm getting at, athestically, the bead locks wheels are much better looking, don't plan on hitting the dunes, occasional off road, would they be okay daily driving? I've gotten mix responses thus far.

They come with a beauty ring. They are not in beadlock form from the factory. You would have to buy the beadlock ring separately. They are capable of becoming beadlock wheels.

 

[Erock4129]

Thanks silverbolt, that's exactly what I was looking for, so the bead lock capable wheel is just like any standard wheel, until you use the ring, which requires remounting and further maintenance if I choose to keep them that way and daily drive....got it. Thanks again.

 

[VortexTed]

it all depends on what you are doing. most of the time you dont need beadlocks. an exception would be in soft sand where you are driving around and tire pressure needs to be low.my first truck was set to beeadlock so i could air down to 12psi. i spent many days in the pismo sand dunes. i found that generally above 20 psi you dont need beadlocks. there are some exceptions to this, but in general the average driver wont push hard enough at 20psi to pop a bead. out in the desert i rarely air down, and a lot of guys will drop to 25psi. for what the stock truck can handle, beadlocks should only be needed in soft sand or crawling, but we all know our trucks dont crawl well. the reason you pop a bead at 20 psi is because you have too much traction turning. being that i used to drift and rally, i never experienced this in the truck because i am able to slide the back end of the truck the way i want. car control is much more important with our trucks than beadlocks in my opinion.

This is all good information. You don't air down in the desert......at all? Or at least only down to 25.

I bet those pismo sand dunes were a blast!

I'm starting to think the $1100 Ford Performance bead lock wheels might be a waste of money. However I do like the look of them and I especially like the replaceable beauty ring. Seems to me that thick beauty ring should protect the wheel off road. If it gets scratched or dented to much you simply replace the ring instead of the whole wheel. Still pricey at a $1200 upgrade.
Anyone know of any other wheels that work with Raptors that use a beauty ring?

 

[SilverBolt]

The best feature of the factory "beadlock" wheel is that they are a forged wheel and not cast. That means a lighter and stronger wheel. $1200 for a set of forged wheels is a bargain.