Lock nuts - do you have them?

fergiesfolly

Had to get new tyres recently and got a call from the garage to say that the lock nuts were fastenened too tightly and that the socket had become damaged trying to remove nuts.
I had two choices... get 4 new locknuts and socket, or...just use regular nuts.
They said they had so many problems with the lock nuts that they'd recommend to just use the regular ones.
Now, I went with their recommendation, but wondering if I should just lay out for the lock nuts.
Do you all have them, or go without?

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

They're on my Accord since I bought it. I've never had any complaints from garages or tyre fitters about them.

mloc123

Buy a set of McGard or similar and do not over tighten them, no more than a 1/4 turn 'nip'.

Alloys are still stolen, hard as it is to believe (IMO)...

jimgoose

The adapter for the security studs on my yoke failed a couple of months ago, so after reefing them off it I just replaced them with four regular original studs from a main dealer for a fiver apiece.

Wibbs

mloc123 wrote: »

Buy a set of McGard or similar and do not over tighten them, no more than a 1/4 turn 'nip'.

+1 and only use a socket on them, don't use the airguns to loosen or especially tighten them. That's usually how garages and tyre fitters bugger them.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Do wheels still get stolen regularly? I would have thought that seeing as most cars now have them fitted as standard the market for thieves is extremeky small.

My car has a set fitted but I intend to replace them with standard nuts very soon.

I had a set of wheels stolen off my Nissan Bluebird back in 1993,very few cars had alloys back then and they were stolen off the car when it was parked in broad day light in Kenilworth Square in Dublin. I was absolutely heartbroken as they were the factory wheels and as the car was so rare (ZX Turbo) the chances of getting another set was less than zero. I had to fit 4 mismatching steel wheels/tyres that I got from a breakers yard the next day and a few months later after a lot of searching bought a set of Nissan alloys from another breakers that were fitted to a JDM bluebird. I bought McGard nuts the following day.

CJhaughey

IMHO they are a disaster, There are two scenarios, one they get over tightened and the head breaks when you are trying to change a wheel (usually at night and in the rain) secondly you or AN other loses the locking key and they have to be removed in a garage at your expense.
When I bought my Accord they were fitted and the first thing I did was remove them and replace them with conventional nuts.

jca

I had them on some of the cars I owned with matching locking key luckily. I don't have them on my present car.

Alanstrainor

I put BMW lock nuts (from an e60) on my car when I bought new wheels (over a grands worth). But I also know that if someone really wants the wheels, they'll get them off without too much bother.

Atlantic Dawn

Have them, they were on the car from new I think. I remove the lock nuts, refit the standard nuts when getting tyres changed and refit when I get the car back, worried they would feck them up.

Alun

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Have them, they were on the car from new I think. I remove the lock nuts, refit the standard nuts when getting tyres changed and refit when I get the car back, worried they would feck them up.

I do the same.

Wibbs

Alanstrainor wrote: »

But I also know that if someone really wants the wheels, they'll get them off without too much bother.

With quality locking nuts, it's significantly harder and more time consuming for the scum. TBH I could never get with the all too common attitude to car security of "ah sure if they really want it they'll steal it". One can certainly make things difficult for the scum and put them off and more likely to make them go for easier targets. Why do people think certain cars are more likely to be targeted because their security isn't up to a good standard? The reason why car thefts are lower than say the 80's is because basic security has been ramped up in the meantime.

Alanstrainor

Wibbs wrote: »

With quality locking nuts, it's significantly harder and more time consuming for the scum. TBH I could never get with the all too common attitude to car security of "ah sure if they really want it they'll steal it". One can certainly make things difficult for the scum and put them off and more likely to make them go for easier targets. Why do people think certain cars are more likely to be targeted because their security isn't up to a good standard? The reason why car thefts are lower than say the 80's is because basic security has been ramped up in the meantime.

The lock nuts are quality. BMW original. But lets be real here, if a thief is prepared enough they will get any lock nuts off. Lock nuts will stop the opportunist, not the career criminal.

Wibbs

Wibbs wrote: »

............. The reason why car thefts are lower than say the 80's is because basic security has been ramped up in the meantime.

Indeed, as well as joyriders back in the 80s/90s it wasn't uncommon (obviously most people didn't before the high horse brigade land in but plenty scummers did) for some folk to steal a car to get home rather than pay £10 for a taxi etc

Alanstrainor

Alanstrainor wrote: »

The lock nuts are quality. BMW original. But lets be real here, if a thief is prepared enough they will get any lock nuts off. Lock nuts will stop the opportunist, not the career criminal.

If we are being real how many career criminals focus on alloys these days?

Atlantic Dawn

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Do wheels still get stolen regularly? I would have thought that seeing as most cars now have them fitted as standard the market for thieves is extremeky small.

Not heard of any in years but I do recall about 5 years ago photos circulating of a relatively new BMW X5 on blocks on a south Dublin street, I'd say circa €3k's worth new wheels & tyres to replace. The Garda Traffic Twitter feed did have 2 alloys from a Hyundai SUV they found recently, suspected stolen.

mloc123

Alanstrainor wrote: »

The lock nuts are quality. BMW original. But lets be real here, if a thief is prepared enough they will get any lock nuts off. Lock nuts will stop the opportunist, not the career criminal.

They will get them off for sure... but it will be noisy and slow and attract attention in the middle of the night in quiet residential areas.

Agricola

Have them on my e36 still, but I couldn't see many wanting the old bottlecap alloys on it!

biko

I have a set but don't use them.

fergiesfolly

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Have them, they were on the car from new I think. I remove the lock nuts, refit the standard nuts when getting tyres changed and refit when I get the car back, worried they would feck them up.

I think that's the route I'll take too.
I completely trust the guys who fitted the tyres this time around, but I had an experience with a tyre fitter who over tightened the WRONG lock nut. Didn't come to light till I had a flat, a few months later and had to get wheel removed. The original fitter was in a hurry, doing several cars at once and got muddled.
After I fu##ed them from a height, they apoligised and paid for repairs, but I wouldn't let them change the tyre on a wheelbarrow now.

pa990

fergiesfolly wrote: »

I think that's the route I'll take too.
I completely trust the guys who fitted the tyres this time around, but I had an experience with a tyre fitter who over tightened the WRONG lock nut. Didn't come to light till I had a flat, a few months later and had to get wheel removed. The original fitter was in a hurry, doing several cars at once and got muddled.
After I fu##ed them from a height, they apoligised and paid for repairs, but I wouldn't let them change the tyre on a wheelbarrow now.

Do you have a locking nut on your wheel barrow ?

Frankie Lee

Alanstrainor wrote: »

The lock nuts are quality. BMW original. But lets be real here, if a thief is prepared enough they will get any lock nuts off. Lock nuts will stop the opportunist, not the career criminal.

If an alloy wheel thief wanted to make a sound investment then kits are readily available.
http://www.autobiz.ie/news/draper-adds-3-new-locking-wheel-nut-removal-sets.html
McGard are the more secure but when tyre fitters use their air guns on it they are a nightmare.

Wibbs

Frankie Lee wrote: »

McGard are the more secure but when tyre fitters use their air guns on it they are a nightmare.

Yep. My rule is remove them myself before I let tyre fitters near them. I've had a tyre fitter who buggered up one of my McGard's with an airgun and it was a thundering whoer to get off. My mechanic had a similar removal kit and a special bolt designed to grab on, but no joy(none of the draper tools fitted the pattern). Ended up welding a nut to it and getting it off that way. If any scumbag had bypassed them in my driveway(four times) then he would be welcome to the wheels. He'd have put the work in.

Like any security it's another layer and the more layers the better IMH.

nosilver

After getting a blowout and a locknut breaking causing a tow to a garage and overnight stay and the garage spending four hours trying everything to get the wheel off, I got rid of them.


Most tyre places know not to tighten them with the air gun, but some forget

jimbis

I had a set of Ray's engineering wheels worth a few grand on my car for 9 years without lock nuts. I did have one nut per wheel a different colour though, I swear even my mates assumed I had lock nuts .
Kind of a hide in plain sight thing lol.

J.pilkington

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Not heard of any in years but I do recall about 5 years ago photos circulating of a relatively new BMW X5 on blocks on a south Dublin street, I'd say circa €3k's worth new wheels & tyres to replace. The Garda Traffic Twitter feed did have 2 alloys from a Hyundai SUV they found recently, suspected stolen.

And what is the lesson there? That standard lock nuts (which the new x5 would have had) are next to useless as an experienced their will have then off in no time.

https://www.asseenontv.com/detail.php?p=296303&product=gator-grip-universal-socket

If people are worried they need to buy something highly regarded like mcgard which on the grand scheme of things are better quality than the generic manufacturer ones and don't actually cost too much

9935452

A friends brother had the wheels stolen last year off a nearly new audi .
They did a bit of damage breaking into the car (broken windows ) egtting into the car to find the key for the locking wheel nuts.
Another problem with locking wheel nuts is thieves know people keep the key in the boot or ash tray so will do damage to get it and it negates having them.

Toyotafanboi

Private wheel theft is actually pretty popular again. I've seen a few cases of it recently and in all cases the thieves smashed the rear window and ripped out the parcel shelf to get to the lock nut.

It happened to a popular south Dublin dealer around 2 years ago too, came in one morning to find the whole forecourt on the floor.

Alun

In addition to removing my McGard lock nuts before any trip to a mechanic / tyre fitter where I suspect they might be using an air gun, I always loosen and re-torque all my wheel nuts as soon as I get home when refitting the lock nuts.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Don't have them on the current car. Had them on the last one. How many different types of lock nuts are there? I mean if there are only say 10 types, a determined thief will probably have a full set of unlocking nuts.

Wibbs

Alun wrote: »

In addition to removing my McGard lock nuts before any trip to a mechanic / tyre fitter where I suspect they might be using an air gun, I always loosen and re-torque all my wheel nuts as soon as I get home when refitting the lock nuts.

+1, though I'm blessed with my mechanic(independent) in that regard as he knows the score and the odd time I use a tyre fitter(again independent) they know too.

pa990

yes



why isn't there a poll

nice_guy80

I got rid of

macroman

Bought an E60 a few years ago with locking nuts and no key, and having seen how easy and quick it was for my tyre fitter to remove them (std BMW ones) I have no faith that they'll keep any determined thieving rat at bay if they want the wheels that badly. Besides everyone keeps the lock key in the boot or glovebox so it really negates the whole deterrent factor!