Locking wheel nuts that aren't sh*t?

[MG CHRIS]

They are pointless waste of time set to annoy the fk out of mechanics the minute you use them. First you have to find the fking thing in the car which sometimes are buried in the most stupidest of locations or spend ages digging all the st out of the glove box as its buried deep down at the bottom. Then if someone before over tightens them or haven't been off for a while the key snaps and left wasting time trying to remove them.

There are loads of tools very cheaply on the market desgined to work with all most all locking wheel nuts to remove them.

They are a massive waste of time.

[Mr2Mike]

ExPat2B said:

The MCGard will only strip if you apply a force not at 90 deg to the wheel.

The standard wheel brace is notorious for this.

Replace with a a breaker bar and quality socket in the boot and you will never strip an MCGard bolt.

They are more than up to the job provided the two halves are fully mated when tightening and loosening.

[marmitemania]

spookly said:

V8RX7 said:

spookly said:

I've never had any wheels stolen. Nor do I know of anyone who has.

Does this just happen in stty areas?

Apparently not

https://goo.gl/images/sd4yDl

https://goo.gl/images/B1NzZr

https://goo.gl/images/rmr0rP

Might still be a stty area. Also, probably had high quality locking nuts on, especially after being done before. Wheels still seem to be missing.

So.... the point of locking nuts is?

Even with the locking wheel nuts with slipping shoulders it'll only delay getting your wheels nicked. if they want them they'll have them.

Those Bentley wheels will undoubtedly be on some chaved up VAG stheap. Yes Bruv, rolling on the Bentley rims, BOOM!

[V8RX7]

MG CHRIS said:

They are a massive waste of time.

Tell that to the mechanics who ended up having to drill the stud out of my car last week.

We tried everything to remove the damn thing including the removal tools - shame the keys were made of chocolate.

[jimxms]

I wouldn't go as far as to say they are a massive waste of time. Last year I replaced all the locking nuts on my Lexus with standard ones after having endless troubles. A few months later I was driving back from London after visiting family and noticed the car making a scratching noise when braking. My wife and kids couldn't hear it but I could. So I pulled off the motorway, checked around the car and noticed that on two of the wheels several of the nuts were missing and the others had been loosened. We must have disturbed the mid-theft. These wheels were just oem Lexus wheels but recently refurbished with a grand or so of new rubber on them.

As for my original question, I've come across some Japanese locking nuts which I'm going to import and hope they aren't sh*t:




They seem to meet my criteria of not using a weak a$$ key system and they have a free spinning shoulder around the top.

[7795]

They are mostly a waste of time to the determined thief but the lazy, typical, crackhead who wants an easy steal will look for wheels without them generally. In the same way that if you have a burglar alarm they will almost certainly look for a house without one. Lions hunting generally look for the small, weak and vulnerable!

[Dog Star]

The thing is also that if they break in the car to look for the key or otherwise damage the vehicle or wheels in a theft attempt then you are looking at an insurance claim; an insurance claim is an insurance claim and you're going to get screwed next renewal. May as well get new wheels out of it.

[Monty Python]

To me, these things are simply a deterrent to the casual thief - if someone wants the wheels then they'll most likely steal the whole car. I've got the standard BMW ones but I make a point of not tightening them to the same degree as the rest of the wheel bolts so I know it'll come off without breaking.