DIY Beadlocks

[Inchworm]

Many of you know that we have really gotten into snow wheelin’ over the last few years. One thing you can’t live without if you want to get serious about the snow is beadlocks. I have told a few people about this system and have found it very difficult to explain without them seeing it, so I thought I’d post it up here for everyone to see. This system works well and costs less than even the weld on do it yourself kits. Screws! Everyone has seen the screws you can buy from Summit or Jegs for race car wheels. The idea is kind of similar, but with some definite differences. On a race car the screws go in from the side, through the outer lip of the wheel and into the tire itself like this:

[Inchworm]

For racing, (usually drag racing) the real goal is to keep the tire from spinning on the wheel and I expect the screws do a fairly decent job of that. The reason this works is because keeping the tire from spinning on the wheel puts the screw in shear. The screw would have to shear off to let the tire spin. However, in rock crawling or snow wheelin’ we need something to keep the tire from pulling away from the edge of the wheel. You can’t expect a screw installed from the side to hold threads into a rubber tire very well. If you were to install the screw this way and then push the tire up against a rock, you would simply pull the screw right out of the rubber without hurting the screw. We’ve found a much better way to use screws for our purposes. I had seen this done before so I can’t take all the credit, but I did come up with what I think is a much better screw for the job.

Here is how it works… The screws go into the wheel about where the safety bead is. The threaded portion of the screw ends up inside the wheel just inside the bead of the tire. We put in 30 screws per side on a 15” wheel – about every 1 ½”. That is 60 screws per wheel total to get the double beadlock. This gives you a row of screws behind the bead so that it can’t be pushed back from the edge of the wheel. The screws are in shear again, so they can effectively do their job. Here is a pic:

[Inchworm]

Does it work? Definitely! Here’s the proof… Aggro and I at Buck Island Dam a few weeks ago.

[Weezer]

When I first saw this done I was very skepticle. Then I rode along with Aggro on a snow trip. We were doing jumps out of 3 foot snow trenches at 40 mph with about 1 psi in his 40" swampers. It works well.

[Inchworm]

Aggro, runs the regular wheel screws like you’d find at Summit or Jegs. His setup works well, but he had to pre drill all his holes – a bunch of extra work. I tried this system last year with regular old self tapping sheet metal screws. While it did work for a while, we found that the coarse threads of the sheet metal screw were a constant source of leaks even with an O-ring on each screw. We also found, after mounting a new set of tires, that we had a lot of stripped out holes in the wheel. This made it even more difficult to keep the air in the tires. This year we found a much better screw for the job. It is a fine thread and almost seals itself without silicone. It also can be removed and reinstalled without stripping much more easily than the standard sheet metal screw.

[whitebrowithafro]

Just make sure that the d60 guys running 15" wheels know that this is not an option for them...

(i.e. they have already ground the shit out of the caliper )

[Inchworm]

The screws are self drilling self tappers, so it is a one step process – no predrilling. You don’t even have to dismount your tires. You mark the location, put a dab of silicone on the threads to seal them up, and run the screw in with a screw gun or the rattle gun. Be sure to stop before you get the screw all the way in and tighten it by hand the last little bit so you don’t risk stripping it out. We do one whole side of the wheel and then tighten all the screws by hand at the end. We made a jig to measure off of the last screw to mark for the next one. This keeps all the screws evenly spaced so it looks professional when you’re done.

[Inchworm]

One more

[Inchworm]

Originally Posted by whitebrowithafro

Just make sure that the d60 guys running 15" wheels know that this is not an option for them...

(i.e. they have already ground the shit out of the caliper )

Good point! You certainly ought to check for clearance on the inside of the wheel before putting screws on your inner bead.

[cat_fish]

you guys going to be selling the jigs?

[UGET IT]

This is exactly what I will do to my 20" wheels..................Beats spending $590 a wheel to have them beadlocked.

What pressure were you running in the snow with this done on the Con.??

[UGET IT]

How long are those screws??

Where did you get them at?

Thanks Jim!

[BrettM]

NICE!!! i think i'll be doing this

what diameter/length screws?

[BrettM]

also, i got a buddy with 16.5s, any idea if there is room for this to work on them? i guess i would need to see a cross-section...

[sceep]

without breaking down the tire/wheel how do you know how thick the sidewall is? or do you just not worry about it, err on the narrow side, and screw them into the bead?

[Inchworm]

Originally Posted by cat_fish

you guys going to be selling the jigs?

I have thought about that. Different diameter wheels may require different jigs as well as more screws. I'll take a look and see what I can do.

[geberhard]

Jim,

It is a pretty cool idea. I run some screws before on a aluminum wheel to test out and it worked, had some minor slow leak though. To clarify, are you drilling through the tire bead itself, or just outside the tire lip without drilling through the tire lip\bead?

The way I tried before, was actually similar to teh first picture up, drilling through the tire itself. definitely a good idea, what size screws are you using?

Gui

EDIT, ops re read our posting and clarified, you are running the screws without drilling the tires

[Inchworm]

Originally Posted by UGET IT

This is exactly what I will do to my 20" wheels..................Beats spending $590 a wheel to have them beadlocked.

What pressure were you running in the snow with this done on the Con.??

How long are those screws??

Where did you get them at?

Thanks Jim!

Kevin,

It is hard to say what pressure we run. I'd guess about 1-2psi, but the guages don't usually read that low. Let's just say we have a big wrinkle in the sidewall.

These screws are 7/8" long and you can get them at Inchworm Gear.

[Inchworm]

Originally Posted by BrettM

also, i got a buddy with 16.5s, any idea if there is room for this to work on them? i guess i would need to see a cross-section...

Yes, you really need to take a look at the wheel. The screw goes into the wheel right behind the bead of the tire. you want to get it back far enough that you don't catch the structure inside the bead of the tire, but you may catch a little rubber on the inner edge. Some wheels have a pretty narrow shoulder there an may make it harder to get in there with the screw. You also want to leave enough room for the head of the screw to sit flat when it gets torqued. Here is a pic of my outter screws to give you a better idea:

[hotwheelsYJ]

Thanks for this idea, now its off to find some old steelies to do it on!

[Inchworm]

Originally Posted by sceep

without breaking down the tire/wheel how do you know how thick the sidewall is? or do you just not worry about it, err on the narrow side, and screw them into the bead?

I think my post above should clarify your question. I do actually angle the screws ever so slightly on the outter beads. This helps to be sure you arent damaging the structure of the bead. Once you've done a few you'll get a feel for it. I would recomend starting with the inner bead if you aren't too sure of yourself. At least that way if you mess up it won't show too badly if you need to patch it up.

[UGET IT]

OK heres my question Jim.....

What about forged alloy wheels? Any experience with doing this to a set?

Wanna take care of my 20" for me??? Before the Hammers that is

[1tonbronco]

so these screw wont work Dana 60's with 15in rims ?

[1tonbronco]

so these screw wont work Dana 60's with 15in rims ? how tall are the heads of the screws?

[Inchworm]

Originally Posted by UGET IT

OK heres my question Jim.....

What about forged alloy wheels? Any experience with doing this to a set?

Wanna take care of my 20" for me??? Before the Hammers that is

Kevin

I haven't installed my screws into a set of alloys yet, but I expect that it will work just fine. I have put the screws into aluminum plate and they both drilled and tapped well, so I don't expect that your wheels are going to be a whole lot different. You could always try a few on the inner bead and if you don't like it we can weld up the holes easily enough. Give me a call and we'll work something out. Somebody's got to try it on alloys!