Ask an automobile mechanic.

Interesting subjects bouncing around. How about this one - Wheel locks?

Do they work? Are they worth it?

Vehicle in question is a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek that will sped time in DC, but has off-street, private parking garage space.
 
fwiw i take wheel locks off any of my cars that come with them. Factory wheels, while expensive new do not tend to be hard to find cheap aftermarket. Also shops have a habit of stripping the locks out (at least the factory style with the round nut with keyed face) bc they are in too much of a damn hurry to key it on properly.

also note that a lug nut extractor kits are relatively cheap and can defeat these locks in short order.
 
one piece crank said:
Interesting subjects bouncing around. How about this one - Wheel locks?

Do they work? Are they worth it?

Vehicle in question is a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek that will sped time in DC, but has off-street, private parking garage space.
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Nope, at best they slow down wheel theft by .005 of a second.

They do work great at pissing off your mechanic when the wheels have to be removed, and you have no idea where the key is. Or "it's at home in my garage"
 
Dingo said:
Nope, at best they slow down wheel theft by .005 of a second.

They do work great at pissing off your mechanic when the wheels have to be removed, and you have no idea where the key is. Or "it's at home in my garage"
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when I was towing this would piss me off. Either keep it in the glove box or with your spare tire. More often then not I had to break out the cheap extractor kit I got at pep boys.
 
one piece crank said:
Interesting subjects bouncing around. How about this one - Wheel locks?

Do they work? Are they worth it?

Vehicle in question is a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek that will sped time in DC, but has off-street, private parking garage space.
Click to expand...
Yes and no. An easy off or hammering on a socket will get the majority of them off. It's all to slow down theft, but if somebody wants your wheels, they will find a way and may destroy the locks, the wheels, and the car in the process.

mtn said:
Wheel locks are a waste of time and money. And IDC what anyone says, those things are not meant to be torqued down to 80-100ft lbs.
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The wheel lock really doesn't have to be if the other 4 lugs are torqued properly. That being said, I never had an issue torqueing locks by hand. I hate seeing guys at shitty shops zap down wheels holding the gun on blast for 10 seconds. That's not 80-100lbs. That's like 300...
 
Magic said:
The wheel lock really doesn't have to be if the other 4 lugs are torqued properly. That being said, I never had an issue torqueing locks by hand. I hate seeing guys at shitty shops zap down wheels holding the gun on blast for 10 seconds. That's not 80-100lbs. That's like 300-1300...
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FTFY

yea and good luck getting those off 6 months later when you get a flat on the side of the road.

This is why i have started removing and re-torquing all lug nuts by hand whenever a shop puts the wheels on any of our cars (especially my wifes, since shes likely to struggle with em even at proper torque, no need to make it harder)
 
shrpshtr325 said:
FTFY

yea and good luck getting those off 6 months later when you get a flat on the side of the road.

This is why i have started removing and re-torquing all lug nuts by hand whenever a shop puts the wheels on any of our cars (especially my wifes, since shes likely to struggle with em even at proper torque, no need to make it harder)
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This is also why nobody works on my cars. I drive my wheels over to get tires and then put the wheels on myself. Anyone have a home tire machine and balancer I can use?:)
 
Magic said:
This is also why nobody works on my cars. I drive my wheels over to get tires and then put the wheels on myself. Anyone have a home tire machine and balancer I can use?:)
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ha i work on my own cars as well, with the exception of tires, not worth the cost/time for a mounting balancing setup, just take em in. but the tire places are the worst at overtightening lug nuts. I do bring my nice wheels in for tires instead of driving in on them, but then they also need a thin wall socket so. . .
 
Strugglebus said:
when I was towing this would piss me off. Either keep it in the glove box or with your spare tire. More often then not I had to break out the cheap extractor kit I got at pep boys.
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We usually have 30 cars roll through the shop everyday, most all have a rotation done. Not one customer knows where the key is. Then we have to rifle through the glove box, console(s) trunk that ARE all filled with shit. Then they call the hubby and he has it in the garage. So much time is wasted everyday it's ridiculous. And then they complain about why we took so long.
 
Magic said:
I hate seeing guys at shitty shops zap down wheels holding the gun on blast for 10 seconds. That's not 80-100lbs. That's like 300...
Click to expand...
This.
I went to do my snow/summer tire changeover and the shop that had mounted my snows did this and may have used loctite as well.
Could not get them to budge even going ape on them.
(Ask @extremedave - i can apply force)
Glad I found this out in my driveway and not on the side of the road.

Took it to a different shop for the changeover, luckily no studs snapped during the process.
 
jmanic said:
This.
I went to do my snow/summer tire changeover and the shop that had mounted my snows did this and may have used loctite as well.
Could not get them to budge even going ape on them.
(Ask @extremedave - i can apply force)
Glad I found this out in my driveway and not on the side of the road.

Took it to a different shop for the changeover, luckily no studs snapped during the process.
Click to expand...


this is exactly why i bought the big impact gun from HF (1300ft-lbs breakaway torque) im getting those f-kers off, broken or not
 
jmanic said:
This.
I went to do my snow/summer tire changeover and the shop that had mounted my snows did this and may have used loctite as well.
Could not get them to budge even going ape on them.
(Ask @extremedave - i can apply force)
Glad I found this out in my driveway and not on the side of the road.

Took it to a different shop for the changeover, luckily no studs snapped during the process.
Click to expand...
And the average Honda is supposed to be around 80ft-lbs. For @jmanic, that's barely enough for toothbrushin'.
 
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