CapnMericaMyCopilot
Member
So after my suspension upgrade with the EVO bolt-on coilovers I’m looking forward to what I’m saving for next. Currently I’m leaning towards a set of beadlocks which means completely new territory to me. So far it seems the 3.5” backspacing required limits my options. I am leaning towards the KMC229 Machete and the XD232 close behind (which I honestly can’t find much about or picture wise if anyone has some they could share that’d be awesome. I’ve only seen them listed for sale on Northridge -_- and BBwheels which I’ve never heard of before). I looked into a few others but by the time I was done selecting the ‘options’ they were well out of my price range. If anyone has any recommendations for looking into please feel free.
Some questions or areas I’m looking for feedback and if there’s any other input I’m not thinking of feel free:
1. First and foremost my Jeep is still and will be for some time my daily driver. Are there any drawbacks that should cause me to reconsider the switch in terms of drivability or otherwise? I’d still like to have a comfortable easy commute.
2. One concern I have is being able to get these things balanced. So far I’ve struck out with calling around to shops and see if it’s something they do. At the moment the plan would be to get my current tires dismounted then haul them home to mount myself and hope to get them balanced somewhere. I guess one advantage of buying wheels/tires together would be having them show up ready to throw on.
3. Right now I’ve got 33” Ridge Grapplers. My original plan was to switch them over as including a new larger set basically doubles the cost. I figure get the wheels now and by the time I need a new set of tires I can jump to a larger set (I’ve got about 20k on them). If I’m to consider stepping up at the same time what would be a ‘safe’ option considering I’m still on my stock axles (3.21 gears, D30/D44) and upgrading them isn’t currently on my mind? And would any further upgrades be required/recommended? I’ll say I’ve definitely noticed the difference that tire size can make on the trails now plus I think it’d look better and allow me to take more advantage of the suspension. The more I anticipate this purchase the more I want to go up to 35s/37s... probably come down to whether I can sell my hardtop and current wheel/tire setup.
4. For the rings themselves, if I wanted to paint them is this a do it yourself type thing or find somewhere to get them powder coated? I’m in Florida for the holidays and now definitely wanna match the rings to the body as I’ve seen a Gobi Jeep parked with this set up and it was very nice. Gotta try to stop for a pic before leave.
5. Are there any maintenance or wear issues I should be aware of other than obvious things like checking bolts? Either vehicle, wheel, tire wise as a result of the switch to beadlocks?
6. Similar to lifting the Jeep , is there any aspect that’s a “because of the beadlocks I need/should do ‘xyz’ to the vehicle for ‘xyz’ reasons”? I guess the same question would go for increasing the tire size also.
Sorry this is so long, but I’ve had some time to think about this so a lot of stuff has popped in my head. Hopefully overthinking it makes it easier when I pull the trigger as it did with the coilovers.
Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Some questions or areas I’m looking for feedback and if there’s any other input I’m not thinking of feel free:
1. First and foremost my Jeep is still and will be for some time my daily driver. Are there any drawbacks that should cause me to reconsider the switch in terms of drivability or otherwise? I’d still like to have a comfortable easy commute.
2. One concern I have is being able to get these things balanced. So far I’ve struck out with calling around to shops and see if it’s something they do. At the moment the plan would be to get my current tires dismounted then haul them home to mount myself and hope to get them balanced somewhere. I guess one advantage of buying wheels/tires together would be having them show up ready to throw on.
3. Right now I’ve got 33” Ridge Grapplers. My original plan was to switch them over as including a new larger set basically doubles the cost. I figure get the wheels now and by the time I need a new set of tires I can jump to a larger set (I’ve got about 20k on them). If I’m to consider stepping up at the same time what would be a ‘safe’ option considering I’m still on my stock axles (3.21 gears, D30/D44) and upgrading them isn’t currently on my mind? And would any further upgrades be required/recommended? I’ll say I’ve definitely noticed the difference that tire size can make on the trails now plus I think it’d look better and allow me to take more advantage of the suspension. The more I anticipate this purchase the more I want to go up to 35s/37s... probably come down to whether I can sell my hardtop and current wheel/tire setup.
4. For the rings themselves, if I wanted to paint them is this a do it yourself type thing or find somewhere to get them powder coated? I’m in Florida for the holidays and now definitely wanna match the rings to the body as I’ve seen a Gobi Jeep parked with this set up and it was very nice. Gotta try to stop for a pic before leave.
5. Are there any maintenance or wear issues I should be aware of other than obvious things like checking bolts? Either vehicle, wheel, tire wise as a result of the switch to beadlocks?
6. Similar to lifting the Jeep , is there any aspect that’s a “because of the beadlocks I need/should do ‘xyz’ to the vehicle for ‘xyz’ reasons”? I guess the same question would go for increasing the tire size also.
Sorry this is so long, but I’ve had some time to think about this so a lot of stuff has popped in my head. Hopefully overthinking it makes it easier when I pull the trigger as it did with the coilovers.
Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
