Bead Locks - Street Legal???

[MnkyBiz]

All,

Is there a reference somewhere out in the Internet that can say where Bead Locks are street legal?

Does anyone know if Bead Locks are Legal in Virginia?????

Thanks

Bill

 

[njbronko]

95% of beadlocks are not street legal because they are not DOT approved. The reason for this is the time and money a company would have to invest to get the approval is more than the product is worth in this market. With that being said there is one company that went to the trouble of having this done. Goudy Wheel, is that company and they are avialable through MAD4wd.com as of now he doesnt have them on his website, but here is a way to contant him and get more info http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=193702 Now I haven't run them so I can't say anything good or bad about them. Personally I chose to run 32 bolt allieds do to the simple fact that no cop in NJ knows what a beadlock is.

 

[huged29]

Techinally they arn't illegal either, there have been some long discussions on this on pirate and other boards. Unless you live in CA it doesn't really matter becasue it seems that is the only place where the cops will pull you over for it. Here in CO I see a bunch of rigs running up and no one ever gets harrassed.

 

[swingle61]

I'm in agreement with huged29, Most officers of the law have no idea what they are. I do know some guy's that got tickets in Moab for running beadlocks though. I also have run them in Co. Even got pulled over once, but the officer just wanted to ask questions about my rig and didn't seem to notice the wheels. if you decide to run them, just check the torque on the bolts regularly.

 

[Jeepincj7]

Even in CA there is no law directly pertaining to beadlock wheels being illegal. So, if you show up in court it will get thrown out.

OMF for instance uses Mickey Thompson Classic IIs to build their beadlocks. Technically the Classic II is a DOT approved wheel. Yes, its been modified, but its still a DOT approved wheel and has the stamp on it to prove it.

I know plenty of guys out here in CA running beadlocks on their daily drivers. Like someone said, as long as you make sure that the bolts are torqued correctly you shouldn't have a problem with them.

Scotty

 

[bsaunder]

So far no one has been able to find a law stating they are illegal. Several vendors of beadlock wheels have even offered cash rewards if shown such a law, and no one has claimed the reward. For the DOT thing - they don't actually aprove anything. They specify guidlines that should be met for a wheel. To get a DOT number, you send in the specifications of your wheel and get it registered with DOT. Looking through the specifications, a beadlock wheel does meet all the needed criteria - If the owner properly maintains them. The main reason most beadlock makers do not register with DOT is liability - once you mark them as DOT legal and no longer mark them as "off-road use only" the manufacturer opens themselves wide open to litigation. Hutchinson (the company that makes hummer and H2 beadlocks) also is making beadlocks that have DOT registration on them, but you have to pay ~$1200/--edited, per set - oops.

As far as getting a ticket - the only ticket I have heard of here in CO was unsafe/defective equipment. When it was taken to court, it was thrown out. In places like Moab, they figure you aren't going to fight it. However - I have yet to actually see anyone get a ticket for them in Moab where the beadlocks were the only infraction. Usually the rigs that get ticketed are moving vilations for many reasons and are being driven in a semi-reckless manor.

 

[Broncobowsher]

I talked to Hutchinson at the SEMA show. In fact I have there brochure sitting right in front of me.

The wheels are $1200 a SET. $399 each.

The Hutchinson wheels are very nice. I like there aproach to bead lock better then the more common aproach taken from dirt track racing.

The IMSA bead lock was built to hold the outer bead on the rim by sandwitching it between 2 plates. The inner bead is held on the old fashon way.

The Hutchinson wheel is 2 pieces that are bolted together. There is an insert that goes inside the tire before the 2 halfs are bolted together. The studs that hold the 2 halfs together are huge. About ½" studs, and I count 18 of them.

As for legality, there is a lot more they could bust me for. Mixed brake systems, mixed steering parts, suspension modifications, and no mud flaps on a lifted vehicle. But I do have wipers on my un-cracked windshield and my taillights work (most of the time).

 

[Unregistered]

Broncobowsher,

Is there any chance you can scan and show us that flier you picked up?

Do you know the web site if you cant???

thanks

 

[bpassmore]

http://www.hutchinsoninc.com/

 

[Broncobowsher]

I forgot to mention. As of SEMA (November) they were only making a 15x8 wheel with 5 on 4½ pattern for the TJ.
Other sizes and bolt patterns would be offered later. They were just trying to fill the area with the biggest demand (profit) first.

 

[wilson]

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=193702
check these out

 

[Moaiz]

I have been salivating over Staz Works beadlocks for awhile. I like how he cuts out the custom spider web and FDNY centers. I thought it would be slick to get some custom centers with cut-out's of the bucking bronco and maybe the "Bronco" script around the center or the script cut out of the rock ring...

 

[Amac70]

ya ive been watching the staz wheels since he started that is what im saveing for someday. I like a wheel that can be as specific as i want it.

 

[broncotime]

Has anyone tried these? I think they claim to be DOT approved.

http://www.usa6x6.com/civilianbeadlocks/

I think they were less than $200 per wheel when I asked them for a quote about 6 months ago (for the 15x8x5.5 w/ 3.5" backspacing).

I love to hear if anyone has any feedback on these wheels.

Glenn

 

[bsaunder]

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews of usa6x6's products. For a long while the guy referenced above at Staz Works made USA6x6's wheels, then Daniel at USA6x6 started making his own and there were a lot of complaints voiced. I do not have any personal experience with them, but if you do a search for usa6x6 or daniel over on Pirate4x4.com you will find a lot of negative feedback followed by a small amount of positive feedback. Things may have changed for the better since then though, just an FYI.

 

[Skuzzlebutt]

I snipped this from the


TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION

CHAPTER V--NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC
SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT
OF TRANSPORTATION

PART 571--FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS--Table of Contents

Subpart B--Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

Sec. 571.139 Standard No. 139; New pneumatic tires for light vehicles




........... S4. Tire and rim matching information.
S4.1. Each manufacturer of tires must ensure that a listing of the
rims that may be used with each tire that it produces is provided to the
public in accordance with S4.1.1 and S4.1.2.
S4.1.1 Each rim listing for a tire must include dimensional
specifications and a diagram of the rim and must be in one of the
following forms:
(a) Listed by manufacturer name or brand name in a document
furnished to dealers of the manufacturer's tires, to any person upon
request, and in duplicate to: Docket Section, National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590; or
(b) Contained in publications, current at the date of manufacture of
the tire or any later date, of at least one of the following
organizations:
(1) The Tire and Rim Association.
(2) The European Tyre and Rim Technical Organization.
(3) Japan Automobile Tire Manufacturers' Association, Inc.
(4) Tyre & Rim Association of Australia.
(5) Associacao Latino Americana de Pneus e Aros (Brazil).
(6) South African Bureau of Standards.........

It basicly says the tire manufacturers have to approve any rim for it to be legally used with their tires. They will supply you with a copy of that list if you ask for one.
If their is any legal bead-locked rim, it will be on that list.

 

[Steve]

Skuzzlebutt,

What you quoted applies to tire manufacturers, and does not promulgate any prohibition against beadlock wheels. This subject has been discussed at great length on here, Pirate and several other 4x4 boards, and NOBODY has ever come up with a law against beadlocks, at either the federal or state level. If you read what you posted, it really only applies to tire manufacturers, and does not say anywhere that you can't legally run a rim that is not approved by the tire manufacturer. The police could not write you, as the vehicle owner, a ticket under this law.

The bottom line is that there is no law that has ever been found that says that beadlocks are not legal to drive on the street. As Ben (bsaunder) posted earlier, several manufacturers of beadlock wheels have offered cash rewards for anyone that can find such a law, and nobody has ever came up with one. I know that several police personnel are on Pirate and they have not found such a law either.

There is NO law that says that your wheels must be DOT approved.