16.5" weld-on beadlocks not gonna work?

CrashKnott

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2007
Location
Upstate, SC
So, I've got the greatest girl ever, and she told me she wanted to buy me a set of weld-on beadlocks for Christmas...NICE!

So I make the call to the powers that be and get the ball rolling.

Come to find out (at least rumor has it at this point), that 16.5" rims are of a different construction altogether. The biggest difference of concern is there's no secondary 'safety lip' on the inner bead, so a beadlock'ed tire will still pull the inner bead without much trouble.

Any confirmation or contradiction out there?

Any ideas on what I can do if this is all true?...re-centered H1's, tire screws for the inners, stauns, etc...still trying to come up with something in the same ball-park as weld-on beadlocks o my girl can buy 'em for me as my Christmas gift.

Thanks fellas!
 
whoever sold ya the DIY 16.5" beadlocks should have let ya know about that issue...

Thats what I used to do, but most bought anyway

welding an inner bead on the rim works, but it takes a lot of time and is frustrating, especially if you wern't expecting to do the additional work
 
whoever sold ya the DIY 16.5" beadlocks should have let ya know about that issue...

Nobody sold him anything, they (Me) told him about the issue before hand.
 
To answer your question, you are correct, 16.5" wheels are different and do NOT have the inner "safty bead" its actually a long sloped area that helps center and seat the bead during inflation, but it also makes it harder to debead with an impact. (side note) most cop car wheels have a similar profile on the outter bead area to help the outter stay on and not roll as bad at high speed and when curbing etc)

see pic (don't mind all the drawing junk it was the first one i found)

etrto_diagram.gif

The reason is 16.5s were originally a tube tire (back in the day) so the wheel was more flat to better hold the tube.


H1s ? I had a PB&J for lunch today...
 
ah, I interpreted that he made the call to get things rolling and ordered some and found out about the inner bead during install...
 
That's why I've got my friends looking out for me...cause I don't have a clue!

I appreciate the inside information, now I just wish I knew all this a year ago before I bought my rims and tires...

To be clear, I DO NOT have H1's, just regular ass'ed 16.5" steel rims currently.

Doing all the reading I am torn on what to do; scrap these rims for some re-centered H1's, run some bead screws for the inner side or do the 3/16 steel rod 'inner safety bead' along with a weld-on outer beadlock.

Anyway, I appreciate the info guys, and if someone wants to donate some H1's for the cause, I would appreciate it!
 
Yeah, I knew that; just trying not to make a novel of a post.

That might be the nail in the coffin for H1's...I hear they bend up relatively easily, so I would want the ring stiffeners, so there's an extra $200.

Who knows...at least I have learned something here though. Thanks guys!
 
Yeah, I knew that; just trying not to make a novel of a post.

That might be the nail in the coffin for H1's...I hear they bend up relatively easily, so I would want the ring stiffeners, so there's an extra $200.

Who knows...at least I have learned something here though. Thanks guys!

plus ya gotta add in re-centering them as the BS on the H1s is not ideal for most of us...
 
yep...mounds up to an expensive set of h1's, eh?

new centers are ~$40
stiffeners are ~$45
having the centers 'centered' ~$40

Pretty soon you've got $200 per wheel into your $40 H1's. Nevermind new hardware or O-rings if needed.
 
copperheadfab.com rock rings for $25 apeice. cheap centers, too- many lug patterns available. thought id thow in where i bought mine. i do agree about the finnished price being a lot higher than planned. and paradise is right- you HAVE to get rock rings if you play on the rocks. ( ok, you dont HAVE to, just as you dont HAVE to upgrade you dana 35 axle when you put on the 38" boggers, but, you know...)
 
For what it's worth you can get the H1 rock rings way cheaper than $45 each. I just ordered a set of four from Great Lakes Offroad for $115 shipped.http://www.greatlakeoffroad.com/h1wheels.html They don't have a million different designs like some other shops do, but the couple they do have look pretty good IMO, and they're definitely the right price.

I know that the H1's aren't as cheap as they first appear once you buy all of the parts for them, but I think in the end it's going to be worth it. I just did the math and it looks like mine are going to end up costing me $161 each by the time it's all said and done, and that's with me welding in the new centers myself. Finding a good deal on the H1 rims themselves is the toughest thing about it. I've seen 8 bolts as cheap as $25/each and 12 bolts that were over $100. Good luck.
 
Well, I had this great plan to make my own inner safety beads and rock some weld-on beadlocks to my 16.5's. But I ran across a smokin deal on some re-centered H1's instead. Still gotta find inserts, but double beadlocks on the cheap was an easy decision to make.
 
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