You have been told I'm sure many times how tire ressur eis critical to certain situations. On the road you want the right pressure for street driving, handling, best tire wear and fuel economy. Off road you want the right " lowered" tire pressure to allow you tires to wrap around obstacles, creating a larger footprint to maximize traction, sometimes very low in the case of sand and snow. I snow wheel quite a bit but right now I'm prepping the Jeep for some fun on the Oregon dunes. Both those situations need low tire pressure down in the single digits and at times below 5PSI.
One thing I hear lots is - oh I can lower my tire pressure I don't have beadlocks. Well that just isnt true and a good wheel can easily hold a tire on the rim in the single digits - but I covered air pressure already lets talk beadlocks. Keep in mind for 90% of wheelers beadlock wheels or as shown above internal beadlcoks those of the inflated type, are just not needed but....
You have gone past the air down a little and now want to get a bit more extreme. Also keep in mind - most bolt on type beadlocks are not DOT legal. What does that really mean? That those wheels have not gone through a Department of Transport testing procedure - mostly because a typical wheel past checking air pressure needs no servicing. A bolt on beadlock may require re torque every once in a while creating an issue with safety on regular vehicles. That said if torques correctly - most bolt on beadlocks rarely move, but you run the risk of a safety inspector noticing your wheels and potentially getting a ticket or a safety inspection slapped on it. I will leave that there for you and keep my opinions to myself.
Pictured aboce are three typical beadlock systems. From left the Coyote internal air bag beadlock. These use a stiff carcase to retian a inner tube that gets inflated inside the tire - these press outwards retianing the inner bead from pushing inward. As they can go into any DOT approved wheel - they are considered DOT compliant. Next up is a set of steel wheel which have had a ring welded to the outside edge. this started life as a DOT steel wheel - this does not make them DOT legal. However as the steel ring does not interfear with the factory bead lip - technically you can install the tire like normal bypassing the beadlock. These do use a steel outer ring though to use as full on bolt on beadlock - holding the tire firmly to the rim. If you were able to clear tghe brakes on the inside of the rim - you could weld a second on the back of the wheel for a dual beadlock wheel - though thats pretty challenging with the size of most brake rotrs and calipers. Next up is a set of Allied Wheels Rock Moster beadlocks. These are specifically made as a beadlock wheel and are not DOT legal however they are designed to better center the wheel than the weld on style, have lots of cool wheel designs, and bolt thw wheel air tight to the rim. Despite taking a lot of care to weld on the rings on my steel wheels - they still leak a bit and air pressure needs to be checked weekly. All of the above I have had down to 1-2 PSI without loosing the inner bead while wheeling and I consistently have them under 8PSI at all times off road.
There are some other DOT wheels on the market that offer bead lock capability if that's a concern for you - and Ford, Chevy and Jeep even offer factory versions now and just too many to list here but there are some great wheel styles and designs out there to pick from when you are ready to move to Beadlocks.
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