AEV Borah DualSport Wheel – To beadlock or not, it’s your choice

American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) needs no introduction. Known for innovative, quality products, Jeep and truck owners take notice when AEV introduces something new. The AEV Borah DualSport Wheel is worth noticing.

Borah wheels can be run in three different configurations. They can be installed without rings for a simple, minimalist look. AEV supplies black nylon bolts for this configuration to prevent dirt and debris from building up inside the threaded bolt holes. We chose to run our Borahs with the protection ring, a beefy cast aluminum ring designed as a sacrificial part to protect the wheel from trail scratches while also looking like a beadlock ring. The protection ring includes Grade 8.8 hardware. The final Borah option is to run them as a functional beadlock wheel. The beadlock ring is a 16mm thick, forged aluminum ring with custom Grade 10.9 metric hardware for increased shear strength and to meet the higher beadlock torque requirements.

Borah wheels are hub centric, accept OEM lug nuts, and are TPMS compatible so they seamlessly install on Jeep JK Wranglers. They have a recessed valve stem for added protection, have been tested to stringent DOT/SAE J2530 standards, and feature a lifetime structural warranty.

The Borah is available in Onyx Black, Onyx Black/Machined, Galaxy Black or Galaxy Black/Machined finish. The optional beadlock ring and protection ring both feature a silver finish that can be painted for a customized appearance. We chose Onyx Black, which is a very dark charcoal gray. If you must have “real” black wheels, choose Galaxy Black.

As you can see, the AEV Borah wheels and LT315/70R17/C BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires look outstanding on our JK Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. With the protection ring installed, each wheel weighs 41 pounds, so these are not lightweight, wimpy wheels. We may order the forged beadlock rings and hardware to run ours as real beadlocks, but for now, they’re working great as seen here. We’ve run many wheels over the years. The AEV Borah wheel may just be our favorite JK Wrangler wheel of all. It is certainly worth noticing.

Manufacturing Process: Cast

Material: Aluminum

Coatings: Primer, Paint

Application: 2007+ JK Wrangler

Size: 17″ x 8.5″

Bolt Pattern: 5×5

Offset: +4mm

Approximate Backspacing: 4.9″

Weight Rating: 2,400lbs

AEV Borah DualSport Wheels and LT315/70R17/C BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires look great on our JK Wrangler. As they’re hub centric, accept OEM lug nuts, and are TPMS compatible, they install easily on the Jeep with no issues.

The Borahs have a recessed valve stem, have been tested to stringent DOT/SAE J2530 standards, and feature a lifetime structural warranty. Ours are AEV’s Onyx Black color.

Here’s the secret to the Borah’s dual sport design. They have a regular safety bead on the inside where owners can run the tire when using no ring or the protection ring. The tire bead can be moved to the outside lip when the wheel is being run as a true beadlock. AEV provides Borah owners both options.

If no ring is chosen for a minimalist look, black nylon button head bolts are installed to keep grunge out of the threaded holes.

We chose to run the Borah protection ring. This ring is thick cast aluminum and comes with Grade 8.8 hardware. It’s designed so that there is no gap between it and the tire, even though the tire bead is running on the inside safety bead. The true forged beadlock ring looks similar.