Beadlocks are great for off-road performance, as we’ve told you many times before, but what if you already purchased the perfect-looking wheels for your truck only to realize later that you wish you had beadlocks? You could sell them and purchase beadlocks. You could send them out to be cut and welded for beadlock rims. Or you could make them beadlocks with a simple drill bit and the Inner Air beadlock system. The Inner Air beadlocks are based on an inner tube design, but the tube doesn’t support the whole tire, just the bead. It goes inside the wheel and a heavy-duty sleeve pushes outward against the inside of the tire when inflated, in effect locking both the inner and outer bead to the inside of the wheel. The system only requires drilling a small hole in the wheel for the inner tube valve stem. Though it takes some care during installation the resulting beadlocks are lightweight and stand up great to off-road abuse. The first step to installing Inner Air Lock’s beadlock system is to drill a hole in your wheel. This 5⁄16-inch hole is suggested to be located opposite the tire valve stem in a protected, flat, and centered position. We found a spot in one of the openings of our Mickey Thompson Classic Lock Black wheels and carefully drilled a hole. Be sure to deburr the hole on both sides.The first step to installing Inner Air Lock’s beadlock system is to drill a hole in your w Next install the supplied valve stems. These stems (right) have small grooves cut in them so that the inner tube doesn’t block off the air flow.Next install the supplied valve stems. These stems (right) have small grooves cut in them We put the 40-inch Nitto Trail Grappler on the wheel (watch for a full test of these tires in an upcoming issue), but only halfway so the front edge of the rim is inside the tire. Next put some of the supplied talcum powder inside the tube sleeve. This works as a lubrication between the tube and the sleeve.We put the 40-inch Nitto Trail Grappler on the wheel (watch for a full test of these tires The powdered sleeve installs inside the tire around the wheel. The inner tube needs to go inside of the sleeve.The powdered sleeve installs inside the tire around the wheel. The inner tube needs to go The inner tube’s valve stem must be fed through the hole that was drilled. Then a small O-ring is installed and a compression washer and nut are attached to seal it tight.The inner tube’s valve stem must be fed through the hole that was drilled. Then a small O- The tube is worked down inside the rim with the sleeve around it so that both are within the tire’s bead. Take care not to twist the tube or sleeve.The tube is worked down inside the rim with the sleeve around it so that both are within t At this point install the front bead of the tire onto the wheel. This is the most difficult step of the install, as you don’t want to pinch the inner tube with the tire irons. Using prybars is possible, but smooth rounded tire irons are a much better idea.At this point install the front bead of the tire onto the wheel. This is the most difficul The two small punctures were caused by the sharp edges of the prybars. We learned a lesson. Having the correct tools would have saved us the time and money of sourcing a replacement tube.The two small punctures were caused by the sharp edges of the prybars. We learned a lesson SOURCES Nitto Tire 6021 Katella Avenue Suite 250 Cypress CA 90630 877-565-8448 www.nittotire.com Inner Air Lock 231-313-0661 www.innerairlock.com Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels 4600 Prosper Drive Stow OH 44224 330-928-9092 www.mickeythompsontires.com By Fred Williams Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
MrTwisterPM 10/13/2012 at 4:41 PM I purchased the Inner Beadlock and installed on a Mitsubishi Pajero 2011. The install instruction (nothing in the box) gives no info about what required to install these tubes on a wheel. The valve of the tube is offset by 30mm from the center plane, drill the 8mm hole accordingly. The original 16 inch Pajero rim (with 6 nuts) will not clear without min 30mm wheel spacer! It is needed to avoid hitting the front brake caliper by the new valve. You will need large tire, min 16x270x70 to be able to reduce tire pressure to a few PSI (min 5PSI), otherwise the inner beadlock tube will touch the ground and that is not the intended use. I find strange that the manufacturer does not inform the customers about such requirements.
