What’s keeping you from using wheel locks?

[PaintPro21]

Wouldn't you be able to stick an allen key in the end of the stud and turn it out? Or double nut the studs out? I suppose that would be a major hassle and would serve the purpose of slowing them down though... :devil:

Not possible. The allen used to install hex head studs is 5mm it would bend/break/strip long before the stud would break loose. Studs are installed with red thread locker which requires between 150-350 lb-in to reach breakaway torque.

[AbsorbantNut]

Wouldn't you be able to stick an allen key in the end of the stud and turn it out? Or double nut the studs out? I suppose that would be a major hassle and would serve the purpose of slowing them down though... :devil:

Other cars.....like a 2002...have press in studs, which have to be installed from the other side of the hub, so you can't remove them from the front face of the hub like e30 ones. I think that you're right though, trying to remove the studs would take a lot of time and probably be a deterrence lol

[DER E30]

I'd like to buy a wheel lock that can be used on a stud. So a locking nut.

Wouldn't you be able to stick an allen key in the end of the stud and turn it out? Or double nut the studs out? I suppose that would be a major hassle and would serve the purpose of slowing them down though... :devil:

[AbsorbantNut]

I'd like to buy a wheel lock that can be used on a stud. So a locking nut.

[TimKninja]

Believe it or not the OEM BMW ones are actually a goodish design.They have an outer ring that rotates so you cant simply hammer a socket over them. My coworker Just recently picked up an X5M with OEM BMW wheel locks and they were on the car so tight it broke the Key(s) and we ended up having to weld a socket to the keys to get them off.

I dont buy overpriced wheel flashy wheels,so i never feel like I need wheel locks. And 95% of thieves will know how to remove the wheel locks. Plus they only seem to go missing off of Newer Cars around here.

I work on cars for a living. So I hate wheel locks.

[PaintPro21]

Then only if it did not compromise cosmetics and was very unlikely to fail.

Anyone else have feedback regarding the changes wheel locks need before you'd consider them? The idea is to create a lock worth running.

We've already established that many members don't consider their wheels worth enough to warrant locks.

[DER E30]

Twice now ive seen the horror of a tire shop idiots using impact guns on lock nuts and shattering them followed by hours of hammering, air chiseling etc trying to get them off.

And this is why I bring my wheels separately from the car, and tq my own lugs...

[DrJosh]

Are we assuming that current wheel locks on the market have an easy to defeat key design where basic tools or an assortment of keys would defeat the lock very quickly?

What if that wasn't the case? Hammering a socket on wouldn't work, drilling wouldn't work, a reverse thread extractor socket wouldn't work.

What if the lock actually functioned? (for sake of discussion)

Then only if it did not compromise cosmetics and was very unlikely to fail.

[mr2peak]

For $30 each I can get GPS trackers that will tell me where to send the cops, and let me know when they have moved. If they find it, I'll still know where they dismounted the tire. Might be a shop with cameras, or more likely their house.

[Red_liner740]

Twice now ive seen the horror of a tire shop idiots using impact guns on lock nuts and shattering them followed by hours of hammering, air chiseling etc trying to get them off. In our area noone steals wheel and tires. Id rather risk it then having to go through the trouble when one fails.

[dsphil]

I don't use wheel locks because if they want my wheels, at least they don't steal the whole car. If they want to steal the car, there is a chance that they may leave my bottlecaps behind if I don't have wheel locks.

[PaintPro21]

Are we assuming that current wheel locks on the market have an easy to defeat key design where basic tools or an assortment of keys would defeat the lock very quickly?

What if that wasn't the case? Hammering a socket on wouldn't work, drilling wouldn't work, a reverse thread extractor socket wouldn't work.

What if the lock actually functioned? (for sake of discussion)

[AndrewBird]

^^^What he said.

People who steal wheels are likely to have a wide assortment of "keys" for wheel locks, so other than having a hubcap that locks over the bolts/studs, there really isn't anything that is going to stop someone.

[nando]

Nobody is going to steal my wheels. Wheel locks are an annoyance - i don't live in compton.

Also, the bullet nosed studs i use don't help.

[gazellebeigem3]

It sounds like poverty wheels are the best deterrent. Beyond that, insurance?