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- #21
Distractions abound in my world, but I did finally get around to actually putting the beadlocks and KO2s on the 80. Immediate improvement in basically everything that matters to me. It no longer sounds and feels like I'm driving on a gravel road while on smooth pavement, which is a plus. It even tracks straighter. As far as the Vision wheels go, these take an acorn style lug nut, but the flanges are extremely thick so they needed an extended thread lugnut to fit on the 80. I had acorns already, but they would only grab a couple threads and I didn't trust them.
Aesthetically, they're a bit bright and shiny for my tastes, but the 0 offset version wasn't available in black. The overall style reminds me a little of the 1st gen 4runner alloys, and I kinda like it. They're 0 offset, just like the factory alloys, but the width is calculated inner bead to outer bead as if it were a standard wheel, and now the tire is actually mounted OUTSIDE the outer bead so it effectively gives them a bit of negative offset (aka, less backspacing). They're a 17x8.5 0 offset, but in practice it's more like 17x9.25 -10 offset (or 4.25 backspacing if you prefer) - roughly.
So far the beadlock torque seems pretty stable. Between work and other crap, they sat for about a month between when I first mounted the tires to wheels and when I actually mounted the wheels on the truck. In that time, they lost a little bit of torque, but I suspect that was just the rubber conforming to the clamping forces. I re-torqued at that time and I've checked it quite a few times since and it hasn't changed again. I'm tempted to use some threadlocker, but I haven't made up my mind whether that's a good idea or not. I've long held the opinion that critical threads shouldn't go together dry - anti-seize or threadlocker, one or the other. It's important to use the correct formula for the metallurgy though. Aluminum is less noble than steel, so something zinc based gives the galvanic action something to consume rather than the aluminum. Chemistry, anyway...
I haven't done any serious wheeling with them yet... just a spin on the beach, but I definitely need to work out a compressor solution so I can make the beadlocks earn their money.
Audi seats are sort of temporarily installed... I'm still playing around with the brackets and the heater wiring, so I'll do a post about that once I'm happy with everything.
Aesthetically, they're a bit bright and shiny for my tastes, but the 0 offset version wasn't available in black. The overall style reminds me a little of the 1st gen 4runner alloys, and I kinda like it. They're 0 offset, just like the factory alloys, but the width is calculated inner bead to outer bead as if it were a standard wheel, and now the tire is actually mounted OUTSIDE the outer bead so it effectively gives them a bit of negative offset (aka, less backspacing). They're a 17x8.5 0 offset, but in practice it's more like 17x9.25 -10 offset (or 4.25 backspacing if you prefer) - roughly.
So far the beadlock torque seems pretty stable. Between work and other crap, they sat for about a month between when I first mounted the tires to wheels and when I actually mounted the wheels on the truck. In that time, they lost a little bit of torque, but I suspect that was just the rubber conforming to the clamping forces. I re-torqued at that time and I've checked it quite a few times since and it hasn't changed again. I'm tempted to use some threadlocker, but I haven't made up my mind whether that's a good idea or not. I've long held the opinion that critical threads shouldn't go together dry - anti-seize or threadlocker, one or the other. It's important to use the correct formula for the metallurgy though. Aluminum is less noble than steel, so something zinc based gives the galvanic action something to consume rather than the aluminum. Chemistry, anyway...
I haven't done any serious wheeling with them yet... just a spin on the beach, but I definitely need to work out a compressor solution so I can make the beadlocks earn their money.
Audi seats are sort of temporarily installed... I'm still playing around with the brackets and the heater wiring, so I'll do a post about that once I'm happy with everything.