My oldest son lives in Philly and some time ago someone tried to shall we way borrow the wheels off of his civic. The car came with locking lug nuts so he was lucky. My younger son recently bought a dodge ram and it came with locking lug nuts. So I was thinking with the price of tires and wheels these days it may be a good idea to get a set of after market ones for my explorer. Not sure where to start. Is one brand better then another or are there different styles which may be better then another. Thanks in advance for any help.
Lug nut lock's
- Thread starter kwijibo
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I personally like spline drive style. I believe the brand has gorilla in its Name. They hold up better than the OE style that have the delicate pattern on the end of the lug like the ones dealers sell
Either way if the "borrowers" have there ducks In order, matco sells a master kit of keys for OE applications and if after marker locking lugs are used you only need to buy a set of lugs to get the key
They even make special tapered sockets that you pound on and they remove the locking lug
There isn't much you can do to prevent good theaves from taking your rims, but if you get locks at least the crack heads will move on from your car. If you replace all the lugs it makes it very time consuming if they don't have the tools
I wish I could get an application specific set of 5 sided nuts. I'd have them big enough to fit i n the lug wells that the tool would need to be thin wall. That would be the best solution is think, as you would not be able to pound on a chrome socket because they would not fit, and they look innocent.
Either way if the "borrowers" have there ducks In order, matco sells a master kit of keys for OE applications and if after marker locking lugs are used you only need to buy a set of lugs to get the key
They even make special tapered sockets that you pound on and they remove the locking lug
There isn't much you can do to prevent good theaves from taking your rims, but if you get locks at least the crack heads will move on from your car. If you replace all the lugs it makes it very time consuming if they don't have the tools
I wish I could get an application specific set of 5 sided nuts. I'd have them big enough to fit i n the lug wells that the tool would need to be thin wall. That would be the best solution is think, as you would not be able to pound on a chrome socket because they would not fit, and they look innocent.
I prefer McGard for a brand.
I bought a truck once with locking lugs and no "key" for them. I contacted a local tire place that assured me he could remove them. The tech merely hammered an impact socket over the round outside of the lug and zipped them off quickly. So easy they didn't even charge me for their labor.
I bought a truck once with locking lugs and no "key" for them. I contacted a local tire place that assured me he could remove them. The tech merely hammered an impact socket over the round outside of the lug and zipped them off quickly. So easy they didn't even charge me for their labor.
McGard is heavily into new car dealers (or vise versa) as the dealers don't want tires disappearing off the lot at 3 am any more than you do. For better and for worse, this means there'll be methods "out there" to remove them. Do not assume the price a dealer charges on a new car invoice is anywhere close to their wholesale reality, either.
Noone says you can't have more than one style... heck, you've got five lugs...
Noone says you can't have more than one style... heck, you've got five lugs...
Thanks for the feed back. I'll take a look at the Gorilla and McGard brand. I stopped at an Auto Zone and they carry Dorman brand and the diameter looked huge wasn't sure if they would fit. Hoping to find something at a local parts store instead of the internet.
I would think that those two brands you mentioned do a lot of OE supply. I don't know what the market is like in your neck of the woods for such a product, but up here, one is well served to go online. Alternatively, the dealer is often a good choice; at least they'll have the right ones.
See:
http://revlimiter.net/blog/2012/05/locking-lug-nut-review/
A bit Miata-specific (mostly concerns about the weight, which matters in a Miata ... my OEM wheels, lug nuts, valve stem & tire weigh 33 lbs) but easy to ignore those points if you drive, say, a pickup where the tire alone is over 50 lbs.
http://revlimiter.net/blog/2012/05/locking-lug-nut-review/
A bit Miata-specific (mostly concerns about the weight, which matters in a Miata ... my OEM wheels, lug nuts, valve stem & tire weigh 33 lbs) but easy to ignore those points if you drive, say, a pickup where the tire alone is over 50 lbs.
I've got Gorilla lugs on my truck, they give you a decal with the key code on it in case it is lost. If you don't have the right code your kinda hosed if you lose the key.
I've stop at a couple of auto parts and tire places to see what they have. The sales reps at Auto zone and car quest said if you loose the key there's no way to get a replacement key. If that's true, there's no way I would get one there. I stopped at a Discount tire location to see what they had. They carry the spline style but the key for the set you buy from them also fits all the other sets they sell. But if you loose your key after buying from them you can just stop in an buy a replacement because all the keys are the same. So after checking the local shops I will probably buy a set off the internet.
With the Gorilla or McGard, if you can demonstrate you bought them legally (i.e. there's a registration card in the package), you'll have no problems getting replacement keys or lugs from them. It's a bit of a nuisance, I suppose, but at least you're not stuck.
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