Thoughts on Hutchinson DOT Legal Bead Lock Wheels?

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Hey TJers,

As I'm wrapping up Stage 1 of my build at this point, I'm already looking at saving money for the next set of planned upgrades. I'm planning on running the following (again early stages of planning)

• Teraflex 2" lift for a Right Hand Drive TJ Wrangler
• Upgrade from 3.73 to 4.11 gears
• Selectable locker in the front
• BFGoodrich K02 All Terrain Tires Size TBD
• Midarm / Long Arm maybe? I don't know yet.

So the catch to all of this is I live in Virginia and for those who don't know, the cops and the state police can basically pull you over for going 1 mph over the speed limit (It's not a speeding ticket, it's a traffic sign violation) and will try to find any way to compound your ticket. Not all cops are like that and the majority I've interacted with over the years have been really awesome but I've also had a select few that were not great either.

This is the reason I'm running a catalytic converter designed for a diesel engine in my TJ. If I get pulled over I'm completely legal. With ALL that said I'm looking at bead lock wheels for the next part of my build and to my knowledge and internet search the Hutchison Bead Lock wheels are the only DOT approved wheels on the market currently.

I haven't been able to find many reviews on them and the reviews I have found have said they are heavy and some say they are difficult to balance as well. Does anyone know anyone on this forum that has run them or currently has them on their TJ?

Thanks
Grant

 

[Lou]

Incredibly heavy and difficult to balance.

 

[jjvw]

Incredibly heavy and difficult to balance.

And the DOT doesn't approve beadlocks or any other wheel.

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Incredibly heavy and difficult to balance.

How heavy are they? I haven't been able to find the weight yet though I'm still looking.

 

[Lou]

How heavy are they? I haven't been able to find the weight yet though I'm still looking.

Somewhere in the 40's per. When i installed them i immediately noticed how slow my jeep felt and i reused my old tires. When i swapped out for racelines it felt like i put a supercharger on my jeep.

 

[Apparition]

I like my trail ready beadlocks

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

Somewhere in the 40's per. When i installed them i immediately noticed how slow my jeep felt and i reused my old tires. When i swapped out for racelines it felt like i put a supercharger on my jeep.

As weird as this sounds that might actually help me produce boost at a lower speeds with my turbo diesel. I need load to create boost. It's why first gear is so slow in my TJ there really isn't any load on the motor, 2nd gear and especially 3rd gear right now is where I get all my boost from.

I'll need to look into this some more but this actually might be an advantage for me.

 

[Wildman]

And the DOT doesn't approve beadlocks or any other wheel.

Hutchinson is the only DOT approved beadlock that I know of. But the flip side to this is there was someone on Pirate that had put some money up if anyone was actually ticketed for running beadlocks on the street. His statement was that there isn't anything that says you can't run them.

https://www.hutchinsoninc.com/beadlocks/

Certified, DOT approved, and street legal, Hutchinson internal beadlocks increase all terrain mobility, traction, and steering control, minimizing rollovers.​

How heavy are they? I haven't been able to find the weight yet though I'm still looking.

https://www.hutchinsoninc.com/rock-monster-wheels/
the 8x15 wheel is 26lbs & the 8.5x17 is 35.6lbs. This was in the 5x4.5 bolt pattern.

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

I like my trail ready beadlocks

Hutchinson is the only DOT approved beadlock that I know of. But the flip side to this is there was someone on Pirate that had put some money up if anyone was actually ticketed for running beadlocks on the street. His statement was that there isn't anything that says you can't run them.

https://www.hutchinsoninc.com/beadlocks/



https://www.hutchinsoninc.com/rock-monster-wheels/
the 8x15 wheel is 26lbs & the 8.5x17 is 35.6lbs. This was in the 5x4.5 bolt pattern.

Well I feel like an idiot for not being able to find that. I was debating going to the 17" wheels but it looks like 15" wheels might be the better choice.

 

[Wildman]

Well I feel like an idiot for not being able to find that. I was debating going to the 17" wheels but it looks like 15" wheels might be the better choice.

If you want HEAVY try out the Stazworks steel dual beadlock wheels. I've never weighed mine but they ain't lite.
They weigh more than the Hummer wheels I use to have and the Hummer wheel was 46lbs.

http://www.stazworks.com/

 

[Alex01]

Hey TJers,

As I'm wrapping up Stage 1 of my build at this point, I'm already looking at saving money for the next set of planned upgrades. I'm planning on running the following (again early stages of planning)

• Teraflex 2" lift for a Right Hand Drive TJ Wrangler
• Upgrade from 3.73 to 4.11 gears
• Selectable locker in the front
• BFGoodrich K02 All Terrain Tires Size TBD
• Midarm / Long Arm maybe? I don't know yet.

So the catch to all of this is I live in Virginia and for those who don't know, the cops and the state police can basically pull you over for going 1 mph over the speed limit (It's not a speeding ticket, it's a traffic sign violation) and will try to find any way to compound your ticket. Not all cops are like that and the majority I've interacted with over the years have been really awesome but I've also had a select few that were not great either.

This is the reason I'm running a catalytic converter designed for a diesel engine in my TJ. If I get pulled over I'm completely legal. With ALL that said I'm looking at bead lock wheels for the next part of my build and to my knowledge and internet search the Hutchison Bead Lock wheels are the only DOT approved wheels on the market currently.

I haven't been able to find many reviews on them and the reviews I have found have said they are heavy and some say they are difficult to balance as well. Does anyone know anyone on this forum that has run them or currently has them on their TJ?

Thanks
Grant

From what I understand the midarm was designed around a 4" Currie spring. If you're going to stick with a 2" lift I would stick with short arms.

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

From what I understand the midarm was designed around a 4" Currie spring. If you're going to stick with a 2" lift I would stick with short arms.

Fantastic then I'll stick with what I have, one less thing to worry about!

 

[Apparition]

Well I feel like an idiot for not being able to find that. I was debating going to the 17" wheels but it looks like 15" wheels might be the better choice.

If you go with Trailready they make them to the dimensions you pick. Wheel diameter, backspacing, hole pattern....

 

[Lou]

Hutchinson is the only DOT approved beadlock that I know of. But the flip side to this is there was someone on Pirate that had put some money up if anyone was actually ticketed for running beadlocks on the street. His statement was that there isn't anything that says you can't run them.

https://www.hutchinsoninc.com/beadlocks/



https://www.hutchinsoninc.com/rock-monster-wheels/
the 8x15 wheel is 26lbs & the 8.5x17 is 35.6lbs. This was in the 5x4.5 bolt pattern.

That weight is wrong. The wheel, beadlock doughnut, and all the nuts is over 40 pounds per for 15s.

 

[zebra12]

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Technically there is no such thing as a federal DOT certified beadlock wheel since the DOT has no beadlock certification program. That is despite the claims of some wheel manufacturers. They said as much in a letter published years ago.

 

[RustyAutoholicGuy]

If you go with Trailready they make them to the dimensions you pick. Wheel diameter, backspacing, hole pattern....

I'll have to take a closer look, a quick browser through their site says their wheels are DOT complaint . . . hmmm

That weight is wrong. The wheel, beadlock doughnut, and all the nuts is over 40 pounds per for 15s.

Interesting still I wonder if it would help with spooling the turbo and getting onto boost earlier.

View attachment 233458

View attachment 233457

Agreed I think they look fantastic as well.

Technically there is no such thing as a federal DOT certified beadlock wheel since the DOT has no beadlock certification program. That is despite the claims of some wheel manufacturers. They said as much in a letter published years ago.

Huh that's interesting Jerry, I'll have to go do some digging on that, if that's the case I might look at the TrailReady wheels instead.

Thanks
Grant

 

[Plumber1]

Those wheels look bad ass

 

[Jerry Bransford]

This is the DOT's response to a letter of inquiry...

Dear Mr. C,

I received this message from NHTSA this morning:

There are no performance or design requirements for rims covered under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 120. However, there are rim marking requirements in S5.2 and rim selection requirements in S5.3.2. Note that in S5.2, a reference is made to rims of multi-piece construction, and this implies that these multi-piece rims are allowed. The bead lock rim appears to be a multi-piece rim and there is nothing that I’m aware of that would prohibit them from being used for on-road vehicles. I have attached a copy of the standard. It may be that some State DOTs are regulating them.

Hope this helps some

Sincerely,
Reference Services
National Transportation Library
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Research and Innovative Technology Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
(end of their response)

There are two states that have banned beadlock wheels, New Jersey and Utah, but no other states have actual laws against them.

 

[IrishWake]

I'll have to take a closer look, a quick browser through their site says their wheels are DOT complaint . . . hmmm


Interesting still I wonder if it would help with spooling the turbo and getting onto boost earlier.


Agreed I think they look fantastic as well.


Huh that's interesting Jerry, I'll have to go do some digging on that, if that's the case I might look at the TrailReady wheels instead.

Thanks
Grant

In addition, the DOT does not approve anything, not just wheels. Tires, brakes, etc can (and should) conform to DOT standards, but the DOT doesn't run product testing before someone goes to market. Even Lights that are required to be stamped with DOT are not tested and approved by DOT. DOT/SAE/etc create standards to which laws can/do reference. States can require conformance with DOT standards (or the presence of a stamp), but the lack of a DOT stamp does not necessarily mean the equipment does not meet the standard. (nor does the presence of a stamp ensure actual compliance with the standard). That's where beadlocks fill a grey area with the multi-piece wheel definition

EDIT: Sniped by Jerry with actual reference