Hoping somone can help here....

I have a set of 17" AEV beadlocks and picked up a set of 37x12.50x17 Cooper Discoverer STTs.

For the life of me I cannot get the wheel in position to install the lock ring. I think there is a problem with the bead size.

1st question = on AEVs, does the ring sit flush with the rim? If so, the bead on a tire could only be .5" when I measure from the bottom of the ring to the top of the inner lip on the wheel. The bead on my Coopers is 1".

I currently run Champion Beadlocks. I dismounted one of my 35 BFG Muds and the bead is .75" and the Champion ring sits flush on the rim.

So if the AEV ring doesn't sit flush, then I am good once I can get the tires to sit around the edge of the rim. Right now it is as if the tire diameter is too small. I am hoping it is because they are cold. They are now in my living room to the delight of my wife getting warm.

2nd question = Does anyone know the bead size on a 37" BFG Mud or Goodyear MTR.

 

have you tried calling AEV?

 

I tried but they are closed on the weekends according to the answering service.

 

I had the AEV Pintler beadlocks with 35" KM2s.

Had a tough time getting the tire to fit around the centering lip on the rim. I had to trim the casting flash off the ID of the tire. Without doing this, I would not have been able to even start the bolts. After the trimming and a little pursuation with a rubber mallet, I was able to install the lock ring.
Once the ring was torqued to spec there was no gap between the ring and the wheel. There was 1/2in gap when I started the bolts, that's why they give you the 4 longer ones, but no gap when I was done.
I would think that the final gap would be different with the various bead thickness on different brands. The critical thing would be to achieve the 15ft-lbm of torque as detailed in their directions. I was very concerned with the aluminum threads and used lots of anti-seize.

Good thinking on the heat. For me, I did it on a hot day and left the tires in the sun for a few hours. It didn't help.

Sorry I can't help with the bead thickness. My 37's are mounted.

 

In the past of a friend had a set of beadlock rims with a very set of stubborn Intercos.
We used a set 4 extra long screws with the same thread to clamp down the ring evenly about 1/2" before the ring guides could be screwed in.

In over 3 years it never damaged the beadlocks or the tires. The wheels were not AEVs but this should work.

 

here is what I am dealing with. I can't get the wheel to sit inside the bead. If one side is right, the other is off quite a bit. And I am still wondering if the 1" thickness of the bead is too much for the rings to clamp down on. Hopefully I can talk to AEV Monday morning about that.

 

thats looks normal to me .. you just need to use something to get that bead around the wheel.... you could try to use alittle tire lube and something to pry the tire around the wheel, working your way around and it should pop on their.. did you try a rubber mallet ? it should eventually fit around the wheel.. just takes some work. mine beadlocks where the same way , but i got them on their... hope they work out for you .. nice looking wheel. oh i also bought mine inside to work on ... much warmer

 

I also had a set of AEV bead locks with 35” KM2’s and my lock ring did clamp down tight to the rim at 15ft. lbs. of torque. I recently went to Walker Evans bead lock rims. I used soapy water in a spray bottle and a couple of pry bars to work the bead around the that lip. It looks from your pictures that you may have a little further stretch than I had but, I think with some patience and two pry bars you’ll get it!

 

Dawn dishwashing detergent, the original blue stuff, makes mounting tire a lot easier. Temporarily softens up the rubber, provide good lubrication and makes for a better bead seal. It's a real common practice for drag slicks, being low pressure and most without beadlocks until you get into the serious fast stuff. Better consistency on inflation rates, keeping air in the tires.

What I've used in the past is about a 5-1 water/dawn mix. Wipe down the inside and outside of the sidewalls and treat the bead a second time after sitting for an hour. That should make your tire fairly easy to get installed.

 

Dido, for both my old Allied and the new Walker Evans. I used a 5 gallon bucket to place the wheel on so the tires weight would push it down. I then used a flat head screwdriver and some good ol' elbow greese to pry the tire into position. It took all of about 5 minutes and some grunting but I was successufl for all my tires.

Under NO circumstance should you cut the tire to get the ring to seat!!!! If the ring isn't seating down it is likely that you have the tire mounted incorrectly. For both sets of wheels/tires I have been able to start all the bolts by hand and then torque them to specs.