DIY beadlock anti coning

Slut99

Slut99

Member
Joined
May 17, 2013
Location
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Ok I'm about to build some beadlocks and iv seen ALOT of people are using fan v-belts to stop the coning effect. My question is what size belts are you guys using? For a 15" wheel.

I don't wanna weld a strip on the beadlocks because I will change tires in the future and not all beads are the same size.. So I like the idea of the fan belts and seams like 80% of people are using this.

Thanks
 
A hard anti coning rig will work for different sized beads. The typical width is 3/4"-5/8" for the anti coning ring. You don't have to weld a metal ring, you can just place it in there and torque as needed. It shouldn't go anywhere.

I wouldn't want a rubber anti coning ring, I would think it would cause too much flex. Maybe I'm being paranoid but I'm not sure about the V belt idea.
 
V belts have pretty good compressive strength, but I'd rather have a metal ring for better clamping consistency. Steel, aluminum, Delrin, UHMW PE, whatever, doesn't really matter if it's made properly and has enough compressive strength and parallel sides. If you're totally badass and have machine shop access, a combination spacer and centering ring is pretty freakin' cool. Really just a wide ring with bolt holes or slots for the bolts, so it centers the tire on one side of the bolt circle and acts as a crush spacer on the other side. That's geek-y overkill though, which is fun but won't really matter much when you're on the trail.
 
Fabrik8 said:
a combination spacer and centering ring
Click to expand...

I think you hit the nail on the head with this one. Centering the tire is why I think aluminum beadlocks work so well on the street. I think it makes the tire MUCH easier to balance.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/axle...weld-beadlocks-actually-center-your-tire.html

These were my favorite kind of weld on beadlocks for that reason. Just a little more work than a normal set of beadlocks but much better. Too bad they don't make them anymore.
 
A lot of people were saying 1/8" x1/2 wide strip to weld on the inside of the bead lock for a spacer.

But I'm trying to keep it simple and use a belt iv read alot of people are doing this... Just wanna talk to someone that has first hand experience

Thanks
 
NCJeeplover said:
I think you hit the nail on the head with this one. Centering the tire is why I think aluminum beadlocks work so well on the street. I think it makes the tire MUCH easier to balance.

Weld on beadlocks that actually center your tire!! - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum

These were my favorite kind of weld on beadlocks for that reason. Just a little more work than a normal set of beadlocks but much better. Too bad they don't make them anymore.
Click to expand...

There are other ways of doing that too, a wide ring with the hole pattern drilled in it would give the same result. Basically take those individual pieces of plate, make them a ring instead of pieces of plate, and don't weld that ring to the wheel (maybe it's not welded in the pictures?).. Then make it aluminum, and keep everything tight so the spacer doesn't shift around and make the holes oval.
 
Some people even use 1/2" nuts, about 10 or so spaced out around the inside lip.


I've built about 750 DIY beadlock kits and I've never used or sold them with the V belts. However, that was years ago and I haven't been keeping up with the trend recently. UHMW is much more dense and seems that would work well. I still think an 1/8" thick strip of flat bar, 3/4"-5/8" tall is the easiest and cheapest.

Really, you don't need the rings
 
I would 2nd that you don't need the rings. I used the Vbelt idea on a set of alum weld-ons. I just got a long mower belt and cut it to length. Put it just inside the bolts. It worked fine but not as good as a steel/alum ring/spacer would.
 
I ran the V belts on my 17" DIY's 2 years ago. The rings didn't cone, but they leaked down after a few weeks of sitting. I had Ruffstuff's kit and the rings were narrow so the belt was right up against the fasteners. A buddy runs them in WV with wide rings and has no issues or leaks.
 
Back
Top