Hey All,
Ok, just to clear up some questions.
Legality- I have always believed that beadlock WHEELS are illegal, and this website tends to confirm that. It states that internal beadlocks are compliant with SAE j5230 which is the standard to which wheels comply currently.
LiftLaws.com - Are Beadlocks Street Legal?.
This tends to confirm my original thoughts on the beadlocks, which is they are approved for military use, just like our wheels are, as well as highway use (according to the stamps on my rims.) If I were to be pulled over, it's literally impossible for a officer to see if I have beadlocks unless he decides to help me change my tires. The odds of that happening, once he sees the tires? about zero.
Are the 395 tires mounted on A3 wheels safe? Now we start getting into the part where we all think something different. Would I put them on without beadlocks? Ummm, no. Can you? Yes. Here's what goes awry. The side of the bead area on the wheel is shorter than the bead area on the 395's (well, it's a 5 ton tire, you'd expect a larger bead) The height of the A3 beadlocks are the approximate height of the bead area on the wheel. This equates to the beadlock pushing the beads of the tire deeply into the rim. So once that is accomplished, you will find the beads become so well locked into place that even after removing the rim nuts, the tire won't budge off the bead without some serious force. The area where the bead seats is squared up nicely to the tire bead. So it appears to be a good fit. Without the beadlock? I bet it would seat, and I bet it would hold air, and I bet you'd have no problems with it. But I'm not a betting man, so I can't.
Same story with using the 8" rims. I bet it would... Well you get the idea.
Hemmt wheels- Boo Yah! If they are on a hemtt truck. Now, if you put them on a deuce, you're going to have to do something to them. At least cut the centers out. then you're going to bolt or weld in a new center. THEN, it's going to fit. It's even going to have a huge bead area which will work nicely with your new massive tires. Your tires are now nicely mounted on rims that are technically DOT illegal. Yep, I said illegal. Why? They have been modified. In order to meet the DOT standards (or JAE) the manufacturer has certified all they stuff to be legal due to testing. You just changed it. Is it safe? I think so. Will you ever have a problem with it? Probably not. Are they safe? I think so. Would I buy them? Yep, if they cost less! Will you get pulled over for them? probably not, but if you're doing something silly already, it's probably going to be another fix it ticket.
Cost of A3 rims- ok, meat and potatoes. I have seen from $125 with beadlocks to $500 without beadlocks and everything inbetween. I paid 125 each with beadlocks. I only had to look for 6 months, so I guess I had more time than money. If you have more money than time, you can go get some today from one of the surplus dealers.
Lastly, I'm not saying I'm a legal expert and this is the way it is. I'm saying this is what I know, and think and my opinions are worth at least a cup of coffee and a donut. Oh, the A3 wheels look da*n sexy on the Bobber with 14.5's. Not too shabby either on the A3 with 395's. Enjoy your deuce!
