"Justin" wrote: What's everybody's opinion on running 37-12.5x17 MTR's without bead locks? I remember wheeling with Lee one time and he de-beaded his 17" tires twice on one run. I really want the new MTR's but I can't afford to buy the tires and bead locks at the same time. I'm thinking as long as I don't air down past 10 psi, I might be OK and I'll just pray for traction.

this is what im hoping for too.....really used 37-12.5x17 (dont care brand at this point) without beadlocks on a 8 or 9 inch rim. do you remember what width rim lee was running?

so just for the sake of keeping this thread alive. can anybody explain the theory or science in regards to the whole rim width issue? why is a smaller width rim better at keeping a bead than a wider one?

ok. well can skip that part....what about the width of the tire then? i see lots of 12.5 wide tires but what about 13.5 or 14.5? would it be best to run a 14.5 on and 8" or can you even do that?

"Justin" wrote: I don't really want to go into the theory but I have been running 10" wide rims for a few years now and never have had in issue. I usually air down to between 8 and 10 psi.

No issue except cutting side walls. I run an 8" wide rim shoot for about that tire pressure and have had good luck with both beads and sidewalls. I wonder if there's any relation to the rim? Maybe I'm just moving so slow the rocks can get out of the way.

I would suggest a min. width of 9". My mtr's on 8's were real bad. Only drove them home and parked it until I got wider rims.

"JohnDF" wrote: 12.5 wide tires seem to hold beads the best with 8" wide wheels. Especially if you are going to wheel on hard trails where low tire pressures are needed. I have only unbeaded one tire in eight years, that was in the snow with a tire pressure under 7 psi.

I agree, but my new mtr's seemed to be wider than the old ones. With a level on top of the tire I had 1.5" down to the outside lugs. I chalked the tires and roll tested, it was not good. My rim's were AR's that measured 8" between bead surfaces.

"JohnDF" wrote: The contact patch for on road driving has never been a concern for me. It's usualy close enough to wear the tires evenly for the amount of time I own the tires. I would never own the tires past 75% of their life as they start to be unfriendly in the rocks. If the contact patch is a concern, you can manipulate the tire pressure to get them pretty close. For me, the off road performance is far more important than the tire tread life. I sure wouldn't want to blow a bead on some of the obstacles I run, that could have some bad results 😯

Tread life has not been a huge issue for me, on road handling during duck season is. My brief time with new mtr's on 8" rims made me believe the handling would not get better in the rain on crap roads and highways that sometimes flood. They do feel much better on 9" rims. Oh, and I do drive bad, so I did get beadlocks this time because I blew 3 beads in one day at Barrett last year.

was that on the 8 or 9 inch rims you blew the bead?