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Tire pressure on full size with and w/o beadlocks

I paid $300 bucks total for my H2s..they are on CL all day long out here for that....$500 for the inner air locks..you could even get inner air rock rings and still come in way less than the AE's...with a double beadlock and less overall weight...backspace would be the only benefit with the AE's...I ended up going with front wheel spacers to keep my turning radius and the tires off my lower front links. I didn't want to loose any turning
 
I paid $300 bucks total for my H2s..they are on CL all day long out here for that....$500 for the inner air locks..you could even get inner air rock rings and still come in way less than the AE's...with a double beadlock and less overall weight...backspace would be the only benefit with the AE's...I ended up going with front wheel spacers to keep my turning radius and the tires off my lower front links. I didn't want to loose any turning

Where did you get the rock rings?

I've been looking for months for non-chrome H2's and hadn't been able to locate any for under $500 a set, until yesterday. I found 6 with BFG's for $200, buddy of mine is picking them up this morning since I'm on the east coast.
 
Lots of variables other than just beadlock vs. non-beadlock wheels. As mentioned above one factor is rim width vs. tire width. With the same size tire a narrower rim generally holds the bead better. My previous tire setup was 13/38-16 TSL's on 16x10 wheels and it would pop beads both front and rear regularly if I went down to 15 psi. My current tire setup is 39.5x15-15 TSL's on 15x8 reverse backspace wheels. The big width difference and reverse backspace wheels are poor man's beadlocks. The reverse backspace means the outer bead, which is the one that almost always debeads first, is set on what would normally be in the inside bead lip on the wheel. This is much wider and means you have to push the bead much further to get it to slip off the bead lip (you also have to mount the tires from the inside of the whee, not from the outside, because of this). I run 8-9 psi front and 5-6 psi rear and have only lost one bead, which was caused by backing into the side of a rock in a creek bed. A buddy runs 42x15-15 TSL's on the same 15x8 reverse backspace wheels and goes down to 5-6 front and 3-4 rear on a big-block F-250 and never popped a bead.

If you don't air down you don't know what you are missing in traction!
 
Inner Air Locks would be a better route w/ 16.5's due to them not having the extra lip on the inside of the wheel.....Also air pressure like stated above all depends on the tire. I can let all but 5 pounds out of my boggers and they still look like there aired all the way up.
 
BD I know what you are saying about running a wide tire on a narrow rim, being a poor man's beadlock. I would love to do that, but the tires wouldn't last me long for the road use part.

So I'm ruling out single beadlock rims. One reason is the DOT issue, as authorities in my area are pretty scrutinizing and quick to pull you over.

I like the idea of double beadlock for the lower psi ranges, so the Inner Air Locks appeal. The only issue with the Inner Air Beadlocks is I don't see too many reviews or guys who use them, so I'm on the fence on those. I know some Air Locks are out there, but not much posted up. I'm still leaning toward them, but going to try and find some more feedback before getting some.

The 16.5" tire selection is getting slim, so hence the change to 17".
All good info you guys brought up on several aspects in this thread.
 
Hasn't anyone aired down for mud?
I've never tried that, and no one that I've wheeled with has either.

I just picked up a 20lb CO2 beverage tank to get me prepared.
 
air down? who has time for that... run bigger, wider tires and full throttle... just saying...
you didnt mention terrain and i dont do rocks.. mud/sand/cranberry bogs...
 
Yeah, some terrain, it's only a marginal difference. On real sand, it's night and day. Guys roll into Silver Lake on 40's at 32psi and heat their transmissions trying the hill again and again. Meanwhile stockers with flat tires are going right past them. I think technically they can ticket you or kick you out for being over 15psi. Going to 10psi probably gets you more footprint than going up a few tire sizes. Like I discussed before, the tire pressure kind of defines the size of the contact patch.
 
Yeah, some terrain, it's only a marginal difference. On real sand, it's night and day. Guys roll into Silver Lake on 40's at 32psi and heat their transmissions trying the hill again and again. Meanwhile stockers with flat tires are going right past them. I think technically they can ticket you or kick you out for being over 15psi. Going to 10psi probably gets you more footprint than going up a few tire sizes. Like I discussed before, the tire pressure kind of defines the size of the contact patch.

yeah agreed.... BUT.. hah gotta do that to ya..
detroits plus 14" true width tires = no air down on sand... i sit at 25psi...

interesting they could ticket you for over 15.. if i knew that id go to 15 to be the good guy going....

auto - another reason why i hate them and love my manual!!!!
 
air down? who has time for that... run bigger, wider tires and full throttle... just saying...
you didnt mention terrain and i dont do rocks.. mud/sand/cranberry bogs...

Haha...yes, that has been my usual approach...2000-2500rpm in low and churning away through thick heavy mud. No air down.
 
I run 8-12 on the rocks as well as the whole time I am in Moab. Burped them once on Hells Gate at 8. Went back up to 10 and they had no issues.

Blazooki's had a friend weld on a aluminum ring for a bead saver.
 
Mine varies with everything including terrain and speed. Our '99 SAS truck with a 40" MTR ran nice with 18 in the front (TR HD17 wheel) because less than that and a harder hit on a sharp rock would bump the rim through the sidewall. And they tend to get wiggly. Going down Moab Rim aired way down really sucked. With the Nitto Trails on it now, we can drop 3-5psi off that no problem. Stiffer carcass and all.
In contrast, on snow I put them at 2-3 psi but obviously have to be careful with bumping them. "Just try it" is pretty good advice.

We ran the H2s with staun liners back around '05 and wheel durability was a problem and we basically looked at welding a ring on the wheel and decided by the time we did that and bought a liner, we might as well just buy a tougher beadlock wheel. The liners have some upsides but they do require a tough wheel to start with. Or a toughened wheel to end with.
 
Regarding airing down for pure mud I can't really answer that question because I don't do true mud bogs. However most of our local trails consist of some mud holes, muddy ruts, or muddy hills you have to go through. I can tell you that aired down tires substantially increase the traction in these conditions so would have to think they would help in pure mud bogs also. The only downside is you lose a little bit of ground clearance when airing down but for general trail use the added traction is well worth it.

I've demonstrated aired down tires to non-believers before. Pulled up on a short but steep grass slope in 2wd. With 35 psi street pressure I could not get the K5 to get moving on the hill, tried slowly taking off and heavy throttle action and it would just sit and spin. Aired down the rear tires to 15 psi and now could take right off without even spinning the tires.
 
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