Beadlock For Wheels

Beadlock for Wheels

by

Mykalanne Gutierrez

Okay, so lets get this straight right off the bat; a beadlock is pretty much a tool that attaches the wheel to the bead of the tire. Pretty easy, right? The purpose of this is because when tires & wheels were designed, the tire pressure from the inflation of the tire can push the actual bead of the tire against the OEM Rim so that the tire can stay on the wheel while you re driving. Sorry I was using tire a lot, but I couldn t find a better way to describe it! Anyway, when you don t have enough tire pressure to hold the bead to the wheel, that s when you re going to need the beadlock.

Beadlocks were used way before all of this new technology for wheels was used. It s true! Back in the day, Dodge Military Trucks had Combat Wheels which were eventually called beadlocks. These were created for emergencies only. If they ever had to exchange a wheel during combat (hence the name Combat Wheels ), they would be able to do it with ease.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8aSUZ2UWSo[/youtube]

The purpose of this device is so that your Factory Wheel and your tire can revolve together wherever you go. There are some rims like the Lincoln Navigator Wheels that can do just fine without this lock since the tire s air pressure is strong enough to hold the rim by itself for the reason that they are so big; but there are some tires out there that do not have sufficient air pressure that can cause you to lose control when you brake too hard or when you happen to steer the wheel too much (like when you come across a lot of curves). Many tires made today in fact have a more soft rubber feel to them so that way the beads of the tire help keep good rim contact, so therefore; beadlocks aren t necessary.

There are two types of Beadlocks: Standard & Internal. Let s take a look at them both, shall we?

The way a standard beadlocks works is that it s supposed to attach the tire bead in the middle of an inner and outer ring. The inner ring is made to be welded onto your average wheel so it can make the width wider by 1.5 to 2 inches. After that s done, the outer ring is then latched on so that way the bead can be attached in between them; the circumference can have anywhere from 16 bolts to 32 bolts to keep the clamp fastened. It s mainly required for off road use considering it can cause balance problems when it s only located on one side of the car, you know?

Internal beadlocks are often compared to an inner tube inside the tire because the bead of the tire is pressured up against the wheel. The internal one is so special that it has its own valve stem that inflates it. Since the side of the beadlock is placed so ridiculously close to the tread, it has a thick layer of fabric that prevents the actual beadlock from inflating too much into the tire.

When people just want other people to think that they have beadlocks on their car, they go out and buy something called Streetlocks. These are actually good to have on your car because they can strengthen the structure on your wheel and be a good replacement just in case beadlocks are not street legal in your neighborhood.

So now you know all you need to know about Beadlocks; Woohoo. Feel free to visit us at OriginalWheels.com for all of your wheel needs (:

OriginalWheels.com

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