[bigd9247]

i was just curious as to why true beadlock wheels are not street legal? i think there are some street legal true beadlocks but most are not DOT approved...

 

[Baja Belk]

i was just curious as to why true beadlock wheels are not street legal? i think there are some street legal true beadlocks but most are not DOT approved...

I think it's something about the bolts that hold the ring on can come loose and fall off and cause a tanker to swerve and crash into a pre-school full of little kids and explode. Somethin like that...

 

[DCabTaco]

I think it's something about the bolts that hold the ring on can come loose and fall off and cause a tanker to swerve and crash into a pre-school full of little kids and explode. Somethin like that...

Oh I see now, thanks for clearing that up,.... lol

 

[96Toy]

Any bead lock wheel ring that had a DOT stamp is legal so like the mickey thomson classics, I will ask the motor vichel branch tomorrow why most beadlocks are illegal.

 

[Zackattak]

i was just curious as to why true beadlock wheels are not street legal? i think there are some street legal true beadlocks but most are not DOT approved...

They are illegal in the US due to the fact that they are not an error proof system of mounting. The DOT requires that a tire and wheel combination cannot come apart.They are also REALLY hard to balance. Most people who use them don't even bother attempting to balance the tire, since they never get above 5 mph.

 

[AK98Taco]

They are DOT approved because they were not submitted for approval, mainly because the DOT does not test and approve wheels, or anything for that matter. They simply set guidelines and minimum specifications. Nothing says that a wheel must be "DOT-approved" to be used on public roads in the first place.

After looking for awhile, just for sh-ts and giggles, I could not find a single regulation addressing wheels in California's Vehicle Code.

 

[ShowStop]

i was just curious as to why true beadlock wheels are not street legal? i think there are some street legal true beadlocks but most are not DOT approved...

More info to consider:

NO beadlock wheel is DOT approved. Including the military Hummer wheel. (The military is exempt from such nonsense). Some of the better ones are certainly well built and obviously stronger than most OEM wheels.

Ours balance up and drive just fine. We have driven them from California to Colorado and Utah and back. We have had no problems. As for the strict definition "are they legal?" this is a question for a lawyer. I dunno. I hear lots of opinions, they don’t all agree. Many people use them on the street. The DOT is a federal organization. Different states may have to be safer and stronger than factory DOT wheels. The problem is that the DOT has never written a specification for them to comply with, so they cannot "rubber stamp" them. Different states have different laws on whether you are required to comply with DOT approval, and on what parts. For liability reasons, I cannot legally endorse the use of beadlock wheels on the street.

Source: www.high-impact.net/wheels/beadlockinformation.htm

 

[halfxspaid]

In law there is something called products liability. If that rim or bolt goes flying off on the road and injures someone, the company will be up a creek with legal action. Yes, its unfair and sucks, but thats the world we live in.

 

[ocmike]

They are also REALLY hard to balance. Most people who use them don't even bother attempting to balance the tire, since they never get above 5 mph.

I've talked to a few people with the walker evans beadlocks and another person with stock 4runner wheels converted to beadlocks by OMF and all said they have had zero problems getting them to balance.

 

[Brain]

On Rockstompers website, Scott had a contest to see if anyone could find ANY law that states that beadlocks are illegal. For 2 years, not one person could find a law that says they are illegal. Even if you do have real beadlocks, cop pulls you over and you can claim they are just street locks since there are so many out there now.

 

[Zackattak]

I've talked to a few people with the walker evans beadlocks and another person with stock 4runner wheels converted to beadlocks by OMF and all said they have had zero problems getting them to balance.

That's just what I've read and what some people have told me about them. Maybe it's just different people or diferent beadlocks?????