Walker Evans has been working on a new Beadlock wheel. It's cast as a single wheel, not a welded on rig. The first run is being cast now and will be a 17" size. Here is a pic of the prototype wheel. If you at SEMA this week you will see them at the show under the Hummer sitting on the new 40" GoodYear tires.

These wheels are going to retail for about $260 so they will cost about the same as current alum rims with beadlocks installed. One more cool feature is they are moving the valve stem inboard so it won't get pulled off on the rocks.

Here it is...

bling bling!

it figures, my boss is presedent of sema, and i still cant get in.. wtf?

chris what lug patterns will he have them in ? i was going to run a set of robby gordon beadlocks that are built the same way but those look worth considering.

I must have:eek:
When will they be avad. to the public?

Originally posted by camo
chris what lug patterns will he have them in ?

8 on 6.5" obviously :p

Oh, you mean what OTHER patterns :D Seriously though, not too shabby.

TEX

Mog patterns? Volvo 303 Patterns? Looks like a great idea.

Originally posted by camo
chris what lug patterns will he have them in ? i was going to run a set of robby gordon beadlocks that are built the same way but those look worth considering.

The rim above is drilled for a Hummer but Walker has his own CNC equipment so the plan is to cast undrilled wheels, then he can drill the stud holes to any common pattern as needed. He expects to have the 17" size in the next two months.

Here is one of his shop toys...

what booth?

So what offset?

And is there a flat surface on the mount surface large enough to allow for a 8.25" diameter pattern?

Nice looking wheel. Now if I could only get the whole 40" tire wheel combo.

Couldn't make it to SEMA this year, so thanks for letting us in on some of the new must have's.

Travis Roark
Roark Fab Works

Eight Lug, nice.....

I'm also in for knowing what backspacings he'll have available. The rim you're showing looks pretty shallow faced, like say 5" BS on a 8" rim.

I saw the wheel on Friday night at Walker's shop...a really nice product they have there. They will also be offering a wider rock ring and it will be offered as a modular 3-piece ring. Don't know the benefit to that but Walker's wife, Phyllis, said some people had asked for that and that you could even anodise each section a different color...pretty psycadelic!

Originally posted by Chris Geiger
Here is one of his shop toys...

Were you talking about the woman or the CNC?

:flipoff2:

that is one hot looking wheel

Bling Bling. If I were to run 17's oh those would be a consideration.

Wes

cool idea

The backspacing on the first wheels will be 5 3/4 with a 10" wide wheel. Only 10" wide wheels are in the works. There may be an option on the backspacing, still working on that.

There will be more info on the Walker Evans web site in te comming weeks.

Walker Evans Racing (http://www.walkerevansracing.com/home.html)

Here is a pic of the recessed valve stem.

Here is another view under different light...

those are the best looking wheels Ive ever seen, Im getting a set when my rig is done.:eek:

Chris,

Who is making the castings for Walker?

Originally posted by incontrol
Chris,

Who is making the castings for Walker?

Sorry I can't comment on this.

So is that cast alum. or forged?? I keep hearing cast and if that's what they are he can keep them.

Originally posted by Chris Geiger


Sorry I can't comment on this.

oops sorry chris i deleted my reply

Originally posted by Chris Geiger


Sorry I can't comment on this.

Can you say if they are gravity or low-pressure castings?

Originally posted by incontrol


Can you say if they are gravity or low-pressure castings?

The first set were made by hand, I do not know what casting process Walker is planning on using for the production run, but I will ask him when he gets back from SEMA and post a reply then.

Originally posted by Chris Geiger


The first set were made by hand, I do not know what casting process Walker is planning on using for the production run, but I will ask him when he gets back from SEMA and post a reply then.

Thanks

Originally posted by Chris Geiger
Here is a pic of the recessed valve stem.

I wonder why they didn't put the valve stem behind the centre section like circle track wheels. :confused:

It's far enough back to be out of the way, without being hard to get to. Using a currie valve core removing air guage woudl be very hard if the stem was on the other side of the center section.

Originally posted by Weasel
So is that cast alum. or forged?? I keep hearing cast and if that's what they are he can keep them.

I don't agree with the opinion that cast is bad. There is a process called low pressure casting that is enhanced by pre-screening the molten aluminum as it goes to the cast. There are only a few American-made wheel brands that use this technique (ProComp is one) and it really doubles the strength of the wheel.
The Chinese made wheels (some AR, MT, Centerline) are high pressure cast and are not pre screened...I learned this the hard way after breaking two champion beadlocks and asking why the rims were so brittle. I will never run a Chinese rim again.
I have seen the beatings the the low pressure / pre-screened cast rims handle and see the maliability of them if they are in need of repair and I say that for the $, it is a good choice.

I am not saying that Walker's rims are cast or forged though as I do not know.

Originally posted by Chris Geiger
The backspacing on the first wheels will be 5 3/4 with a 10" wide wheel.

nice :)

Originally posted by RedBullJeep


The Chinese made wheels (some AR, MT, Centerline) are high pressure cast and are not pre screened.

Mickey Thompson's wheels are hot forged by Acola. Sure maybe you can make a better cast but it's still a cast wheel and the cyrstal structure will still be that of a cast wheel, which is less then desirable. Center line also has a forged wheel but their are cold forged.

A cast aluminum anything is weaker then a froged counterpart now matter how you cast it.

Any more news on these wheels? When will the first run be completed?

http://www.walkerevansracing.com/images/3ring.jpg

I did find out there is going to be optional rigs. Three part rigs will come in any choice of white, blue, red and green.

Personally I like the single chrome ring myself.

Still working on getting the material and manufacturing process.

First run of 400 wheels should be done in December. Lots more in January. It's going to take a few months to meet demand. All of the first run are spoken for.

Originally posted by Weasel


Mickey Thompson's wheels are hot forged by Acola. Sure maybe you can make a better cast but it's still a cast wheel and the cyrstal structure will still be that of a cast wheel, which is less then desirable. Center line also has a forged wheel but their are cold forged.

A cast aluminum anything is weaker then a froged counterpart now matter how you cast it.

NOT COMPLETELY TRUE.
The MT Classic and Challenger are forged. MT Classic II is cast. I am told that the Classic II is made in China but not sure of the fact.

Are they going to be available in 5 and 6 lug patterns? If so I"ll wait for them.

they look great cant wait to hear some info on them:cool: and big dude you going to compete at erocc this year or just spot?

I just came back from a meeting at Walkers shop last night. The first wheel blanks are being cast now and the production units will be arriving at Walkers shop in the next few days.

The blanks come with an extra thick center section that is not drilled for lugs. Walker has several state-of-the-art CNC machines. Each wheel will take a short ride in the CNC to get the needed bolt pattern and backspacing.

The first production run wheels will be in a 17" X 8" size. Backspacing is cut to order between 3.75"- 4.5". All Standard automotive bolt patterns are available from 5 lug to 8 lug including Hummer applications.*Additional sizes will be available in the future.*Retail price $285 each.

Walker is now taking order reservations. To get on the list, please email your name, day time phone number, number of wheels desired, bolt pattern and back spacing.

Send your request and questions to: walker@walkerevansent.com

I don't know if this will be helpful for anyone, but I visited with Mrs. Walker over the phone today and she sent me some more information via email. Apparently, they'll be ready to ship if I were to order a set today around March 1. I assume they have quite a few orders to fill already. I was also curious on the weight, and they put one of the prototype wheels on the scale and it came out to be around 32 to 34 lbs.

I'm really thinking about ordering a set, especially since the cheapest price I've been able to get so far on a set of comparable TRs has been around $320 + tax, no shipping.

Later,
Jon D.

If you can't pound them out with a hammer what good are they :flipoff2: STEEL!

I think Walkers wheels are sweet, I here he is working on, or has a new line of Coilovers for the comp rockcrawlers. Is this so?

The only shocks I know of are the snowmobile shocks that I glanced at (mind you, I was looking at the wheels so I just saw the link).