35” Tires Street Legal?

[SVT_GRL]

Hey there fam!

I know I saw a dealership video outlining the specs on the Bronco, and mentioned that that 35” tires are not street legal. I am for some serious off roading, but does anyone have any insight on this? Thanks!

Sponsored

 

[BroncoKong Jr.]

Hey there fam!

I know I saw a dealership video outlining the specs on the Bronco, and mentioned that that 35” tires are not street legal. I am for some serious off roading, but does anyone have any insight on this? Thanks!

Maybe they were referring to the beadlock option? Legality of those is a gray area AFAIK.

Some areas have laws against tires sticking out further than the fenders. Could be that?

Got a link to the vid?

 

[AK SNO RIDER]

They are absolutely legal. What isn't legal are beadlock wheels. So the "beadlock capable" wheels come with beauty rings you have to swap out with real lock rings for the beadlock capability. Then the wheels are no longer street legal.

 

[harperrb]

Hey there fam!

I know I saw a dealership video outlining the specs on the Bronco, and mentioned that that 35” tires are not street legal. I am for some serious off roading, but does anyone have any insight on this? Thanks!

Nearly all states regulate by bumper height, not tire size. There's a few other things to consider, but if it were not acceptable in the majority of states, it wouldn't be a production vehicle.

That being said, I'm curious to which state you saw this video.

 

[SVT_GRL]

Maybe they were referring to the beadlock option? Legality of those is a gray area AFAIK.

Some areas have laws against tires sticking out further than the fenders. Could be that?

Got a link to the vid?

That’s exactly what it was.
Thanks for the clarification.
the 35” should be available without bead locks I see.

Vid

 

[Bayou_Bronco]

Background: my cobra is definitely not street legal, and I know enforcement is rare on these things, but I am currently East Coast headed back to the rural mountains in a year, and know it’s slightly more litigious out here. I know it won’t be a problem later, but thought it was interesting Ford could release a vehicle that is not “street legal”. Just looking for everybody’s 2 cents. I know I’m more likely to get stopped for a tour of the Bronco......

35" tires are definitely street legal. The only thing that is not would be the beadlocks, which is why are are ready and available separately.

 

[BroncoKong Jr.]

That’s exactly what it was.
Thanks for the clarification.
the 35” should be available without bead locks I see.

Vid

Yeah, the Sasquatch package comes with a beadlock-style "beauty ring" which is 100% legal. You'd have to purchase the actual beadlock rings through Ford.

 

[SVT_GRL]

Yeah, the Sasquatch package comes with a beadlock-style "beauty ring" which is 100% legal. You'd have to purchase the actual beadlock rings through Ford.

Perfect! Thank you. Sorry for the rookie mistake!

 

[kodiakisland]

For further clarification, tires have to be DOT certified to use on the highway. There are many tires in various sizes made for specialty sports that are not certified for road use. Of course, a street legal vehicle would never come with those from the dealer, but a used one might. So, you can certainly see offroad vehicles with tires that are not legal for street use, but the odds of ever getting a ticket is pretty low. Just don't get in a wreck with them.

But yeah, the video was talking about the bead lock conversion and not the tires.

 

[Big Foot]

I have not found anything anywhere that says running Bead lock wheels is illegal. I have only heard individuals say they are illegal. If they are illegal I would love to have someone show me the exact law.

 

[BlarneyStoned]

If they are illegal I would love to have someone show me the exact law

This is probably the best non-wordy write up I've found about it: https://www.liftlaws.com/are_beadlocks_street_legal.htm

Bottom line is that they are not DOT approved, but that doesn't actually make them illegal in most states because most states don't have laws that address wheels specifically. Utah apparently actually has an inspection rule that would fail a vehicle with beadlocks, but since I've never lived in UT I don't know how likely that is to be enforced. In both AZ and NC I've known people with beadlocks and they've never had an issue getting inspected.

The real issue is they are a liability if you are ever in an accident because it's a given that the lawyers for the insurance companies will want to argue it was an unsafe modification to the vehicle. Even if the issue was your hood flying off and and nothing to do with wheels or tires.

 

[Big Foot]

This is probably the best non-wordy write up I've found about it: https://www.liftlaws.com/are_beadlocks_street_legal.htm

Bottom line is that they are not DOT approved, but that doesn't actually make them illegal in most states because most states don't have laws that address wheels specifically. Utah apparently actually has an inspection rule that would fail a vehicle with beadlocks, but since I've never lived in UT I don't know how likely that is to be enforced. In both AZ and NC I've known people with beadlocks and they've never had an issue getting inspected.

The real issue is they are a liability if you are ever in an accident because it's a given that the lawyers for the insurance companies will want to argue it was an unsafe modification to the vehicle. Even if the issue was your hood flying off and and nothing to do with wheels or tires.

Thanks for this. I have never owned or used bead locks so I am just trying to understand why. What is the danger? I guess I'd think they would be safer. I am just uneducated on this topic. I appreciate the info.

 

[balucipher]

Thanks for this. I have never owned or used bead locks so I am just trying to understand why. What is the danger? I guess I'd think they would be safer. I am just uneducated on this topic. I appreciate the info.

some states disallow multipiece wheels
DOT approval requires DOT testing and fees associated with that, so most companies can't bear that cost so they just market them as off-road. They're perfectly safe, DOT just hasn't tested them yet

 

[BlarneyStoned]

Thanks for this. I have never owned or used bead locks so I am just trying to understand why. What is the danger? I guess I'd think they would be safer. I am just uneducated on this topic. I appreciate the info.

There are some unicorn DOT approve beadlocks (like on the Hummer H1), what's different about them is that they use an internal locking mechanism. Most beadlocks move the bead to outside the rim and trap it with the ring, therefore the SAE testing would fail that type design because if the ring failed the tire would automatically separate from the rim, since it won't pass SAE requirements, nobody submits them for DOT approval.

 

[Broncotrax]

There are some unicorn DOT approve beadlocks (like on the Hummer H1), what's different about them is that they use an internal locking mechanism. Most beadlocks move the bead to outside the rim and trap it with the ring, therefore the SAE testing would fail that type design because if the ring failed the tire would automatically separate from the rim, since it won't pass SAE requirements, nobody submits them for DOT approval.

The new Icon Bead lock wheels have worked around all of this and are DOT approved, cheaper and lighter. I believe they will be my choice.

Sponsored