Ali Mansour
Brand Manager, 4WD & Sport Utility
Custom is a word that often means two things in our hobby, high cost and lots of time. While we all set out to individualize our wheeling machines, sometimes going unique for uniqueness’s sake doesn’t make financial sense. Eaton Wheels is a company that understands we all want that custom look without the high price. And more often than not, when you’re creating a one-off 4x4 in your garage, custom isn’t simply a want, it’s a need.
For most guys looking to take their 4x4 creations to the extreme, a beadlock wheel is simply par for the course. Beadlocks allow you to safely drop into single-digit air pressure without losing the tire from the wheel. They also up the performance of the rig by allowing the tire to conform to the terrain more easily. While there seems to be no shortage of beadlock wheel options these days, many of the standard offsets and wheel bolt patterns are not always ideal.
Luckily Eaton Wheels understood that not every size fits all and has created a unique beadlock wheel line that can be built to suit. Each of the company’s heavy-duty Type 402 steel wheels can be fitted with or without the 32-bolt beadlock ring and can be optioned in a variety of sizes, wheel bolt patterns, and backspacing. No matter whether you need a 15-inch wheel for your 21⁄2-ton Rockwell axles or a 20-inch for your lightweight buggy, Eaton can build you exactly what you are looking for.
To secure the outer bead, each Eaton beadlock uses 32 bolts. Each Grade 8 bolt is captured by a welded nut insert on the back of the wheel. Per the instructions we tightened the ring down in a crisscross pattern and then finished off the wheel with a pass of the torque wrench set at 15 lb-ft.
We recently got the chance to go behind the scenes at National Tire & Wheel to check out how the Eaton beadlocks are handmade. We even got our hands on a finished product that was built to spec with a 15x8 aspect ratio, a 5-on-41⁄2 wheel bolt pattern, and a very desirable 31⁄2 inches of backspacing. For more information on Eaton Wheels and to view the company’s entire line, visit www.ntwonline.com.
