Champion Beadlock Conversion

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2000UZJ

2000UZJ

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
Threads
214
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9,208
Location
Atlanta
A few questions.

But first I must make a statement. I am tired of blowing beads on the 100. 8 on the BFG AT and 6 on the KM-2. I never run below 12PSI, and very very rarely run 12PSI. 80% of the beads blown have been 18-22PSI. Also have pushed the side wall in enough to cause air leak...if you have wheeled with me, I wheel smart, but hard...I'll agree that last statement is debatable. :grinpimp:

Questions:
1) Drivability? Will there be balancing issues?
2) Has anybody used them on a OEM 16" Alloy rim?
3) Do tire shops mount beadlocks?
4) I know they are illegal in some states, but considering all the faux beadlocks, do you think this would be an issue on a 100 Series?



Thanks!
 
2000UZJ said:
A few questions.

But first I must make a statement. I am tired of blowing beads on the 100. 8 on the BFG AT and 6 on the KM-2. I never run below 12PSI, and very very rarely run 12PSI. 80% of the beads blown have been 18-22PSI. Also have pushed the side wall in enough to cause air leak...if you have wheeled with me, I wheel smart, but hard...I'll agree that last statement is debatable. :grinpimp:

Questions:
1) Drivability? Will there be balancing issues?
2) Has anybody used them on a OEM 16" Alloy rim?
3) Do tire shops mount beadlocks?
4) I know they are illegal in some states, but considering all the faux beadlocks, do you think this would be an issue on a 100 Series?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
1. They can be balanced, but not well
2. I have on jeep wheels but preferred steel bead locks
3. Offroad ships will, but you can mount them yourself.
4. Probably not
 
bamabrock said:
1. They can be balanced, but not well
2. I have on jeep wheels but preferred steel bead locks
3. Offroad ships will, but you can mount them yourself.
4. Probably not
Click to expand...

Great info. I don't have a place to store another set of tires, it's not really in the budget either. I can do a conversion for ~$800 in the spring. It's something I have always wanted to do, but I am unsure about running bead locks on a 100 for a DD. I'm not worried about the weight. Balancing and highway drivability is my concern. I don't mind taking a wrench and snugging them up. I know beadlocks leak air, but I have a MV50 onboard now so a little inflation once a week doesn't bother me either. Keeps me "working" on the LC. I cruise around 55-60MPH now, rather than 85mph+ so speed isn't really my goal. I just want something that I don't have to worry about when I wheel. I love rocks, the 100 is a heavy beast, and the southeast rocks (as you know) are sharp, jagged, and can destroy a bead. I wheel harder than most, loosing beads is almost a regular on trips. I'll be moving to 35's in the spring, so I will look into it a little more indepth this week. I will report back on what Champion says about the setup I am thinking about.
 
campion is top notch stuff. When I was really crawling a one ton wrangler, we'd pick up cheap H2 oen 17" aluminum wheels for $50 a piece and convert those because they had 5" of backspacing and were plentiful. The aluminum wheels will crack if you beat them hard enough so a lot of people will run the steel ones.
I beat this jeep up for a few years before getting out of crawling and kept two sets of wheels for it.
newtoy002.jpg

MRW will custom make you some wheels for a reasonable price:
http://rockcrawler-mrt.com/beadlock wheel 16 inch.html
If I were in your shoes, I'd try to find a nice used set of ATs for your factory wheels to drive around town and mount your offroad tires on a set of these. I'm sure you could find a little space in a warehouse somewhere to store your other set. a cheap floor jack and electric impact wrench from harbor freight make quick work of swapping tires/wheels.
 
I just talked with Tady at Champion for 20 minutes. We were discussion options forum wheels when I told her the estimated weight if the 100. She said it was not a good idea, and most certainly not safe for any highway trips over 100 miles. She said the 100 was way to heavy, and could lead to a failure quite quickly. Great service, and honesty wins my bussiness. Looks like I'll be contacting Staun and looking into internal beadlocks.
 
Exactly, you guys have the luck to be on the right side of the big blue, These inner airlock seem the best of all worlds combining light weight, double lock and be exchanged to an other vehicle. Just too bad the shipment of this things is a killer for other countries else i would have got a few set.
 
Hutchinson are great, but not always affordable by most of us and they have one very big down side.....they are almost twice as heavy as normal rims :doh:, impact on suspension's braking and drive ability. You need a heavy and powerful rig to start with else you really feel them.

But sure they are a very well made, look cool and double lock too:clap:
 
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