STAUN PTY LTD VALUES THEIR CUSTOMERS AND WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK ABOUT THEIR PRODUCT, SERVICE AND INFACT ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU BELIEVE THEY SHOULD KNOW!
SO PLEASE READ THE REVIEWS, THAT NOT ONLY COME FROM THE EXPERTS IN THE INDUSTRY, BUT ALSO FROM THE PEOPLE WHO USE THE PRODUCTS - THE CUSTOMERS.

PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS

- Staun Beadlocks (Off-Road Adventures, March 2006)
- Everything but the bling (4WD Toyota Owner, March/April 2006)
- Staun Beadlocks (4 Wheel Parts, 2006)
- Staun Massojet Under Boddy Buddy and Air and Water Gun (Mike "TXJEEPER" Cohn)
- Staun Tire Deflators (Cole Ford)
- Mud Buster! - Pat Callinan (Editor, 4WD Monthly Magazine)
- Love my Stauns - Ken Brown (Brownie's Coastwatch)
- Canadian 4x4 website
- Just Jeepin website - Jason West
- OffRoader - Steve Rowlandson
- Offroad Images - Michael Ellem
- "A Deflating Experience" - David Wilson (4WD Driver Trainer, Author & Presenter Of Foxtel's "Beyond The Bitumen" Television Series)
- "A Precise Deflation Test" - Harry Lewellyn (Co-Owner Of ECO4WD Adventures)
- "A Groovy Improvement" - Harry Lewellyn (Co-Owner Of ECO4WD Adventures)
- "Things That Make You Go "Hmmm"
- Rock Skullz - Tony Carricaburu
- "The Easy Way To Deflate Your Tyres" - Fully Equipped New Zealand (Nationwide 4WD Accessory Stores)
- "Tyres And Their Care" - Natural Instincts (Pete Ritchie's 4wd Training & Adventure Specialists)
- "Staun Series II Tyre Deflators" - Ray Harris (Eureka 4 Wheel Driver Training)
- "Product Review " - Mark Peacock (Co-Owner Of 4WD Encounters)

USER TESTIMONIALS

"A Review by a 4WD Enthusiast" - Christopher Vaz
"Product Review by an Avid Off-Roader" - Brendon Soo
Cory Gary has success with the Staun Internal Beadlock system in a recent off- road event

Staun Beadlocks - (Off-Road Adventures, March 2006)

STAUN BEADLOCKS
If you play in the rough long enough, you’ll eventually have tire bead-related problems. Popping the beads off the rims is relatively commonplace.

Another problem is actually spinning the tires on the rims. That results from too much traction and torque, and not enough friction between the tire bead and rim due to low tire pressure. These annoyances are expected by those who regularly play on the black diamonds.
Until now, these rim/tire bead predicaments have been countered in several ways, such as: (1) install conventional mechanical bead locks, or (2) sacrifice performance by running higher or “low” pressure than they really want, or (3) choose to accept rim/tire spin and get the wheels rebalanced every so often. For intermittent air “burping:” (4) add air along the trail or (5) get used to resetting the beads. Staun bead locks, however, offer an alternative.

HISTORY
The USA is not the guinea pig for Staun bead locks. They have been available in Australia and other countries since 2003. They were designed by Roger Smith, a world-class off-road racer.

HOW THEY WORK
Staun pneumatic bead locks divide the tire’s air chamber into two compartments. The bead lock holds the tire’s beads against the rim. Through the special valve system, and via the Air Channel, the balance of the tire can be inflated or deflated to any pressure you want. Figure 1 shows construction details and more can be seen on the Web at: www.eco4wd.com.

CONVENTIONAL VERSUS STAUN BEAD LOCKS
Conventional bead locks mechanically clamp the outside tire bead to the rim, and rarely, the inside bead. However, Staun internal bead locks lock both the inside and the outside beads.
Conventional bead locks can be difficult to balance. Conventional bead locks put all the weight on the outside of the rim only. That’s typically an aluminium ring, plus 24 to 36 cap screw and lock washers. This could make for balancing problems. But on the plus side, this ring protects the vulnerable valve stems.
Staun bead locks are light weight (about 4 pounds for fifteen inches) and the weight is evenly distributed from inside to outside and around the rim. Further, since this weight is closer to the centre of the rim, it minimizes imbalance effects. There are no balancing problems with Staun bead locks.
If you drive on a flat tire with a conventional bead lock, you stand a good chance of damaging the rim, tire or both. The Staun bead lock adds height to a flat, as if it were not completely flat and, in fact, this is the case. The Staun bead lock portion of the tubeless cavity still contains air and keeps the rim up off the ground. This prevents tire pinch between the rim and ground (see Figure 2). During our tests we called it a “limp flat”

BEADLOCK LEGALITY
Regarding the legality of bead lock in California, we contacted a very helpful California Highway Patrol Public Affairs Officer named Chris Johnson. The California Vehicle Code is over 1,600 pages and has many changes every year. Officer Johnson solicited help of his “Commercial” officers, NITSA, NTHSB and DOT officials to answer our question: “Are Staun bead locks illegal on the highway?” His qualified answer is, “As best I know, Staun bead locks are not illegal in California and there are no federal regulations against them.”

INSTALLATION TOOLS
You must have: 1) all of the tools necessary to break the tire beads and to remove and remount the tire; 2) a drill motor to drill and deburr the new valve stem hole; 3) wrenches to tighten the valve stem nuts, and 4) an air compressor.

MOUNTING PREPARATION
At first, we had installation reservations. The job looked to be a bit “fiddly, “ as Matt Nolte from down under called it. But by the second wheel, our concerns had completely disappeared. That clever little hoist system shown in Figure 3 made hand mounting much easier. If you are going to mount the bead locks yourself, make one, or at least improvise a “gap” with blocks. Your primary objective is to eliminate the skin tearing, bone crushing, muscle straining lack of gap that exists without special “stacking.”
 Larger tires are easier by virtue of the hoist approach. Not having to hassle with the weight and size of the big black O is one plus, but the real advantage is that a bigger tire also means more internal workspace for your hands.
 For our tests, we installed a total of six bead locks, so we got a lot of practice. By the last two wheels, we were averaging about ½ hour per, with no tire shop power tools whatsoever! For this, we used another great Australian product, Tyrepliers, to dismount and mount the tires.

DRILL VALVE HOLE
First, determine exactly where you want to drill the bead lock tube’s valve stem hole. Remember to deburr both sides. Although logic and the symmetry mother would dictate that it go 180 across from the standard filler stem for balance and to look proper, don’t put it there. Drill this hole about 6 to 8 inches to either side of the existing valve stem (Figure 4). This will make getting the final tire bead over the rim significantly easier.
The bead lock valve stem can go on the either the outside (normal) or inside the rim. For the latter, pay particular attention to the brake drums, rotors, callipers and other potential “inside: obstructions.

BEADLOCK INSTALLATION
This is where the “tire hoist” makes it easy. Use the hoist (or blocks) to make a comfortable hand-sized space between the outside of the rim and the yet-to-be mounted outside bead to be a “working gap.” Through this gap, you will install the bead lock components making sure they are not folded, wrinkled or stressed in any way. You will also make sure that the Case is evenly distributed around the tube, and that the tube will not be pinched when airing up either the tire or the bead lock. The tube, Case and Beads must all be aligned properly to work. Attention to detail is necessary.
If you’ve mounted many tube tires; you know what powder does for you. It makes the normally sticky components slide easily around inside each other for “fine tuning.” Use the enclosed powder on 100% of the tube, Case, and the inside of the rim, too.
Mounting the bead lock is almost the same as installing a tube. First, put the inside tire bead on the rim leaving the “gap” per above, but do not seat this bead (the one without the Air Channel) of the bead lock Case on the rim. Now put the tube inside the Case. Push the tube’s valve stem through the freshly drilled hole and hand tighten the nut. Partially inflate and deflate the tube to centre everything just right. If you skip this step, you may end up with a leaky or dysfunctional installation.
Next, set the final (outside) bead lock Bead. Feel everything and make sure: 1) everything will finally seat properly when inflated, and 2) the air channel walls are centred on the special valve stem (Figure 5). Don’t hesitate to make a “test run” performing these steps twice, or more, as I did when learning.
Your next step is to set the second tire bead on the rim, taking care not to pinch or otherwise displace any part of the bead lock as follows

SEAT THE BEADS
Remove the bead lock tube valve stem, then “pop” the tire beads into place using the tire (main chamber) valve stem. We found Windex is a good bead lube. Don’t use oil, WD-40 or soap, which can again become slippery when wet.
Next, deflate the tire, reinstall the bead lock valve core and inflate the bead lock inner tube slowly. After inflating just a little (up to 3 PSI/21 kPa), put your ear right on the tire and carefully listen for any internal hiss. If no hiss is heard, inflate a little more while continuing to listen. We have learned that may appear to be a “leak” inside the tire is actually a pinched tube slowly passing air from the bulk of the tube to the pinched portion. IF YOU HEAR AIR, immediately deflate and checked for a pinched tube. It is absolutely necessary to remedy this situation; otherwise, it will blow the tube.
With the bead lock fully inflated (35 PSI recommended for most applications), inflate the tire, but remember the air pressure in the bead lock must always be a minimum of 2 PSI higher than the tire. This will ensure that the bead lock is not “crushed” or “repositioned” allowing the bead lock parts to undesirably shift out of place. Now this is a good time to tighten both valve nuts. The complete install manual can be downloaded at; wweco4wd.com.

TESTS
Test objectives were obvious: Try, in the worst possible ways, to spin the tires on the rims, make them leak air, or pop the beads off the rims.
Hard core guys have ingenious ways of doing things. You want to break a bead off a rim? How about deflating the tire and winching the 4X sideways until the tire bead releases its hold? We tried this on four flat tires at one time with the pull force concentrated on one tire (Figure 6).
How about hammering the 4Xs on the infamous Johnson Valley, CA Hammers, a place where we’ve had prior inside bead air burp problems with conventionally bead locked wheels? We did that!
How about deflating all four tires, then putting the 4X through unbelievable figure-eight sidehill manoeuvres, safely sidetilting the 4X to the point of rolling, or diagonalling the right front wheel off a three foot bank to produce a severe, instant, bead breaking force? We did all these manoeuvres.
How about testing to see if there was a traction improvement at lower pressure?
We tortured the Staun internal bead locks in every 4WD application imaginable

TEST RESULTS
Try as we may, we could not winch the beads off the Staun bead locked wheels. Staun beat the winch!
The conventionally bead locked rear “air burper”, that always lost air prior to installing the Staun internal bead locks, didn’t. Problem solved!
Sidehilling and tilt tests could not break the beads, either. The internal, dual bead locks appear to be doing the job regardless of how they are tortured!
At 8 PSI we could not  make it up our sandy test hill. We were in the “slow climb” mode and not the “speed launch” mode. We wanted to see if there was a “lower” tire pressure traction improvement – not something we could achieve with momentum.
We then skipped the in between air down steps and went directly to four fully deflated tires. With this setup, our test 4X didn’t swiftly climb our test hill without some wheel spin, but it did steadily progress up. As the tires flexed and turned, they appeared to act somewhat like sand paddle tires. We’d see a quarter turn spin, then it would hook up and move the 4X a quarter turn or so. This repeated itself all the way to the top. The tracks on the sand looked somewhat like a paddle tire track. This has to be an advantage in sand, snow and mud.

COMPETITVE RESULTS
Cody Waggoner’s unlimited class rock crawler took first in the 2005 UROC series and fourth in the Las Vegas Super Crawl. Staun bead locks were also on first and second place crawlers at the recent W.E . ROCK event in Australia.

SUMMARY
Staun internal bead locks provide a way to lock both the inside and outside tire beads on standard rims. They provide a “limp flat” capability to limp back to camp if you get a flat, have no balance issues and are DOT legal.

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Everything but the bling - 4WD Toyota Owner, March/April 2006

STAUN INTERNAL BEADLOCKS
Every 4WD Toyota Owner wants bead locking wheels, Maybe that’s why there are so many flashy bead lock look-alikes out there, available in every colour of the rainbow. Faux gold-plated bolts, blinking lights and hubcaps that cost more than a custom made Dynatrac 60. It’s almost gotten to the point where the fakes have made a joke out of the real deal. So what if “bling” is not your thing? Then you may want to check out Staun’s internal alternative to bead locking wheels. Because the fact is, beadlock technology serves an excellent purpose for serious off-roaders. Any time you go below 18psi or so, the risk or losing bead goes up dramatically. You can also end up rotating your tire on your wheel. And who doesn’t hit the rocks and sand with tires as low as 8psi for a larger, softer footprint? Anyone who has had to fight to re-seat a tire knows what a tiresome chore it can be.

HOW THEY WORK
Forget buying new wheels, for starters. Staun Internal Bead Locks (www.staunproducts.com) are designed to work on most non-beaded locking wheels, steel or aluminium. So pass on colour matching your lock rings to your paint, or stressing about how many lock ring bolts will suit your needs best. Simply find the wheels you like and run with them, because with Staun, you won’t be hiding your expensive new wheels behind big lock rings.
The Staun bead locking system is actually very simple an effective. They are comprised of little more than a rim-specific tube and casing. After installing 32-bolt lockring bead locks only two days before, we can say first hand that they install in about the same amount of time. Drilling a small hole in the flat of the rim is required to position the special valve stem of the tube and is the only external evidence of any bead locks at all. With the tire partially mounted, the tube and casing are positioned inside, around the base of the rim, and the tire is then fully mounted and carefully seated on the rim.
The unique design of the Staun casing then allows the tube, when inflated, to only expand directly out to the sides. In effect, it is sandwiching both the inside and outside beads of the tire against the lips of the rim, providing an uninterrupted, 360-degree seal on both sides of the tire. You have two separate air pressures working together to keep your tire on the rim. Inflate the Stauns to 48psi, and your tires as normal (although they must be at least 2 psi below the bead lock), and you are set to hit the trail.

ALL THE PROOF WE NEED
Remember last issue (Jan/Feb 2006) and the Pit Bull Rockers tire test? We again met up with our installation guide from that session, Staun’s Harry Lewellyn, to give our new Staun Internal Bead Locks a serious torture test and see just how well they perform. Our first order of business was to spend a few hours on the Hammers, crawling at varying air pressures to see how they held up under some real-world abuse. These were a new system for us, and we weren’t sure how they’d hold up on trails as vicious as Clawhammer.
  So from 12, to 10, to 8 and finally to 5psi, we dropped the pressure until completely satisfied with the contouring and footprint of our Pitt Bull Rocker tires. A few hours of trail time was all the proof that we needed to see how effective the Staun Internal bead locks really were. Side loading, climbing on the throttle and descending off-camber had no effect on the beads of our tires, and since the internal locks provide a perfect seal, we had no troubles with seeping air on the inside bead and varying tire pressures.
The Staun locks basically fool the bead locks into acting as though the entire tire was at 48PSI, when in fact it may be at only five, or zero. And while some of the toughest trails in the state had tried to stop us, we weren’t done trying to abuse them further.
We found a steep off-camber, pulled up and parked. Quite honestly, we were a little worried as we watched Harry let out all the air out of our downhill tires, in an attempt to slide the tires off their seat on our Pro Comp Xtreme Rock Crawler wheels. At zero psi, our Fj40 Land Cruiser teetered precariously, but the tires held.
Still not done, he encouraged us to drive around and try and break the bead. Since the Internal Bead Lock was still at 48PSI, the tire won’t roll on the rim, but rather on the rounded casing, proving its worth again for those who find the need to limp back to camp on a flat, without ruining the tire or rim.
 Then we proceeded to do what any driver would, and spin some donuts. When that didn’t do the job we did faster donuts. Even after we had spun ourselves stupid, Harry encouraged us on. So we continued to do anything we thought might break the bead, to no avail. Quite frankly, these tires just won’t come off.

ARE THEY FOR YOU?
Point proven, we parted ways but not until he was kind enough to air us back up. Driving home, we tried hard to think of any reason an off-roader of any calibre would not choose to run the Staun Internal Bead Locks, and mile after mile we drew a blank. They are simple to operate, out of harms way, won’t affect wheel balance and weigh very little. Any off-roader will agree that these aspects are all desirable. When applied on tough trails, under realistic expectations, the Stauns held our beads tight at a variety of pressures and never seeped air. Serious wheelers can’t pass those stats up. The price of Staun Internal Bead Locks depends on the size of your rim and tire; see the Staun website for information or ask your local dealer.

And what about the 4WD Toyota owner with unorthodox driving methods, wheeling with unnecessary roughness and perverse direct intent to break beads? If spinning cookies on deflated 35” tires in a laden FJ40 won’t do it, what will?

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Staun Beadlocks - 4 Wheel Parts, 2006

STAUN INTERNAL BEADLOCKS
Provides distribution completely over and around the wheel rim inside the tire, presenting no problems with wheel balance and being inside the tire, it is unaffected by weather or damage by rock terrain. They can easily be fitted to most one-piece steel rims and tubeless tires.

Used in conjunction with Staun Tire Deflators, you have a complete tyre protection and deflation system for any off-road vehicle.

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Mike "TXJEEPER" Cohn - Staun Massojet Under Boddy Buddy and Air and Water Gun
http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/massojet/index.asp

A new name in the US off-road accessory world is Staun. Two years ago, Australia's Staun Products introduces their Tire Deflators to us and the process of airing down for the trails has never been the same. Their attention to quality and details was immediately apparent then and their reputation has been top-notch ever since.

More recently, we started getting word that Staun was preparing a few new goodies for us to play with. But this time, the toys would be used after trailing. Their timing couldn't have been better, because as the temperatures begin to drop, two things start happening. First, those of us lucky enough to live in areas where we can go wheeling year round tend to have muddier trails this time of year, due to the water not evaporating so quickly. Second, those of in the colder climates have snow to look forward to - and with snow comes road salt and other muckity muck every time you hit the streets to go to work. And you don't want that stuff sitting on your undercarriage for very long.

Staun was good enough to send us out samples care of 4x4rockshop.com to play with of both their Massojet SA600 Under Body Buddy and the Massojet Air & Water Gun. Let's first talk about the the SA600.

Massojet Under Body Buddy (SA600/SA900)
First of all, you'll notice two part numbers. The SA600 measures 600mm and the SA900 measures 900mm. The Under Body Buddy is essentially a hose attachment that focuses your water flow, giving you a sharper spray pattern. Not only that, but it terminates at an upward-angled hook. The hooked end, shaped like a squared-off "U" allows you to access areas underneath (and also above) your rig that you might not otherwise be able to reach.

Think about the last time you tried to wash underneath the tub of your Jeep. Or maybe think about how difficult it is to reach underneath and spray off your transfer case, motor or driveshafts. Or think about washing the top of your six inch lifted Jeep on 37" tires. Kind of pain isn't it?

The Under Body Buddy helps eliminate the need to kneel down or to climb up on your spare tire to wash off the top of your rig. To use it, simply screw the end onto your hose. An on/off valve handles turning on and shutting off water flow. How much easier can it get?

The Under Body Buddy worked as expected and was simple to use an install, of course. Our SA600 worked fine with our Jeep. If you need the extra reach, the SA900 may be for you.
The SA600 and SA900 sell for $44.95 and $54.95 respectively.

Massojet Air & Water Gun
OK, now this is the one that really got our motors running. Don't you wish you had a pressure washer at home? I know I have always wanted one. Sometimes the mud's just on way too thick for the bare water hose to do any good. But it seems too silly to spend a few hundred dollars buying a pressure washer (more for a good one) when I already own an air compressor. Staun has offered up an alternative with the Air & Water Gun.

The Air & Water Gun is similar to the Under Body Buddy but it has an additional connector and shut-off valve for an air connection. It comes with a straight-shooter attachment and also a 600mm Under Body Buddy attachment.

For our testing, we decided to keep the neighborhood quiet and test out the Air & Water Gun with one of our Power Tank CO2 tanks. We hooked up the hose and used a quick-coupler to attach the air and we were on our way.

First, we turned on the water to see how the gun would shoot just water. The focused end certainly did seem to add a little pressure of its own. But what we were after was the real thing. We cranked open our tank to wide-open, sending 150psi down the hose. My wife was holding the Massojet for the photos and when she opened the valve on the Air & Water Gun, it turned on with a blast. It was like she fired a shotgun! The Massojet sent her arms upward and her body backward a couple feet! Once she gained control, it was not unlike holding any other pressure washer gun except that she didn't have to keep squeezing a trigger. Nice.

Water only		Air and water turned on

The Massojet Air & Water Gun worked great - blowing off the grime from the Jeep. By attaching the 600mm Under Body Buddy to it, we were able to blast away any nasty stuff under the Jeep and even get down in the pores of our soft top fabric. The attachments are swapped easily by twisting them on and off.

Water only		Air and water turned on

The only things that could make the Air & Water Gun better for me would be quick-connects for the attachments and the ability to focus the water pressure. Sometimes it's nice to have a wider, softer pattern. But these are small nags.

The Air & Water Gun is priced at $84.95 and is worth every penny. If you already own an air compressor and/or a CO2 tank, it's cheap admission to the world of pressure washing.
Watch soon for cleaning solutions and an applicator for Staun once they get them passed through the US EPA.

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Cole Ford - Tire deflator history 101
http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/staun_tyre_deflators/index.asp

Using the tire deflator

When I first started four-wheeling more than a decade ago, tire deflators did not exist. If you felt the trail was difficult enough to air down your tires you simply used the tip of a screwdriver to push in the little stem and let the air come out. If you have ever tried to do it this way you know that it takes almost forever to do.

In an effort to speed things up guys started bringing valve stem pullers. This seems like the fast way to do it. The air comes out fast, but you have to screw the stem back in every time you want to check pressure and it is very easy to let them go too far. Today there are all kinds of tire deflators on the market ranging in price from $10 to 5 Billion (or whatever the government pays to have an onboard deflation system on a Hummer). What is right for you depends on how much you want to spend and how much work you want to put into it.

Things that make you go “Hmmm”
Last year, someone stole my $10 tire deflators out of my Jeep. Two weeks later we found ourselves at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, NV watching a demonstration of Staun Tyre Deflators. Our first response was “Hmmm, those are kinda cool.” The word “Tyre” also caught our eyes, as we listened to fast-talking Lee Davis, the Australian who designed them, tell us all about them.
The whole idea of the Staun Tyre Deflators is that you can preset the air pressure you want to run and then lock them so that you can rapidly air down to that pressure every time you use them without having to fiddle with a pressure gauge.

How do they work?
Each brass tire deflator comes preset at 18psi and can be adjusted from 6-30psi. There is an adjustment cap and a lock ring to hold the cap in place. Each ½ turn of the adjustment cap decreases that setting by 3psi. Once you have set the pressure that you would like to deflate to, you can tighten the lock ring to keep them at that pressure for future use. You can also set the deflators by using a tire that is already aired down to a desired pressure. Simply screw the deflator onto that tire and turn the adjustment cap in until air just barely escapes. You are now at the desired pressure and can tighten the lock ring to keep them set there. You will have to do this for all 4 deflators. Since each ½ turn of the adjustment cap is 3psi of air you can use this to adjust to different pressures for different trails. I set mine at 12psi and left them there. Staun can also manufacture the deflators with custom valve settings.

Screw them on and forget about them!
Made in Australia and distributed by TJM Products in the US, the deflators come in a set of four for around $60 and include a handy storage pouch. You just screw one onto each valve stem and forget about them. In about a minute all your tires will be aired down to the right pressure and the tire deflators will shut off. Other deflators on the market will not stop and will continue to air down until the tire goes flat. With the Stauns you don’t have to run around your truck stopping your deflators and checking your pressures until you’re at your desired pressure.

It is pretty nice not to have to squat next to each tire and check it every few seconds to see what the pressure is. With all this extra free time you can disconnect your sway bar or help your friends air down their tires. Just don’t forget to take the tire deflators back off when they are done airing down your tires to avoid damaging them. Because they are so easy to use, I have done this more than once. If you’re looking for a no-brainer way to air down your tires – or tyres, you owe it to yourself to take a look at the Staun Tyre Deflators. Quick and easy to use, they’ll have you aired down in no time.

Staun Tyre Deflators are available in the US at www.4x4rockshop.com
Update! Between the time we received our Staun's for review and posting our story, there have been a few improvements in the design. According to Lee Davis at Staun,


"The main change comes from the change to the plastic T piece. This is now what we call a T piston, which is machined in brass instead of the cedal plastic. This allows us to machine the brass at finer tolerances, therefore giving greater accuracy. The chamber is 4mm deeper than the previous valve, which allows for a bigger adjustment range, now 6-35psi. The valve shuts of much cleaner, with a crisp snap as is closes at the preset pressure. This truly is a life time product, there is nothing in the product that we see can fail if kept clean and dry."

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" Mud Buster!" - Pat Callinan (Editor, 4WD Monthly Magazine)

We all love getting our fourbies dirty, but cleaning them has never been a job that I’ve relished. And while this will probably never change, the boys from Staun in Brizzie have now made the job a whole lot easier.

The Massojet simply connects to your garden hose (on a standard click fitting), and fires into action. I’m not sure how it works, but it turns average water pressure into an extremely high-pressure spray.

The Massojet is heaps more effective than a standard plastic hose fitting, giving a far better, more concentrated and pressurised spray. In fact, even with just standard mains pressure, you’ll find that you need to hold the unit with two hands to keep control.

The head of the unit bends around at right angles too, making getting under the guards easy. And to save your paint work, the body is plastic coated, making sure you don’t inflict scratches on your pride and joy.

But if its mega pressure you want, then that’s what you’ll get if you’ve got a workshop compressor. You see, the Massojet has an optional air-line attachment, meaning you can hook it up for even more blasting power. I connected it up to my 15cfm compressor and gave it a good workout on Otis. And I tell you, if you need two hands to hold the unit with just the mains pressure, you virtually need three hands to control it with the air attachment!

The pressure is nothing short of bloody awesome. With the air and water dials completely open, it blasts away surface mud with ease. But the pressure is so great that you need to be careful around door and light seals to ensure that the water isn’t going where it shouldn’t.

The shape of the unit is great for the underbody of a fourby, as it penetrates most of the nooks and crannies at arm’s length. Where you would normally be on your back getting a drenching, the Massojet allows you to stay on your feet while you poke the unit under your truck. For beach-goes who like to give their 4WDs a fresh-water flush to keep the rust at bay, a Massojet would certainly come in handy.

Of course, there’s no substitute for elbow grease, so despite having this great unit you’ll still have to get out the sponge and bucket to remove ground-in grime.

All in all, the Massojet gets the big Australian 4WD Monthly thumbs-up.

PROS

• Cleans off grime fast
• Gets under the guards and chassis easily
• Simple attachment system
• Makes light work of mud
• High pressure means you use less water

CONS

• Be prepared to get wet - big pressure means big overspray
• Be careful if you've got an old truck, as the pressure may affect your paintjob
• High-pressure water can penetrate seals

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Ken Brown - Brownie's Coastwatch

Brownie's workhorse Nissan 720 ute

I own a house at Moreton Island and go there almost every week. This of course involves a lot of travel on the vehicle barge Moreton Venture and the subsequent chore of letting down my tyres.

I own a Nissan 720 Ute, which is an oldie but a goodie and ideal for the kind of beating a workhorse vehicle gets when driving on the island and a 61 VW set up for fishing, that was recently rebuilt by John Alder at Volks Engineering at Rochedale.

I like to run 15psi in the rear and 18psi in the front tyres on the Nissan and 10psi all round in the VW and because I run tubeless tyres with Secondair inner tubes,like my presures to be accurate.

Prior to getting my two sets of Staun Tyre Deflators (one for each car), letting the tyres down was something that was a bit of a job, having to crouch beside the vehicle, let air out of the tyre and check it all the time to make sure that pressures were right.

My Staun deflators do the job easily and are very accurate. In fact, they always let the tyres down to the exact pre set pressure and the whole operation is as easy as screwing them on and taking them off a couple of minutes later.

Brownie's volkswagon set up for fishing

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...lars - www.bc4x4.com/quick/2002/staun/

“Have you ever been on the trail and looked at your watch, and then wondered to yourself, "where the heck did the time go?" Yeah, me too. And if you're like me, a surprising chunk of time is spent airing down when you could be doing other things like actually four-wheeling! Staun Tyre Deflators can save that time for you.

Before you start complaining about how you've heard that tire deflators are slow, let me start by telling you that the Staun deflators are the fastest that you can buy. Dropping a typical 31" tire (10R15) from 30 to 18 psi takes 1 minute, 50 seconds. Now, that doesn't mean about 8 minutes for four. It's quite a bit less because the deflators work simultaneously. They work so quickly, in fact, that you don't need to drive for a while with the deflators attached. The same cannot be said for other brands of tire deflators. In fact, that's the main reason why people lose other manufacturer's tire deflators: they forget to remove them! With the Staun deflators, this will never be a problem.

Besides being fast, these deflators are also very accurate. They will begin working even if the difference between the current and target pressure is a mere 2-3 psi. They're also consistent, showing a maximum variation of 1/4 psi in repeated tests. That's pretty good. In fact, that's better than I do with my dial gauge! By the way, they can be set to pressures anywhere from 30 down to 6 psi.

So, if you want a fast, easy and accurate way to air down your tires, BUY STAUN TYRE DEFLATORS. They're the best of the bunch and you won't lose them.”

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Jason West -www.jeepin.com

“The latest cool offroad product to come out of the Land Downunder is Staun's Tyre Deflators. These nifty gadgets air down your tires to a pressure you preset, then automatically shut off, very similar to the Oasis Trailhead Deflators I reviewed back in March of 2001.

Like the Oasis deflators, the Staun deflators come four in a set and include a leather storage pouch, though the Staun pouch is almost too small to stuff the four brass deflators into. On the back of the bright orange package is a small instruction card that you can cut out and store in the pouch.

Setting them is pretty easy. You'll loose a bit of air each time you set a deflator, so check the pressure between setting deflators and add some pressure if necessary. This process paid off for me because checking the pressure settings of each deflator after it was all done showed them to be within 1psi of each other. Not bad...

The Stauns are fully adjustable from 6 to 30psi, and come preset to 18psi. I set ours to 13psi. It took exactly 4 minutes to air down my 35x12.5R15 Goodyear MT/R spare tire from a street pressure of 28psi to a trail pressure of 13psi. That's not quite as quick as the Sun Performance Quickair key chain deflators, but it's a trade-off I'm more than willing to make to not have to mess with constantly checking air pressure as the tires are airing down.

The Staun Tyre Deflators are available from a number of dealers, I picked up mine from my friend Mike Cohn over at 4x4rockshop.com. At the time of this article they're selling for about $50 through the RockShop.”

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Steve Rowlandson – www.offroader.com.au

A simple and often overlooked method of increasing traction, is to decrease the pressure of air within the tyres. Road Pressures of 35-45 psi are often way too high for Offroad situations.

Anyone who regularly deflates their tyres will understand the boring and time consuming process it takes. People often argue the best method is to simply use a stick to push the valve in and deflate the tyre, although this process is a little hit and miss and takes a while to deflate each tyre one by one. Other people argue the best method is to remove the valve stem, although this runs the risk of over deflating the tyre or possibly losing a valve stem.

The easiest method we have found is using a good set of tyre deflators. Having used a few brands, a lot of the earlier tyre deflators were either slow or grossly inaccurate. We have recently tried the new series of all brass Staun Tyre Deflators that have proven to be one of the best sets of tyre deflators we have used.

Having deflated my tyres using the Staun’s to the preset 18 PSI, deflation times are all well within the fastest we have achieved in all other methods, and when you factor the time saved by having all four wheels deflating at once, whilst you rest in the drivers seat out of the rain, watching your friends battle with valve tools, sticks and tyre pressure gauges.

The Staun’s are also well priced, although some think of the item as an over price luxury. They work, and can save you time and give an accurate tyre pressure, every time. Adjusting the Staun’s to a different pressure can be a little time consuming to get the pressure just right, but once set will remain that way. We have set 2 of our Staun’s to 23 PSI and the other two at 12 PSI. This gives us the ability to deflate to 2 separate pressures when required.

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OFFROAD IMAGES PRODUCT REVIEW - MICHAEL ELLEM - www.offroadimages.com.au
Offroad Images Rating : 9/10

We have used the original alloy model, the improved brass model and now the latest model shown below and have found huge improvements as follows:

Ease of use - The system works automatically and the extended notched stem makes it easier to restart the deflation when slight adjustments are required (great advantage).

More Reliable - The latest model is more reliable, holding the setting accurately, due to better machining.

Storage Pouch - The storage pouch is a must when considering the rattling the average 4WD goes through on track. This pouch will protect the product, keep them together in a safe place and protect your interior from being trashed.

Suggestions to the manufacturer: Keep up the good work guys!

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"A DEFLATING EXPERIENCE" - DAVID WILSON - www.adventure4wd.com.au

Every now and again you come across a product that is truly revolutionary and worth its weight in gold, saving time and inconvenience when out in the field. The Staun Tyre Deflator kit is one of those rarities, a great accessory that belongs in every four-wheeler's glove box, easily used for accurate deflation purposes, perfect as a gift.

Four well-machined, aluminium screw-on tyre valve extensions come in the Staun pack. When the moment comes to let air out of the tyres for negotiating that sandy stretch of beach, simply screw the Stauns onto the tyre's valve and before you know it, your tyres will be deflated to whatever pre-set pressure you've selected. No need for pushing a point onto the valve core and counting down the seconds, then checking and re-checking the pressure with a gauge. It's easy, accurate and effective.

One of my pet 4WD hates is seeing the mess that coastal tracks become in summer after people refuse to let air out of their tyres. With a tyre's pumped-up rigid shape and corresponding small footprint, a typical 4WD will struggle to maintain momentum in soft sand. As the vehicle's suspension winds up under acceleration, the wheel assembly will oscillate, bouncing up and down, rather than delivering a smooth driving force to the track surface.

The situation is compounded with springs that are too light and shocks that are under-damped, which is pretty much the experience with most OE suspension systems. Reducing pressures eliminates most of the accompanying axle-tramp caused by crook suspensions, being kinder to the track surface and vehicle. But with the Staun's at the ready, there's now no excuse to be lazy and run down a beach with wrong pressures. Individually screw them on and by the time you get back to the first valve, the pressure will be reset to its correct beach-running low. Remove the Staun and off you go!

Now I don't know about you, but I've observed that whenever it comes to buying new and desirable goodies for the four-wheel-drive, that gilt-edged, gold weighted feeling usually sends the hip pocket into free-fall. I'm pleased to say that's not the case with the Staun kit. They're economical, robust, will last for donkey's years and they're available at most good 4WD emporiums right around Australia and through select stores internationally too.

Stauns are a must-have accessory for any Deflating Experience!

Footnote - Just recently Stauns have come out in a neat leather pouch, perfect for keeping the set of four together in the glove box. And for those who like the colour and feel of brass, Staun deflators will soon be fashioned from this even more durable metal, look for it at your local 4WD store!

4WD Driver Trainer, Author & Presenter of FOXTEL's "Beyond The Bitumen" Television Series
Visit www.adventure4wd.com.au

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"A PRECISE DEFLATION TEST" - HARRY LEWELLYN, Co-Owner Of ECO4WD Adventures

They let me down . . . as promised.

Outta the box and I tore right into them. If it ain't broke, fix it anyway, is the motto when I am investigating something. I loosened and tightened all that turned just to get a feel for Staun's automatic tyre deflators. I liked the way they looked and felt. This article will describe the hardware and report my test results. Good adjustment (use) information is provided with the product.

Product Description - The cylindrical aluminum deflators screw onto any standard valve stem and automatically deflate to the pressure of your choice from 8 to 35 PSI. Adjustments are made without tools. All four (one per tire) weighed around 40 grams (just under an ounce and a half) and measure 30 mm long by 15 mm in diameter (1.18" x 0.59"). I could tell by the adjustment knurls and other machining, the valves are quality manufactured.

Test Results - I tested the valves for turn-on and shut-off reliability, and deflation pressure repeatability. They are small and easy to store and use. Staun Tyre Deflators performed as advertised and passed my tests with flying colors. Mounted on rubber valve stems, I'd have no problem leaving the short, light product on until I was ready to air up. Having faith they will reliably let me down every time makes the Staun valves my deflator of choice from now on.

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"A GROOVY IMPROVEMENT" - HARRY LEWELLYN, Co-Owner Of ECO4WD Adventures

It's amazing what 4mm and a tiny groove have done for the Staun Tyre Deflators. I thought that they were perfect, but perfect has just been redefined by Staun.

Staun made the piston chamber 4mm deeper. This increased the adjustment range to 6-35 PSI for the standard deflator. It also has the deflators for the trucking industry, which have a range of 35-55 PSI. The last change has given the product a major edge over its competition. It extended the T piston length and machined a groove in the top (see photo). This allows for manual starts. Simply grab the groove with your fingernails and you can start the little suckers with as low as 1-2 PSI pressure difference above your preset pressure. With all of this came faster deflation times and more accurate shut off pressure resulting in easier use.

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PRODUCT REVIEW ON ROCKCRAWLER.COM -http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/staun_tyre_deflators/index.asp

Things that make you go "Hmmm"

Last year, someone stole my $10 tire deflators out of my Jeep. Two weeks later we found ourselves at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, NV watching a demonstration of "Staun Tyre Deflators." Our first response was "Hmmm, those are kinda cool." The word "Tyre" also caught our eyes, as we listened to fast-talking Lee Davis, the Australian who designed them, tell us all about them.

The whole idea of the Staun Tyre Deflators is that you can preset the air pressure you want to run and then lock them so that you can rapidly air down to that pressure every time you use them without having to fiddle with a pressure gauge.

How do they work? Each brass tire deflator comes preset at 18psi and can be adjusted from 6-30psi. There is an adjustment cap and a lock ring to hold the cap in place. Each ½ turn of the adjustment cap decreases that setting by 3psi. Once you have set the pressure that you would like to deflate to, you can tighten the lock ring to keep them at that pressure for future use. You can also set the deflators by using a tire that is already aired down to a desired pressure. Simply screw the deflator onto that tire and turn the adjustment cap in until air just barely escapes. You are now at the desired pressure and can tighten the lock ring to keep them set there. You will have to do this for all 4 deflators. Since each ½ turn of the adjustment cap is 3psi of air you can use this to adjust to different pressures for different trails. I set mine at 12psi and left them there. Staun can also manufacture the deflators with custom valve settings.

Screw them on and forget about them!

Made in Australia and distributed by TJM Products in the US, the deflators come in a set of four for around $60 and include a handy storage pouch. You just screw one onto each valve stem and forget about them. In about a minute all your tires will be aired down to the right pressure and the tire deflators will shut off. Other deflators on the market will not stop and will continue to air down until the tire goes flat. With the Stauns you don't have to run around your truck stopping your deflators and checking your pressures until you're at your desired pressure.

It is pretty nice not to have to squat next to each tire and check it every few seconds to see what the pressure is. With all this extra free time you can disconnect your sway bar or help your friends air down their tires. Just don't forget to take the tire deflators back off when they are done airing down your tires to avoid damaging them. Because they are so easy to use, I have done this more than once.

If you're looking for a no-brainer way to air down your tires - or tyres, you owe it to yourself to take a look at the Staun Tyre Deflators. Quick and easy to use, they'll have you aired down in no time.

Staun Tyre Deflators are available in the US at www.4x4rockshop.com

Update! Between the time we received our Staun's for review and posting our story, there have been a few improvements in the design. According to Lee Davis at Staun,

"The main change comes from the change to the plastic T piece. This is now what we call a T piston, which is machined in brass instead of the cedal plastic. This allows us to machine the brass at finer tolerances, therefore giving greater accuracy.

The chamber is 4mm deeper than the previous valve which allows for a bigger adjustment range, now 6-35psi.

The valve shuts off much cleaner, with a crisp snap as is closes at the preset pressure. This truly is a life time product, there is nothing in the product that we see can fail if kept clean and dry."

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PRODUCT REVIEW BY ROCK SKULLZ - TONY CARRICABURU - www.rockskullz.com

We all know how much of a pain in the ass it can be to air down your tires before wheelin each time. Especially if you're running larger tires like my 38.5" Super Swampers!! It usually takes me about 5 minutes to air down each tire from 25-30psi to 5psi. Besides that you have to check the pressure every couple minutes to make sure you stop at the same pressure as the other tires. Fortunately Staun has resolved this for me with their Tyre Deflators.

An Australian company called Staun has invented and produced the coolest product around for airing your tires down. They're called uniquely enough, "Tyre Deflators". They're basically a pressure pop-off valve that is adjustable to whatever you set them at. These deflators simply screw onto your valve stem and walla, they'll do the rest. That means no more hunching down holding the valve stem in while the tire slowly deflates. The best feature about them is the adjustable pressure setting so that you can preset them anywhere from 6psi to 30psi. No more checking pressure over and over again to make sure you don't let too much air out. Staun also includes a cool little durable pouch to store your Tyre Deflators in when they're not being used. The pouch measures about 3" wide by about 2" tall with the deflators inside. These can easily be tossed in the glove co. without taking any room up.

Conclusion - I was extremely pleased with the performance of these Tyre Deflators! It's so simple and quick to air down now. Now all I do is walk around to each tire and screw on the Staun deflators, when the air stops releasing I know the tires are done. Besides that each tire is 100% exactly the same pressure as the rest. The Rock Skullz website proudly gives this product the highest rating and recommendation for any Off-Roader, 2-thumbs up!!

* The quality and craftsmanship of this product is top notch.

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"THE EASY WAY TO DEFLATE YOUR TYRES" - BY "FULLY EQUIPT NEW ZEALAND" (Nationwide 4WD accessory stores)

Lowering the tyre pressure when 4-wheel driving has a big effect on off-road traction because the tyre flattens out and more tread is applied to the ground.

As most off-roaders will tell you, deflating tyres and getting the pressure right on all four tyres can be a time consuming, hit and miss affair.

Fully Equipped has put paid to all this with the recent release onto the New Zealand market of Staun valves. Staun valves are the easy way to deflate tyres for increased traction.

Packaged as a set of four valves, each valve simply screws onto the tyre valve to automatically deflate all the tyres to the drivers pre-set pressure. The pressure setting can be done in a few seconds without the need for any tools.

Staun valves are available from any Fully Equipped nationwide centres.

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"TYRES AND THEIR CARE" - by "NATURAL INSTINCTS" - PETE RITCHIE'S 4WD TRAINING & ADVENTURE SPECIALISTS

For deflating tyres (a 4wders first traction tool) I have always used one of my own inventions called a "tyre tool" It's just a valve clip on a metre of hose combined with a tap and gauge. Means a bloke can deflate his tyres and not wreck his back.

But the fantastic Staun deflators stocked in all Fully Equipped outlets have now superseded this. These deflators come in a set of four and all you do is preset them to whatever pressure you wish, screw them onto your valve and wait for them to shut off at your preset pressure. They are super quick, and take up no room in your ashtray. If you haven't got a set yet better pop down to your Fully Equipped outlet they are the best invention I've come across in the game for a long while.

Well that's my lot. Whatever you run in the way of tyres, just remember to be a "thinking driver" and drive to suit the boundaries of your black things.

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"PRODUCT REVIEW - STAUN SERIES II TYRE DEFLATORS" - RAY HARRIS-EUREKA 4 WHEEL DRIVER TRAINING

For those who are not familiar with automatic tyre deflators there are a few on the market. I have used a set of Staun tyre deflators for a couple of years now and been happy with their performance. What they do is deflate your tyres automatically to a preset pressure all 4 tyres at a time. To use them, simply screw them on to the tyre valve. They will deflate each tyre to whatever pressure you have them preset to (6-30psi).

The advantage is no more back breaking, knee busting or bending.

I was already happy with the product, but just happened to be in at Action 4WD (ARB) Kelmscott and mentioned to Joe Maccarone how slow they were, (8mins, 37secs per tyre 45psi down to 16psi). Joe said he would talk to the "Staun Man" which he did. The next thing we find out is that Staun have new "Super Dupper Series 2 Model" high-speed deflators to replace the older series 1 style ones that I had. The new ones look almost the same but have a very small hole drilled into the side, which also lets air out and serves as a manual start when tyre pressures and deflators are within 8psi of each other.

On testing, I can now deflate all 4 tyres 45psi down to 16psi in 2 mins and 52 secs easy! A huge improvement. They also have a more "positive" cut off when they get down to the preset level.

Just one word of warning, the packet says "preset for your convenience to 18psi" I found that the preset adjustment dropped the pressure to 15psi. This was an easy adjustment (quarter turn clockwise) back up to 18psi, which is where I like to run my tyre's on most sand. At approx. $69.95 for a set of 4, it's a good product at a good price.

Please remember "Low tyre pressure = Low Speed" Keep Safe!

If you need any more information why not drop me an e-mail to: 4wd@eureka4wd.com.au or give me a call at Eureka 4WD Training on +61 (02) 9354 3305.

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"PRODUCT REVIEW " - MARK PEACOCK - CO-OWNER OF 4WD ENCOUNTERS
www.pps.net.au/4wdencounter

If you, like myself, bought a set of the original Staun Tyre Deflators then you were likely to have been a bit disappointed with their performance. While they performed well when the tyre pressure was still high, the air discharge slowed significantly as it approached the set pressure.

In practice, this meant it took some 10 minutes to deflate a 33x10.5xR15 from 32 psi to 18 psi. I often removed the deflator while a small amount of air was still escaping, as I was keen to go. I also tried attaching the deflator and driving while the tyre was deflating. This resulted in less than 10-psi pressure after some 500m of driving, even though the deflator was set at 16 psi.

The best use I found for the original tyre deflators was to remove the whole plastic core and simply use the remaining body as valve depressor. With the aid of a stopwatch, tyres could be quickly let down for 45 seconds, resulting in 18 psi. All in all, not a product I would class as a " must have".

But along came the MKII deflators. Upon opening them, I was disappointed at first because they looked identical to the first model. They were still machined from aluminium and the only external difference was the addition of a very small hole on the valve body. Internally, a rubber O-ring replaced the flat plastic seal but the plastic core remained. With little expectation, I tried just one tyre.

Well, what a revelation!!! The tyre deflated rapidly to set point, and snapped shut with a noticeable click. I could not believe the difference. The Staun Tyre Deflators was suddenly relegated from the bottom of my "must take" list to an absolute must, especially for beach driving. It was now obvious that while the MKI model had the right idea, it took the MKII model to make it work properly.

But wait, there's even more good news. The latest Staun Tyre Deflators are now 100% brass (with an o-ring seal). The quality of manufacture is excellent and they come complete in a leather storage bag. A high quality, very classy, product.

So, if you owned a set of the original MKI deflators, or were put off by reports of their mediocre performance then think again. The brass Staun Tyre Deflators are now an absolute "must have" for any 4WDriver. While there are several tyre deflators on the market, the Staun Tyre Deflators are by far the best value for money. Better yet, they are 100% Aussie designed and made.

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USER TESTIMONIALS

We appreciate our customer's feedback on any of our Staun Products so please email us at sales@stauntyredeflators.com with your comments and suggestions.
We will keep you informed of what our customers think of the Staun product range.

"A REVIEW BY A 4WD ENTHUSIAST" - CHRISTOPHER VAZ

I own a set of the 'new generation' deflators. As an active member of a popular 4WD club in Melbourne, I frequently use the deflators on every trip. I will without hesitation endorse the product not only because it is practical, but because it is a locally manufactured device that is consistent in its performance, literally unbreakable, but most importantly is a great time saver when getting in and out of the bush. Of all the off road accessories I own, I believe the Staun Deflators have to be ranked in the top three 'must have' devices for every serious 4WD enthusiast.

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"PRODUCT REVIEW BY AN AVID OFF-ROADER" - BRENDON SOO

I have recently purchased a set of the newest released version of the Staun Deflators due to our high frequency of off-roading. It turned out to be an excellent investment due to the sheer size of the tires I have fitted to my Nissan Patrol. All I can say is that they are absolutely fantastic. No more sore legs or lower back pains due to waiting 3-5 minutes deflating each 35” tyre – it’s now just attach and go! Any trained 4WD enthusiast will have been informed that the simple deflation of your tires will inevitably be of assistance when negotiating terrain that requires additional traction or “flotation” when on sand. A great idea which results in a very practical application.

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CORY GARY HAS SUCCESS WITH THE STAUN INTERNAL BEADLOCK SYSTEM IN A RECENT OFF- ROAD EVENT

Recently Corey Gary and his Pinz took part in an off road event utilising the Staun Internal Beadlock System, all in all this ensured they had a successful day!

Cory and his entourage were kind enough to document their day and took some great shots installing the Staun Internal Beadlocks and some action shots driving on some pretty tough terrain.

Cory Gary said “We had a great time at the off-road event.  Everybody loved the Pinz and it did really well.  The Beadlocks worked beautifully.  We’d have lost every bead without them on the rocks.  We have some good pics of the aired down tires mushed on the rocks” As you can see from the below photos the right front looks pretty side stressed, but this just demonstrates how tough the Staun Internal Beadlocks are as they hung in there!
Commenting on the installation process of the Staun Beadlocks Cory said “Success! Concentrating on both the short and long ends of the air channel walls and a little "shaping" did the trick.”

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