Locking wheel nuts, do you bother with them?

[Lefty]

Got my old impreza back from a body shop recently and I had cause to take the wheels off. They had put the wheel nuts so tightly I was hanging off the end of a breaker bar trying to shift them (I'm 100kg!)

The inevitable happened and I broke the locking wheel nut key

This annoying incident got me thinking "when was the last time I heard about someone having their wheels pinched?" I think it was the early 90's.

Am I alone in thinking they have lost their purpose?

[StuntmanMike]

They are on my car because it came with them, I wouldn't buy them because they are so easily defeated.

[chevy-stu]

I've heard of a few cars with nice aftermarket or expensive option wheels nicked fairly recently..
not sure if they had locking nuts it not, but it's a deterrent I guess...

[kambites]

I wouldn't have them if my car hadn't come with them, but they don't annoy me enough for me to bother replacing them.

[Garybee]

I don't bother, partly due to tyre fitters inability to use a torque wrench. I don't think I've removed a wheel that a tyre fitter has fitted without finding that it's been massively over tightened.

[AlexIT]

Not since I've lost the nut key of one of my cars and after 15 minutes I (yes I not some professional thief) could get all 4 wheels off.

[Geekman]

I rounded off my locking wheel nut key once. Took the car down to my local Kwik Fit and an old Jamaican guy with a hammer and chisel got them off in about 5 minutes. I'm sure any wheel thief would be able to do the same.

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

Finding your car on bricks with the wheels gone is thankfully a thing of the past. At least...I've not heard of it for a while?

[TheEnd]

It is rarer these days unless you own a Bentley near some dubbers.
I don't think locking nuts slow down a thief too much anyway.

[oobster]

I have taken the locking nuts off my current car and my previous 2 cars due having issues with them in the past.

I don't know, however, how my insurance company would proceed if i was to make a claim for stolen alloys and I was to admit the car didn't have lockers on it.

[Lefty]

They were very easy to get off once I'd broken the key, I hammered a socket into the locking wheel nut and used that instead.

[vrsmxtb]

Removed them and put four normal nuts on instead - sick and tired of the problems they cause. Unless you've got extremely flash wheels they are an irrelevant throwback to the days when "alloy wheels" were an extravagant sporty option.

[Zerotonine]

I have them on my cars, they came with them. Honda has nowt special alloys and the ST has standard 4 spokes. I will change them when I can be bothered but as yet I haven't been bothered. Haven't caused me any issues thus far.

[ohtari]

I don't think anyone would even want to touch the wheels on my car at the moment, they're a "special" kind of disgusting

[gizlaroc]

I had winters put on recently and when it was time to take them off the locking socket was missing.
I bought a thing from Halfords that just undid it, it screws into the nut.
Locking nuts might deter some kids out on the nick one night, but not someone who nicks them professionally.

Risk limitation, no more.

[anonymous-user]

vrsmxtb said:

Removed them and put four normal nuts on instead - sick and tired of the problems they cause.

Same here.

They are just generally ste and get in the way, especially if you are someone who takes wheels on and off fairly regular for tyres, brakes, maintenance, cleaning etc.

I would rather have my wheels stolen that put up with years of locking nut hassle.