Beadlock vs regular wheels - weight diff noticeable?

[Peter949]

Noted! I think someone should 3D print a nice light weight replacement for that heavy outer ring.

Been done. Search.

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[got3fords]

Been done. Search.

I wouldn't know even what key words to use. But glad I'm not the first. I'll keep looking.

 

[JackpotRR]

so happy I got rid of the ugly "beadlock" OEM wheels.....I never liked how they looked and yes they where heavy!........swapped out the KO3s at 8,000 miles and now running Falken Wildpeak AT4W which are about 3 lbs lighter then the KO3's........and I'm now running the Roush R wheels which are also about 4 lbs lighter then the OEM beadlocks......

it's been almost 2 weeks since the complete change and YES I notice a difference!....truck feels more "peppy".......and I'm getting 10% more MPG!!.....It's tuned with the Ford Performance tune and I drive it like I stole it all the time.........so I was getting 10 to 10.5 MPG......and now I'm getting 11 to 11.5 MPG......plus it look great and not like every bronco/raptor on the road!.....I've never taken it off-road (I know, but it's my truck and $$$ so back off!..LMAO).......so I call it a win any way you wanna look at it!

here's the before and after pics.....the after pics were from yesterday (04-19-2026) at dusk

 

[Daweism]

oubt I can g

so happy I got rid of the ugly "beadlock" OEM wheels.....I never liked how they looked and yes they where heavy!........swapped out the KO3s at 8,000 miles and now running Falken Wildpeak AT4W which are about 3 lbs lighter then the KO3's........and I'm now running the Roush R wheels which are also about 4 lbs lighter then the OEM beadlocks......

it's been almost 2 weeks since the complete change and YES I notice a difference!....truck feels more "peppy".......and I'm getting 10% more MPG!!.....It's tuned with the Ford Performance tune and I drive it like I stole it all the time.........so I was getting 10 to 10.5 MPG......and now I'm getting 11 to 11.5 MPG......plus it look great and not like every bronco/raptor on the road!.....I've never taken it off-road (I know, but it's my truck and $$$ so back off!..LMAO).......so I call it a win any way you wanna look at it!

here's the before and after pics.....the after pics were from yesterday (04-19-2026) at dusk

How do the Falkens handle compared to the KO3 launching and in wet?

 

[RaptorME]

The Roush are actually 5-6 lbs. lighter per corner.

 

[got3fords]

so happy I got rid of the ugly "beadlock" OEM wheels.....I never liked how they looked and yes they where heavy!........swapped out the KO3s at 8,000 miles and now running Falken Wildpeak AT4W which are about 3 lbs lighter then the KO3's........and I'm now running the Roush R wheels which are also about 4 lbs lighter then the OEM beadlocks......

it's been almost 2 weeks since the complete change and YES I notice a difference!....truck feels more "peppy".......and I'm getting 10% more MPG!!.....It's tuned with the Ford Performance tune and I drive it like I stole it all the time.........so I was getting 10 to 10.5 MPG......and now I'm getting 11 to 11.5 MPG......plus it look great and not like every bronco/raptor on the road!.....I've never taken it off-road (I know, but it's my truck and $$$ so back off!..LMAO).......so I call it a win any way you wanna look at it!

Those do look nice. What did you do with the other wheels?

 

[Lion77]

I also hated my OE beadlocks, I couldn't find a RR in my area in SGM without them at the time, so I bit the bullet and bought them. They are forged and for trail work, the beauty rings were nice to be able to replace if I had scraped them on a rock, BUT they were heavy and UGLY in my opinion.

Although I do say I did like the look of the OE bead locks with the ACTUAL locking ring on them, they looked decent, but my truck is on the road (asphalt, gravel, dirt) 90% of the time. Other 10% it's in OHV parks, farm fields and sand dunes.

After swapping out for the Method 705's that are only 25.2lbs per wheel vs. 36~37 of the OE's, it was immediately noticeable even with the Pro Cal tune installed. Between the Pro Cal and light weight wheels, it's just right in terms of power / acceleration, it feels very raptor-like.

Handling and braking in particular are also better, with emphasis on braking. The brakes felt a bit underwhelming before where now they bite decently and responsive due to shedding so much rotating mass. Well worth it if you have bead locks to change over.

That's not to say the OE bead locks don't have a place, for a work truck that does trails, might be worth it for some to buy them as take-offs for cheap on a second set of tires / wheels. Throw those on for trails, then run your nicer wheels / road tires for everything else.

 

[Lion77]

Looks great!.....do you notice any extra MPG's with the lighter set-up?.......not that it matters with our "performance" trucks but just curious......I haven't noticed any extra MPG's as of yet swapping out the OEM bedlocks but then again I drive it like I drive my Porsche!...LOL

Maybe 1/2 mpg in city driving due to the lower mass. No change on highway since it's steady state. I typically get the rated 16-18, have gotten up to 20.8 doing 78 on the highway between states (~135 mile trip).

I've also gotten as low as 3-5 mpg drifting around a relative's corn field . I measure highway / road driving in MPG, but I measure off-road driving in smiles per gallon.

 

[Lion77]

Yea it’s something like 9-10 lbs less per wheel. I also just don’t like the look of those wheels. Quick crappy photo but you can see the wheels I’m talking about

I heavily considered those from the 5G Raptor's. That's Ford's "Global Ranger Wheel" as an aftermarket upgrade and for the 5G raptors the rest of the world got. I like them overall, but I also like the OE alloys (non-bead-lock). Literally the only OE wheel I hated was the RR version, even the Bronco OE Beadlocks look decent, it's the +55mm off-set that ruins the look of the OE bead lock, because of the hybrid wheel design, it makes the wheel protrude past the tire wall which just looks strange. It also has no depth to it.

Just an FYI on the Method 705's (they are listed at 25.2lbs by Method, my scale confirmed that is the correct weight, I don't think my scale is 100% accurate, but it confirms they are in the 25lb range):

They also balanced with less than half the weights than the OE bead locks, they just feel smoother on the truck overall, likely because they balance better. Maybe SOME of the issues people have had with KO3's isn't all tire related, some of it could be related to the heavy OE bead locks

.

VS OE

Mud makes the OE bead locks even stranger looking as it accentuates what I don't like about them lol. The Method's actually still look good when dirty, plus they clean up much more easily since there aren't any little crevices in the machining, it's all very simple and smooth design-wise, which I think is intentional since they are more truly an off-raod oriented performance wheel.

Between the weight, strength (at least as good as OE since Ford sells Method on their site), bead-grip and aesthetics, I wouldn't want anything else for a truck that actually see off-road use. The other oddity about the OE bead-locks is that it makes the 33" tires look smaller, because it makes the wheel look bigger than it actually is.

The same tire, literally the OE ones, taken off the truck, looks bigger mounted on the 705's than it does on the OE bead locks.

 

[got3fords]

Do non-Raptor wheels fit the Raptor?

 

[Pic-N-Stick]

I also hated my OE beadlocks, I couldn't find a RR in my area in SGM without them at the time, so I bit the bullet and bought them. They are forged and for trail work, the beauty rings were nice to be able to replace if I had scraped them on a rock, BUT they were heavy and UGLY in my opinion.

Although I do say I did like the look of the OE bead locks with the ACTUAL locking ring on them, they looked decent, but my truck is on the road (asphalt, gravel, dirt) 90% of the time. Other 10% it's in OHV parks, farm fields and sand dunes.

After swapping out for the Method 705's that are only 25.2lbs per wheel vs. 36~37 of the OE's, it was immediately noticeable even with the Pro Cal tune installed. Between the Pro Cal and light weight wheels, it's just right in terms of power / acceleration, it feels very raptor-like.

Handling and braking in particular are also better, with emphasis on braking. The brakes felt a bit underwhelming before where now they bite decently and responsive due to shedding so much rotating mass. Well worth it if you have bead locks to change over.

That's not to say the OE bead locks don't have a place, for a work truck that does trails, might be worth it for some to buy them as take-offs for cheap on a second set of tires / wheels. Throw those on for trails, then run your nicer wheels / road tires for everything else.

Yeah, the SGM RR showing up at a local dealer without the beadlock capable rims was why I jumped on it as opposed to ordering one. Don't like the weight, the look, the extra poke or more nooks and crannies to clean. I'll never air down far enough to need true beadlocks...And then there is the extra $1500. But that's just me. Happy we have some options!!

 

[JackpotRR]

How do the Falkens handle compared to the KO3 launching and in wet?

I was actually really surprised that the KO3's only lasted 8,000 miles......yes I have been running the Ford Tune since about the 750 miles mark... and yes I drive it like a race car driver.....lots of city stop and go.....and only a folding ladder and a crate with roofing samples...so maybe 100 lbs in the bed at all times......but the rear KO3's were worn out at 8,000 miles.......the Falken AT4W are much better from a stop and in the wet!.....and more "grip" ripping around town......I'm at 15,000 miles and just had them rotated and they barely show any wear.....they measured 10/32 all around compared to 14/32 when new....so not bad compared to the KO3's....I'm running 39 PSI all around.......I've tried different PSI both lower and higher and this is the sweet spot for me.....best traction, best MPG, best feel ....not too stiff and not to soft.........anyway, I hope to get 15,000 more miles outta them with the way I drive......and yes I'll buy them again!

 

[JackpotRR]

The Roush are actually 5-6 lbs. lighter per corner.

Even better!!

 

[JackpotRR]

Those do look nice. What did you do with the other wheels?

Sold them to a local wheel reseller (Santa Ana Wheel) for $400......they go for around $500-$600 to a private party but I didnt want to hassle with that

 

[Daweism]

I was actually really surprised that the KO3's only lasted 8,000 miles......yes I have been running the Ford Tune since about the 750 miles mark... and yes I drive it like a race car driver.....lots of city stop and go.....and only a folding ladder and a crate with roofing samples...so maybe 100 lbs in the bed at all times......but the rear KO3's were worn out at 8,000 miles.......the Falken AT4W are much better from a stop and in the wet!.....and more "grip" ripping around town......I'm at 15,000 miles and just had them rotated and they barely show any wear.....they measured 10/32 all around compared to 14/32 when new....so not bad compared to the KO3's....I'm running 39 PSI all around.......I've tried different PSI both lower and higher and this is the sweet spot for me.....best traction, best MPG, best feel ....not too stiff and not to soft.........anyway, I hope to get 15,000 more miles outta them with the way I drive......and yes I'll buy them again!

Nice, I'm leaning towards these as my next set. Are you running the SL load range? I've heard they might be louder than the KO3, which isn't really an issue for me.

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