●Stories
●Firehose
●All
●Popular
●Polls
●Software
●Thought Leadership
Submit
●
Login
●or
●
Sign up
●Topics:
●Devices
●Build
●Entertainment
●Technology
●Open Source
●Science
●YRO
●Follow us:
●RSS
●Facebook
●LinkedIn
●Twitter
●
Youtube
●
Mastodon
●Bluesky
Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter
Forgot your password?
Close
wnewsdaystalestupid
sightfulinterestingmaybe
cflamebaittrollredundantoverrated
vefunnyunderrated
podupeerror
×
176600841
journal
Journal
by
RockDoctor
March 03, 2025 @12:06PM
I know this is not a particularly "car"-ish site, but since I'm here regularly and have Karma to burn, I thought I'd ask :
Does anyone have personal experience of having a set of alloy wheels stolen, but not the car?
The context : a few months ago I spent a frustrating weekend struggling to get the "locking" wheel bolts off my car, to do maintenance on ... well, that doesn't matter. But I needed the wheels off. And I just could not get the damned "locking" wheel bolts off the rear wheels. Usual suspects of penetrating oil, WD40, long extension bar on my wrench, and eventually trying a (manual) impact wrench. Since the car was booked in for it's MOT, time constraints meant I had to pay the garage to do the job for me, and I asked them to not re-fit any of the "locking" bolts.
These parts cost order of £50~£100 a set and are advertised to "prevent your expensive alloy wheels from being stolen."
But, has anyone here ever had their wheels stolen, without the whole car being stolen at the same time? I haven't ever heard of such a case, but I'm not a very ... what's the word - "petrolhead"? So maybe I've just never noticed.
On the other hand, they're a twice-yearly pain in the butt when I change from winter wheels and tyres to summer wheels and tyres, and vice versa.
So, a poll : have you had wheels stolen through not using these (answer "1"), or know of multiple people who've had them stolen (answer "2", "3", however many the poll goes to.
Since I can get a set of alloy wheels as a set for about 3 to 4 times the price of the "locking" bolts themselves, I'm really dubious about their actual utility.
I get that it'll make the car marginally less attractive to someone stealing it to break for parts. But I really doubt that's significant, since a garage with power tools and gorilla-size staff to wield them could get the things off with a "screw-off" external thread cutter (what I assume the garage used). I baulked at throwing another £50 of "good" money on a one-job tool after the bad money spent on the locking nuts.
Now, how to configure this as a poll (since I can't find the button for an "Ask Slashdot" entry.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
Load All Comments
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
/Sea
Score:
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
More
Login
Forgot your password?
Close
Close
Log In/Create an Account
●
All
●
Insightful
●
Informative
●
Interesting
●
Funny
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
bysinij ( 911942 ) writes:
Locking nuts will not stop determined thieves, as there are sockets that can remove them. It will, however, will stop you from changing tire on the side of the road if you can't find the socket.
byRockDoctor ( 15477 ) writes:
I was pretty sure about the waste of money aspect.
Ikeep the special nut in the boot, with the spare wheel, after slathering it in brilliant orange fluorescent paint. My wife still refuses (active choice, not passive disinterest) to learn how to change a tyre. But in the past she has lost such a "key", so I knew they could be removed without one.
When trying to get the damned things off, I considered such a tool (about £50), but with the impending deadline of the MOT, I chose to leave it to th
bycouchslug ( 175151 ) writes:
The nuts are justly infamous maintenance obstacles.
Even an idiot thief would know how to remove them with the variety of tools sold for that purpose, while they just add time to tire replacement if the vehicle has no removal socket. If the driver lacks their custom socket on the road they either need to call a wrecker or bum a ride to an auto parts store which may or may not have a suitable nut remover.
If the vehicle has expensive wheels the other parts will also be in demand so disabling stock or aftermark
byRockDoctor ( 15477 ) writes:
The nuts are justly infamous maintenance obstacles.
Yeah, I'd pretty much got to that point myself. Just wondering if they'd got any real justification.
while they just add time to tire replacement if the vehicle has no removal socket.
I guess that's in the "rental" market. I can't imagine someone being so fucking stupid as to not keep special "key nut" with the vehicle where those particular key-bolts are fitted. Even my wife (did I mention upthread that she refuses to learn how to change a wheel, despite enj
There may be more comments in this discussion. Without JavaScript enabled, you might want to turn on Classic Discussion System in your preferences instead.
Slashdot Top Deals
Slashdot
●
●
ofloaded
●
Submit Story
If A = B and B = C, then A = C, except where void or prohibited by law.
-- Roy Santoro
●FAQ
●Story Archive
●Hall of Fame
●Advertising
●Terms
●Privacy Statement
●About
●Feedback
●Mobile View
●Blog
Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
Copyright © 2026 Slashdot Media. All Rights Reserved.
×
Close
Working...
Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
Copyright © 2026 Slashdot Media. All Rights Reserved.
×
Close
Working...