Hello All
Just bought a new Toyota and need to buy some locking lug nuts. Anyone know if a universal generic one will fit properly and whether or not it will affect wheel balancing?
Big price difference betw OEM/dealer cost and generics. Thanks!
The universal one’s should have an application guide. If not, the only way to be sure is try one on for size. It should fit as well as the original nuts, and not have any slop in it.
You have to be very careful when buying locking lug nuts. You have to get ones that are compatible with your vehicle.
There are several different configurations of lugs nuts - tapered, flat, round - and the diameter and thread pitch of the studs vary as well.
You need to find an application chart for the ones you are considering.
Be careful what you spend your money on when making a purchase like this. Even if you get a cheap, generic set that fits your car, it can become a nightmare if either the lock breaks or the key breaks. I have seen instances when a lock breaks or becomes damaged and the wheel has to be cut off the car to remove the remainder of the lock and perform services (this was on a vehicle with alloy wheels in which the lug nuts fit into a recess in the wheel which was too small to accommodate a fluted socket). For these reasons, I would suggest saving your money and a potential major headache by passing on the locking lug nuts, or if you really do feel you are at risk for wheel theft, buy a high quality set. I haven’t heard of wheel theft in a very long time. Most thieves want something faster and easier to remove that will make them more money than a set of wheels, such as catalytic converters, airbags, and stereos.
If they want your wheels, they will take the entire car and part it out in the privacy of their chop-shop…Save your money…
I’d hate to live in a 'hood where I had to worry about someone heisting the wheels or the car. Personally, I can’t stand locking lug nuts.
For those who may not know, there are some inferior lugs being sold that are downright dangerous. These things are made of solid aluminum (no steel insert) and I heard about them when someone almost lost a wheel at speed when the threads starting ripping off.
Funny story about chop shops. A couple of weeks ago in OK City the PD got a call one night about a car blocking an intersection in south OKC. When they arrived they found an Acura I think it was that was completely gutted including the interior.
The PD arrested 2 suspects within minutes because the shell left a 2 block trail of fluids and scrape marks back to the building where they had gutted it. All of the parts were still inside the building.
That’s another nightmare worth mentioning about cheap aftermarket wheel locks. The only locking lug nuts I ever saw that I liked came on a car that was abandoned at the shop I used to work at. I ended up fixing the car and driving it for a couple years before getting rid of it, but it had a high quality set of irregular spline drive lug nuts on it. They were polished stainless steel and came with a stainless steel thin-walled socket to remove and install them. I left them on the car because I never had worries about the nuts or socket failing, but I hate to think what someone paid for that set of lug nuts.
mark, that’s pretty much what the ones on my Acura are. $50 from the dealership for the whole set and the socket. Cheap insurance against getting my wheels jacked.
Mine were on a Grand Am with a set of 16" Motegi Racing wheels on it. The setup actually looked pretty good. The socket for the lug nuts had a 21mm hex on the end of it.
“The PD arrested 2 suspects within minutes because the shell left a 2 block trail of fluids and scrape marks back to the building where they had gutted it. All of the parts were still inside the building.”
In Minnesota, they follow the footsteps in the snow. I guess these guys never watched western movies as a kid where they would drag brush behind the horse to cover their tracks. Kinda basic.
I have them on my 4runner…and I just bought them at a local parts store. They carry several different kinds. They had to look up my vehicle to sell me the right one.
While I live in a very nice neighborhood…there are times where I don’t VISIT a nice neighborhood - Like Downtown Boston…Or the Boston Airport…
Please explain why you think you need locking lug nuts. They will only keep the honest people from stealing your wheels. The good thieves will just take the whole car.
You’re wasting your money.
If I were at the point where I had to rely on locking lugs to keep my wheels my first step would be to move to a safer area.
Most of the time I leave car keys in the ignition here along with CD collections, checkbooks, debit cards, and in one instance even left a checkbook on the dashboard with over a grand in cash tucked inside and the window down.
In some countries, the punishment for stealing anything, be it a pack of gum or a car, is for the offender’s hand to be cut off. I don’t think that is too extreme a measure to get some honesty around here, but then again, I’m no thief.