Ford Performance bead lock ring - Real World review?

[telenerd]

Howdy,

Just seeing if anyone has actually bought and have miles on their ford performance beadlock and can offer any feedback.

Any issues with air leaks? How low can you go versus without beadlock. Anything not working, ect. Worth the hassle or money?

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[87-Z28]

If my memory is correct, I think @Bmadda has used the ford beadlock rings some on the trails.

 

[Bmadda]

If my memory is correct, I think @Bmadda has used the ford beadlock rings some on the trails.

I have. I now own 3 sets. @BigMeatsBronco has them on his 40s too. I think its one of the coolest features of the 6g. I just found a set of squatch takeoffs, and ordered another set to go to 40s (some trails here have a tire size limit, so gotta keep my 37s mounted and ready!)

 

[Bmadda]

Howdy,

Just seeing if anyone has actually bought and have miles on their ford performance beadlock and can offer any feedback.

Any issues with air leaks? How low can you go versus without beadlock. Anything not working, ect. Worth the hassle or money?

I air them down into the single digits for technical stuff, the problem isn't how low, its knowing if there are any high speed parts of the trail you are going to run. At higher speeds a tire that low will overheat and spall internally. As far as maintenance, I put them on just before labor day weekend 2022, rechecked torque before leaving for Moab in April 2023, and some bolts I was able to get about a quarter turn...most were still torqued. I plan to retorque at each oil change going forward. I have had them for about 10k miles, and no leaks

 

[BigMeatsBronco]

I agree these are a fantastic addition! be sure to slap some sealant between the ring and the wheel and they should never leak. I have 10,000 miles on mine and very happy with them.

 

[0ne]

How does the tire/bead mounting differ when using these? Can they just be bolted on like trim rings for the look?

 

[BigMeatsBronco]

How does the tire/bead mounting differ when using these? Can they just be bolted on like trim rings for the look?

no the out.side bead stays on the out side of the rim and is pinched to the wheel with the ring and locked in place. they do also give you a wider wheel by about 1 ". as the outside tires bead is now 1" farther out.

 

[OddBall88]

Have around 30k on my set. Haven’t had any issues on leaks and have ran them down around 9-10 psi with no issues. Bolt heads do stick out just a little to far and it’s going to make removing a few of them fun when it comes to a new set of tires.

 

[telenerd]

I think I might get a set of the ford rings once my Sasquatch tires wear out. I’m thinking about the Mickey Thompson MTs.

Judging by current wear on the stock tires it won’t be long since the nobs are starting to chunk from my local rocky trails. Only got about 4K or so miles so far. I also noticed on the side walls has a small minor cut. My Bronco isn’t a daily driver just my weekend mountain machine.

 

[SuperFord]

I have 10,000 miles on mine and very happy with them.

Have around 30k on my set. Haven’t had any issues

wait, are you guys running bead locks while daily street driving?

I loved the look of these since the first day I saw them. totally transforms the look of the Sasquatch wheels for the better. (Maybe an unpopular opinion, but: the stock beauty rings with the spaced out “two bolts” pattern is ugly).

but isn’t this terribly unsafe and probably illegal to do?

How often do you check torque on your ring bolts?

 

[telenerd]

wait, are you guys running bead locks while daily street driving?

I loved the look of these since the first day I saw them. totally transforms the look of the Sasquatch wheels for the better. (Maybe an unpopular opinion, but: the stock beauty rings with the spaced out “two bolts” pattern is ugly).

but isn’t this terribly unsafe and probably illegal to do?

How often do you check torque on your ring bolts?

Depends what state you live in. I’m in Wyoming and it’s still the Wild West here.

My tire shop said oh yeah we install those beadlocks for you, no problem.

 

[Bmadda]

wait, are you guys running bead locks while daily street driving?

I loved the look of these since the first day I saw them. totally transforms the look of the Sasquatch wheels for the better. (Maybe an unpopular opinion, but: the stock beauty rings with the spaced out “two bolts” pattern is ugly).

but isn’t this terribly unsafe and probably illegal to do?

How often do you check torque on your ring bolts?

There is alot of misunderstanding about the legality of using these on the street. It boils down to "legal" and "dot approved" are two very different things. The reason Ford (or any other manufacturer) can't ship them this way from the factory is that they are not "dot approved" for the street. To be dot approved wheels, they must be a single piece wheel (as least as far as tire mounting is concerned, the wheel may have additional parts for cosmetic purposes ie trim rings, center caps etc). This i believe goes back to the old "split rim" truck wheels from many years ago which caused so many accidents, and were very dangerous to mount, and have long been orphaned. In order for them to be illegal, an individual state would need to pass a law banning them from public road use, which to my knowledge, no state has at this time. As far as shops installing them on customer vehicles, that would be at the discretion of the shop owner as to whether they are willing to accept any liability that these may expose them to. The general vibe I get from other shops is that the risk is pretty low, but we just don't have alot of experience with them yet. I'm in that boat also, so using them on my own vehicles for now is how I plan to gain that experience

 

[fourdayoff]

These are a well designed beadlock that could have been dot approved with the ring torquing against the wheel instead of just the tire, the reason for the 45ft lbs torque on the bolts instead of 20-25 ft lbs. Ford probably didn't want the liability with inexperienced diy'ers. Check torque often. Also tire soap between wheel and tire bead not just bead lock. Ask how I know.

 

[35tires]

Great watch.

 

[Bmadda]

Great watch.

He makes it look easy, but touqueing all those bolts is a very tedious process (the 1st time). Make sure you set aside plenty of time, and if having a shop install them, don't be suprised if they want additional billed time. I went through the sequence then rechecked from the beginning, and was able to turn the 1st few bolts so much I wasn't satisfied that all were equally torqued, so I ended up going through the sequence several times, until repeatable torque was achieved on all bolts. As you go around the ring, it crushes the bead sorta like a head gasket. Even crush all the way around takes alot of time!

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