I like the look, and I lost bead when I was playing at Silver Lake. When I air down on snow or sand, want to be able to maintain the integrity of the tire. My Raptor (bought off the lot on a whim) did not include beadlock capable wheels, so it will be a significant investment if I make the change. And every time I see cool beadlock wheels on FBM, I end up revisiting the topic. Appreciate the rational answers this group brings.
I have never used bead locks, but I will be interested how they work of you use them. I don’t often go below 10-12 psi and have never lost a bead, but I can see using them at Silver Lake or Snow wheeling in certain conditions. From my limited exposure, the primary issue is balancing.
They are not street legal.
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It’s interesting because I don’t think they are specifically “illegal” (at least in MI) but they are most often not DOT compliant. Maybe someone has other information about the MI laws, but I have not seen a regulation specifically making them illegal.
This regulation is cited MCL - Section 257.710 - Michigan Legislature in some of the articles or posts I have seen, it idles not seem related to beadlocks, but tire studs.
It’s also often stated as a liability issue. I guess it’s possible you could end up with greater liability from using non DOT “approved” wheels, but there are lots of other things that increase liability (lifts being one that immediately comes to mind) that we do pretty regularly with our Broncos.
I’m guessing it falls under the section marked (iv) - Has a marking “not for highway use” etc.
Method states this specifically in their Beadlock Guidelines - but I’m not sure if the wheels are “marked” as such. So it could be a gray area. How many law enforcement officials are going to recognize a beadlock tire? I’d probably be more worried about an insurance claim adjuster.
Btw - Method has some really nice wheel designs with their Bead Grip technology, which is highway compliant. I’ve been looking at these myself for a second set of wheels that I can use with an aggressive offroad mud tire. That obviously isn’t going to perform as well for a daily on-road ride or more importantly in the snow. So maybe a solid performing all terrain tire for my stock rims which is funny, since it’s a true beadlock rim if you buy the correct rings. It’s really just an admission that I have zero desire to trailer my rig to the offroad sites.
Love the look of the beadlocks, and the function of them in sand and mud. As well as liking the option for more aggressive tires than my KO2s. BUT, do I run them as my daily drive when the road rules are slightly ambiguos? Hmmm…
I like the look of the bead locks too. And I don’t have a huge urge to replace my stock wheels. But here’s a couple I’ve seen on other Broncos that I really liked.
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Both Black Rhino wheels, btw. Method has several designs that are really close to that one on the Area 51 Bronco.