Help, Bead Lock Wheels..

[10thumbs]

Hi guys,

How do these wheels work?  How are they attached to the slick?  I don't understand what they are.  Can someone explain the deal here?

Also, I have several Revell Funny Car kits of more modern F/C's.  I won't build the cars but I have them for parts only.  The wheels are obviously these bead locks, but the walls of the dished part are ribbed, from the rim inward towards the hub.  What brand wheels are these?  When did they come out?

Lots of questions, but I don't have a clue about these wheels.  Here a pic of a smooth version;

Thanks in advance,

Michael

 

[SfanGoch]

This explains it better than I could:

Beadlock

[Force]

The wheels in the later of the Revell Funny Car kits are supposed to be Centerline Convo Pro but they are not very good replicas as Revell took a shortcut and modified the previous wheels from the earlier tooling wich was Weld Pro Star wheels to more look like the Centerlines, so the center section is still Weld Pro Star but the outer rim is the ribbed style Centerline Convo Pro and it's a strange looking combination of the two...you can find a lot better more correct looking Centerline Convo Pro wheels in the Revell 55 Ford and 57 Chevy Pro Sportsman kits.
The first issues of the "modern era" Funny Car kits with Ford Mustang, Tempo and Pontiac Trans Am bodies from the mid 80's had Weld Racing Draglite wheels, the next issues with the Oldsmobile Cutlass bodies the kits got Weld Racing Pro Star wheels, and in the next issues with the Dodge Avenger bodies Revell modified the Pro Star wheels to the strange looking Centerline Convo Pro wheels wich were in the kits until the last Pontiac Firebird issues.
The Weld Draglite and Pro Star wheels came in the mid to late 80's and the Centerline Convo Pro wheels the early 90's.I don't know exact date but somewhere thereabout.

A bead lock rim has two separate outer rings bolted to the rim and many use these bead lock rims nowadays as they work well to keep the tire on the rim and stopping the rim rotating inside the tire due to the low air pressures used in Drag Racing, you clamp the bead of the slick tire between the rim and the outer ring and it locks the tire firmly into place.
Earlier many drilled holes in the outside circumference of the rim and screwed the bead to the rim locking it into place, but the bead lock wheels with the bolted separate rings are a lot better, it's also easier to change the tires with this system.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Force

[10thumbs]

OK.  Thanks Joe, the link was helpful.

So, the screws shown on the rims do not go into the tire itself.  OK.  There's an inner ring (not visible) that crimp the tire to the outer ring that's shown in the pics.  My last info on this kind of rim work was when the racers had screws going through the rims into the tire itself.

So, to change the slick, the air is let out, the outer rim is unscrewed and then the slick slides off.  Change tire out, slip it on, screw the outer ring and apply air pressure.  Right?

 

[Muncie]

good questions....I was also curious about beadlocks - I talked to a guy at a car show a couple of years ago who had beadlocks on his prostreet Camaro - he said he mounted the slicks in his living room - after watching this video, it is doable.

more here -

Prior to beadlock wheels in drag racing, the funny car and top fuel classes used an inner liner to secure the slick to the rim and prevent the wheel from turning in the tire. Goodyear even had a trick single valve - turn it one way to inflate the inner liner, turn it the other way to fill the tire

more on current inner liner here -http://dragrace.academy/how-to-mount-a-liner-tire/

Edited December 3, 2015 by Muncie

[High octane]

What an excellent video on mounting the liner & slick to the wheel, thanks Steve.

[Muncie]

arrrgh, Messed up and wrong link for the beadlock wheels - try this -  http://dragrace.academy/beadlock-wheel-mounting-and-tire-selection/

with all this information I fell like I could change tires for John Force's crew...   well, maybe not

Edited December 3, 2015 by Muncie

[Force]

This video tell the story good.
I have seen this done at the tracks but it's a bit hard to put what I have seen into words so this video explains the process.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Force

[10thumbs]

Thanks for the vids Steve.

Hakan,  to be honest, I still don't really understand the whole thing.  Judging from what you just wrote, it's not that easy to desribe so I don't feel too stupid.  lol.   Thanks for your help though.  I'll check out the vids very soon.

Michael

[10thumbs]

Steve, got it!  Finally I understand what the deal is.  Good video.

Michael

[Force]

Thanks for the vids Steve.

Hakan,  to be honest, I still don't really understand the whole thing.  Judging from what you just wrote, it's not that easy to desribe so I don't feel too stupid.  lol.   Thanks for your help though.  I'll check out the vids very soon.

Michael

I know how it's done but it's not easy to describe to one that had never seen how the beadlock rims are constructed, so the video Steve posted is "worth more than a thousand words" and as you have seen it now I knew you would understand, it's not complicated at all.

[Muncie]

kinda hated to dump an 18 minute video on you guys, but I couldn't figure out how to describe it either - I'm glad the video helped