Are locking wheel nuts still a thing?

I’ve not had a problem with locking wheel nuts so far, but I’ve seen what a problem they can be so I get rid. At my end of the car market the wheels are already kerbed so no ones nicking them and I dont care

A previous owner of my car fitted different wheels and spacers on the rear so needed longer bolts and didn’t fit a locking one.

I’ve had the car 4 years, mate I bought it from had it for 3 and who knows when the wheels were changed prior. So for the best part of 10 years it hasn’t lost a wheel.

Now I’ve just remembered I had a problem with wheel nuts on a Peugeot a few years back, all 4 stripped when being removed. None were locking wheel nuts, the cheapest way for me to replace them was to buy 4 locking ones.

I don’t have them on my vans but they only have steel wheels so I doubt someone would nick them I do have them on my Mini, not a fan but the wheels are worth 2k not including the tyres. I might take them of my daughters Corsa not sure if they are Vauxhall OEM but they are really soft.

Managed to lose the key for mine recently. A picture of the bolt head and 5 minutes on ebay got a replacement for about £30. Same seller was offering a complete set for a very reasonable price so not a lot of security in these things.

‘Not a lot of security in these things’
Even less when you factor in the fact that the key is almost certainly in the glove box.

Odd, over the last twenty-odd years of having cars with locking wheel nuts, I’ve never, ever had an issue with them, and that includes having to take a wheel off myself and put a spare on.

With my Ford, it’s not so much someone nicking the wheels for the alloys, it’s someone nicking the Continental and Michelin all-climate tyres, somewhere north of £700 worth of rubber. It’s not difficult to have £1000 worth of tyres on a mid-range car, once you get to higher spec or an EV, £2000 becomes an expensive reality, so being blasé about a set of average alloys might need a reality check. Proper performance cars are around £1000/corner, just for starters.

Used tyres don’t sell very well generally unless they are an odd size for a flash car. It takes time, effort and planning to take a set of wheels without replacing them at the same time and the reward just isn’t there. I’ve heard stories of people swapping wheels with hire cars, but I’m pretty sure your tyres are safe even in the rougher parts of the country.

It takes time, effort and planning to take a set of wheels without replacing them at the same time

It’d just take a jack, an impact driver and a dozen bricks. You can probably do without the bricks as long as just dumping the corner of the car on the deck leaves enough clearance for the next jacking. And it’d probably be safer!

It’d just take a jack, an impact driver and a dozen bricks. You can probably do without the bricks as long as just dumping the corner of the car on the deck leaves enough clearance for the next jacking. And it’d probably be safer!

A trolley jack and an impact gun are two of the loudest tools out there. It’s also hard for anyone passing to pretend to themselves that there is a legitimate reason for leaving a car on bricks. It can be done no problem, but I don’t think many would risk it simply for some used mid-size Cross Climates.

The focus we had had alloy nut covers. The tyre fitter explained to me that the covers swell taking them from a 19mm to a sloppy 20mm. Apparently land rover and fords were the worst…. Pretty good security if you ask me.

My wife is concerned about our Octavia (nearly new) not having security studs. The sheltered flats her uncle is in had an old dears alloys nicked from a Corsa. They stay in fairly decent part of the west of Edinburgh.

Having just done the rear pads n discs on my avensis, as mentioned up thread I was going to ditch the locking nuts. But the originals in the box with key are like a 20mm long hex section, the others on the wheels are about 12mm long hex, i.e. the whole nut is longer. Most odd. They’re not virgin either, corrosion pattern suggest they have been fitted at some point. Maybe only factory to dealer, dunno?

Here’s a controversy, wheel nuts dry or greased? I’m in the dry team, but any pro knowledge?

I don’t think many would risk it simply for some used mid-size Cross Climates

C’mon, you’re not new here, you know better than that. Haven’t you ever seen any of the tyre threads? Most people on here would swap their first born for a CrossClimate.

Took the new (to us) motorhome in for some work on the brakes this week.

Lovely van, fully winterised, A Class type thing – full underfloor storage.

Sign on the door of the garage said “please have your locking wheel nuts available”

I think we were looking through underfloor compartments and emptying the contents of the motorhome for about 30minutes until we found it.

Way easier when we had a fiesta.

Not sure locking wheelnuts are worth the hassle, will be taking them off

I don’t think many would risk it simply for some used mid-size Cross Climates

If it saved them £400-odd then I’m sure there are people around with a Fiesta or a Focus who’d be all too happy to not ask questions and hand over some cash for a set of wheels with quality tyres fitted.

Catalytic converters are being nicked in broad daylight and I’ll bet the perps aren’t getting as much as that.
As I haven’t had an issue with the locking wheel nuts on my cars for at least thirty years, I just can’t see any point in stopping using them now. Just makes no sense.

I think we were looking through underfloor compartments and emptying the contents of the motorhome for about 30minutes until we found it.

Way easier when we had a fiesta.

Why? Doesn’t it have a glovebox or centre console storage, where a locking wheelnut key in a little yellow bag will fit? All that shows is a complete lack of foresight in not having the key somewhere handy. *rolls eyes*

Here’s a controversy, wheel nuts dry or greased? I’m in the dry team, but any pro knowledge?

Not a pro, but follow OEM recommendations. Cleaning threads is often forgotten and effects torque as well

wheel nuts dry or greased

Greased. I tend to figure anything that isn’t brass, going into plastic, or that needs Loctite needs grease to reduce binding and seizing and get eh right torque on tightening. A heuristic I picked up at Dornier.

Is the locking wheel nuts thread still a thing?

wheel nuts dry or greased

Dry, the torques given are dry so if you torque it greased you’re stretching the bolt more.

Odd, over the last twenty-odd years of having cars with locking wheel nuts, I’ve never, ever had an issue with them, and that includes having to take a wheel off myself and put a spare on.

Cool, good for you.

Dickheads at the local garage managed to mangle mine, they were apparently seized solid. Odd really, I only had them off a few days before. Nothing to do with the windy gun they used to take them off I bet.

Yeah, googling confirms dry threads for torque specs. I just hate the stiction feeling some of the nuts exhibit.

A trolley jack and an impact gun are two of the loudest tools out there. It’s also hard for anyone passing to pretend to themselves that there is a legitimate reason for leaving a car on bricks. It can be done no problem, but I don’t think many would risk it simply for some used mid-size Cross Climates.

I haven’t seen.a car on brick since the 80s. So while the deterrent locking nuts etc provide is probably minimal the motivation just isn’t really there anymore.

One reason being alloys are now pretty much standard equipment, but the other is that the market for wheels and tyres is now unreadily diverse. Back in the 80s 10-15 wheel / tyre combos covered the majority of mass market cars. Now there over 100 sizes/shape covering commonly driven cars and close to a 1000 when you count in niohe models. Thats before you add in variables like winter and summer tyres etc.

Theft requires two things – opportunity and a ready market. Back in the 80s if a thief saw a car parked in a circumstances that gave them the opportunity – and they had the means and equipment with them at that moment – they could steel the wheels, or even just one, knowing it would be easy to find a buyer.

Now – presented with an opportunity the thing stopping you stealing them isnt the wheel nut, its finding a buyer for that particular stud pattern, off self, rim diameter and width.

I imagine engine components are much more of a lucrative market for theft now – cars are much more superficially different in terms of the bits you can see like pretty alloys – but sthare a lot more in the way of common components under the skin. Note these cars have all had most of the front removed and still have the wheels on

I guess aside from engine parts whats been taken there is all the part that get damaged in minor shunts that people don’t like to claim insurance for (they are general low spec cars too)

VW badges are popular for theft again to, must be all the middle age beastie boys fans

I imagine engine components are much more of a lucrative market for theft now – cars are much more superficially different in terms of the bits you can see like pretty alloys – but sthare a lot more in the way of common components under the skin. Note these cars have all had most of the front removed and still have the wheels on

Came up in another thread about car repairs and ECU coding. ECUs and the devices they are bolted too are a big market now.

Now – presented with an opportunity the thing stopping you stealing them isnt the wheel nut, its finding a buyer for that particular stud pattern, off self, rim diameter and width

Then there’s tpms to think about…ugggh.

The socket for my wife’s car had lost half the pegs and a replacement was a crazy £120 and three weeks lead time.

Was that from the dealer or aftermarket?

The key for the nuts on my Cayenne broke and an aftermarket key was around £100 or something.

Rang my local dealer and they told me which key I needed (from their records) and that it would be there in 2 days – £25!

I’ve literally never had anything so cheap from a Porsche dealer!!

Headlights can cost thousands per side now and are often damaged in crashes or a popular upgrade. Easier to store/hide than a set of wheels too.