Hot Rods Are any of you using wheel locks? If so what type?

I've never liked McGard locks. These McGard locks were on my car when I bought it. As has happened in the past, I stripped it, the key is now useless. I know I can just bang a socket on it, or buy the specially designed McGard removal socket on Amazon to get them off without a key, that's not a problem. My thought is, if anyone can go on Amazon and buy a tool specifically designed to remove these pieces of junk without a key, what good are they? Virtually every punk out there also knows you can just bang a socket onto them and undo them without a key. I'm thinking about just buying four more wheel lug nuts and get rid of locks all together. What are you guys doing with regard to wheel locks? Is there something other than Mcgard locks out there that actually works? McGards seem to be a waste of time and money.

 

Wheel lock’s! Around here they take the whole car so why bother?

 

With the specialized sockets they make now days to remove just about any wheel locks, wheel locks are pretty much obsolete. Especially with battery operated impact wrench.

We have a couple sets at work sold by snap-on and Cornwell tools that will just about take any off. Sockets aren't cheap but hey if your going around stealing wheels and selling them off the sockets would pay for themselves quickly unless of course you stole the sockets too...

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I have them on a few of the cars, but if they REALLY want them they'll find a way. The thing is around here no one wants my old junk (15"-16"), they want bigger and flashy. I have them on just in case they're not carrying much tools or at least to slow them down (like the Club).

I use Gorilla locks.

 

Wheel locks are like locking gas caps....false sense of security with a real added pain of use. Ive had to remove wheel locks on both junkyard cars and customer cars where they lost the key and just wanted reg lugs put on. Never had one not come off with the hammered on cheap 12 point socket trick. Just like on locking gas caps I can easily unlock those with a pair of pliers and a flathead screwdriver. And had a cop friend mention that his opinion was people with locking lugs were more likely to get targeted by thieves on drugs. I say ditch them and get reg lugs

 

This right here . Unless it’s a Land Rover or Mercedes with 22” wheels no one’s stealing wheels anymore .

and no one wants our 14-15” “Mags” that’s for dang sure

 

I'm more worried about them stealing my strombergs than my wheels

 

Stolen wheels, stereos and flat tires seem to be a thing of the past… now they break your window for the coins in the console.

 

When I worked in the Chevy dealership, I learned to hate those things. People were always bringing their cars for service, and the adapter key would be missing in action. I had to dig through hundreds of glove boxes searching for them. I still have the Snap On kit in my tool box for removing them.

 

I gave up on them a long time ago.

 

Yea, I just don’t own expensive wheels so no need for those locks that are a pain to deal with.

 

Just as bad are those stupid two piece lug nuts. Why not plate the nut instead of putting a flimsy cover over it that will deform with age?

 

Since I like to drive my cars, and often stay on the road for trips, I have wheel locks, alarm systems, and battery cutoff switches too. Tough to stay in a motel and sleep if you're worrying about what's happening to your car!
Most the time I get permission from the front desk to park right at the entry area where it's less likely to be messed with. If somebody has some fancy socket to remove the wheels they're going to have to use it without setting off the alarm.

 

I drive mine all over the place, park them at hotels often, and don't worry too much about it. No problems so far.

 

As @squirrel said . While “ our cars “ do get stolen .

they are way low on thrives radar .

up here a Toyota highlander and Honda civic top the list for stolen cars .

had a trailer stolen last summer not far from me with a high dollar dragster in it .

the car , parts and tools where dumped behind a industrial complex . All the thieves wanted was the trailer .

wjen I was a road service tech my van got broken into 3-4 times on my driveway , no tools ever taken but the change in my cup holder was gone !!!!

im not overly worried about my old cars getting stolen .

 

Pre 65 with disk brakes up front!? Just a channel lock away from loosing your hubs and brake drums along with your 2 front wheels and tires.

 

Man now that I think about it its been a while since Ive seen a car on blocks after having thier "rims" stolen.
Now they want the catyltic converter or just the whole damn car.

 

I did see a late model up on blocks on the interstate recently that had the wheels on it the day before. It must have had some nice wheels apparently. It has been a long time since I had seen that as well.

 

Even if they have wire cutters and a lead hammer, they will only get them off one side.

 

I worried about loosing the hubcaps when WheelSmith made these custom wheels for my OT F-150. WheelSmith has them custom made and they don’t fit stock For wheels so I used a felt pen and wrote inside “please put back on the cap won’t fit your wheel”

 

I purchased a set of special sockets from Eastwood years ago to remove broken lugnuts. I haven't had to use them yet.

 

I leave my cars unlocked at home in my driveway, so kids don't damage the vehicle for a few coins [I consider the coins an "insurance premium"]
This use to happen during school breaks in my area, but now the neighborhood seems to have aged out.

The irony is my off topic Toyota Aqua is the car of choice for thieves [because they don't have a "chip" ignition key]
So I simply fitted a flashing LED next to the ignition barrel, so it fools any potential thieves that it has an immobilizer.
Turn the ignition on and the light stops flashing [this is stupid simple to connect and doesn't require any relays etc]

 

I dont see the point of lug nut locks either

Ive had a whole car stolen , never used locking lugs either

.

 

What's this , something electrical with no 00 wiring & multiple relays ? That's blasphemous talk on the net these days !

 

I have 2 BIG dog's and Sam Colt as a security system around here. On the road, all those trinket's do is keep the honest theive's away. They're useless to a pro...

 

I have a 59 ElCamino they'll take the whole car faster than one wheel. The 3 break ins so far were door, dash and ignition Damage. my Drag masters don't get a second glance. I think it was the same person or persons.

 

Hello,

Over the years, we have had several styles of lug nut locks. Each one had its features and they were all good at stopping “normal” thieves from jacking up your car and taking the wheels/rims. But, who does that? Most thieves take the car to a location and then work on getting the rims/tires off in the comfort of a closed garage door or dark empty playground hidden by bushes or trees.

So, the smooth caps were good for no ordinary lug nut remover. But, the bad thing was, we all had to carry around a solid, slightly heavy lugnut cap that would fit the oddball pattern inside. To say the least, it made a bulge in the pocket of your Levis. The extra part was necessary to be able to remove the nut and tire when/if it was a flat tire on the road or at the wheel/tire place to get them balanced/aligned, etc. or, you were happy to see someone. Ha!

But, the rest of the time, it was a heavy object sitting in one’s pocket. You could leave it in the car, but then it was a dead giveaway for car thieves easy access. So, bulge or not, it was normally carried around.

Jnaki

Now that sounds like a fanatic. But, sometimes valuable items need extra care. The odd thing was, McGard was the most popular one we could think of, but think of the wide variety of shaped ends to fit your lug nut cap or how many other versions, before the same design comes up again. One in 20, one in a hundred? The chance is endless, but a path for thieves to get the patterns, if so desired. Just like copying a key in a blob of clay… ha!

There were even custom wheels that had smooth lockable caps to fit the design of the rims and make it difficult for robbers to pry open the cap for lug nut access. Those helped, but one had to like the design of the rim/cap covers. Thieves still took what they wanted.

So, locks, what are they good for? “absolutely nothing…” except for having to explain a bulge in your Levis… ha!


leads to this:

 

All it takes is to have one stolen and you will get paranoid too. Since I've had 3 cars and a motorcycle stolen there's no such thing as too much for me.

 

Where I live you need a catalytic converter lock. Although 5-6 months ago there was newer F-150 on the side of the road with log rounds holding it up and of co**** no wheels. I figure they must have been pretty special wheels.

 

When I travel I stay in the smaller towns , look for retro or mom and pop motels (many now run by dot Indians). You can park right by your door or a small lot if towing, and you are not exposed to all the large metro problems.
That said, Airbnb has become my usual choice lately.