Lug nut locks

[iamunique127]

So that's why I didn't find any results in my search for lug nut locks here- it sounds like the active posters on the forum aren't interested in using them.

Happily, I haven't had any issues with loosing the keys for my security lug nuts over the years so they've been trouble & stress free.

I'll ask my question at ETI. Thanks for the input.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by iamunique127

So that's why I didn't find any results in my search for lug nut locks here- it sounds like the active posters on the forum aren't interested in using them...

I do have them on my truck. I find they are a bit of a pain, because you need to always have the key socket when changing tires or checking torque. The dealer put them on at their own initiative when I bought the truck, otherwise I would not use them. I don't worry too much about my wheels on any of my vehicles or trailers being stolen. If they are taken, I guess I will deal with it then.

[iamunique127]

Originally Posted by ice-breaker

I don't worry too much about my wheels on any of my vehicles or trailers being stolen. If they are taken, I guess I will deal with it then.

Thanks ice-breaker, I'm getting the impression that's the general consensus here. I haven't worried about mine being stolen either, I've had the wheel locks for the last 2.5 decades and I just accepted that they are the way to go.

Originally Posted by ice-breaker

I do have them on my truck. I find they are a bit of a pain, because you need to always have the key socket when changing tires or checking torque.

Admittedly, rotating them yearly myself will be different than my tire shop rotating the tires on my truck. It's been decades since I've had to change a tire and never one with a wheel lock so I can't say from experience whether they will be bad news or not. Maybe if I get ambitious I'll do a test on the truck in the next couple months.

If they turn out to be a PITA I'll just stick with the originals.

[J Mac]

I wonder if a trailer with 4 tires is at a greater risk than a trailer with only 2 tires. With the 4 tire trailer the thief gets 4 matching rims, or a full set. A full set is probably an easier sell, in that they can be used on a car or a double axle trailer. The thief going after a 2 tire trailer has to find another 2 tire trailer to get a matching set or sell to a single axle trailer owner.

[Brian B-P]

I suspect there are enthusiastic users of security nuts here - maybe they just don't have much to add. For different situations from mine, I'm sure they make perfect sense.

Even if no one is currently using them, owners with alloys can still answer the question about which nuts fit, since security and normal nuts fit the same way.

Originally Posted by J Mac

I wonder if a trailer with 4 tires is at a greater risk than a trailer with only 2 tires. With the 4 tire trailer the thief gets 4 matching rims, or a full set. A full set is probably an easier sell, in that they can be used on a car or a double axle trailer.

I get the logic, but I don't see these wheels being sold for use on a car or truck. The 5-on-4.5" bolt pattern is quite common, but non-hubcentric wheels and wheels with zero offset don't fit any car built in a long time, and 15" wheels are now of little interest for trucks (especially in a narrow width with zero offset).

Of course, my reasoning assumes a thief bright enough to research which vehicles the wheels would fit, and neither intelligence nor reason are particularly characteristic of petty criminals.

[J Mac]

You're probably right Brian. As a matter of fact I've not read anywhere of a trailer being stripped of its wheels.

[iamunique127]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Even if no one is currently using them, owners with alloys can still answer the question about which nuts fit, since security and normal nuts fit the same way.

That is certainly still of interest to me but I do intend to ask ETI when I talk to them next.

[Fox hunt]

I was thinking of getting some but only because I was thinking of getting a wheel lock that did not cover the lug nuts so the wheel with the lock on it could not be removed - more to keep the trailer from being stollen.

[iamunique127]

FoxHunt: something like this:



I saw these a couple weeks ago at Princess Auto.