# The Key to Locking Lugnuts **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295 "2024-11-15T18:33:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/21 "2024-11-15T23:01:13Z")
[https://www.grainger.com/product/4A497?gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gad\_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgPLTy7jfiQMVo83CBB0LlC9rEAQYASABEgLQ1fD\_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds/](https://www.grainger.com/product/4A497?gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgPLTy7jfiQMVo83CBB0LlC9rEAQYASABEgLQ1fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds/) ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/22 "2024-11-15T23:02:03Z")
Doesn’t work when the nut is inset in the wheel. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/23 "2024-11-15T23:04:38Z")
Do we know that’s the case here? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/24 "2024-11-15T23:05:01Z")
No. But it’s a possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/25 "2024-11-15T23:09:19Z")
I have a nice set of bolt extractors that can remove any lug nut/bolt (including locking types) in seconds when used with an impact wrench. It destroys it in the process, but lugnuts are cheap. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > On my wife’s Honda, one of the first things I did was replace the dumbass locking Lugnuts with regular ones. It is a really dumb idea, Agree 100%. If I want to steal your wheels, and I notice there are locking lugnuts, I simply have to get a hold of the key. And there’s a 95% chance the key is in the car’s glove compartment. (Because if you’re driving and get a flat, you’ll need the key to change the wheel.) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/26 "2024-11-15T23:09:31Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Do we know that’s the case here? Do we know if the locking lugnuts are in the wheel? Where else would they be? If they’re loose, there’s no issue. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/27 "2024-11-15T23:22:23Z")
This is a thing: [![](https://www.speedfactoryracing.net/cdn/shop/products/3f2c3c80e215935b247ac605ac46fd98_1024x1024@2x.jpg?v=1689713721/) ](https://www.speedfactoryracing.net/cdn/shop/products/3f2c3c80e215935b247ac605ac46fd98_1024x1024@2x.jpg?v=1689713721/) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/28 "2024-11-15T23:24:41Z")
I, along with several of my friends, had them back in the day. They all protruded enough for a pipe wrench to bite. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/29 "2024-11-15T23:58:51Z")
I assume there aren’t many lug nuts thieves and that most car tire thieves know how to get locking lug nuts off. Don’t understand what value locking lug nuts are supposed to have. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2024, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/30 "2024-11-16T01:07:48Z")
I assume selling the promise of security. The idea is sales, not actual security. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2024, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/31 "2024-11-16T01:53:52Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > Very good point. I don’t recall the last time I have seen the cliché “car with no wheels sitting on cinder blocks” Depends on where you live. In Los Angeles, never. In Newark, every day. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I got locking lugnuts when I bought my current car, because it has aluminum alloy wheels, which are expensive. And some aftermarket wheels cost _thousands_. Again it depends on the relative presence and brazenness of thieves where you are. I’ve driven cars with stupid-expensive aftermarket or factory wheels for decades. No locks. Never had anyone steal them. Riding the hotel van in NYC along the freeways I saw dead cars on blocks nearly every time. Glad I didn’t live there. > [@N9IWP](#): > > Oh, I didn’t know. If they are something like inverse torx with a hole or other weird shape, the appropriate tool should be findable, Nope. > [@beowulff](#): > > All the locking lugnuts I’ve ever seen have some type of semi-random pattern, requiring a specific key to mate with them. This. Brand X locking lug nuts have hundreds of distinct patterns. If I buy a set and you buy a set of the same make & model of locking nut it’s close to certain that your key-tool won’t fit my lug nuts and vice versa. Think like front door locks at the big box store: the number of combos is far short of infinite, but the odds that you and your immediate neighbor have the same one are quite small. And of course each brand of locking nuts has their own universe of shapes. So a Brand X key will fit maybe 0.1% or 0.01% of other brand X nuts in the wild, but exactly 0.0% of Brand Y, Z or Q nuts. And 0.0 % of Brand Y, Z or Q keys will fit your Brand X nuts. > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > If I want to steal your wheels, and I notice there are locking lugnuts, I simply have to get a hold of the key. And there’s a 95% chance the key is in the car’s glove compartment. (Because if you’re driving and get a flat, you’ll need the key to change the wheel.) This. Just bust a window, open the glove box, grab the lug nut key, _then_ steal the wheels. Had you had no locking nuts, you would not now need to replace your window in addition to your wheels. > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I, along with several of my friends, had them back in the day. They all protruded enough for a pipe wrench to bite. Those look like ordinary (albeit deep and prettily anodized) hex nuts. No need to use a pipe wrench on them; an ordinary hex wrench / socket will do. All the locking nuts I’ve seen, both decades ago and now, look more like this: > **[Amazon.com: Esplus Wheel Lug Nuts M12x1.5 with 1 Socket Key, Black Closed End...](https://www.amazon.com/M12x1-5-Socket-Closed-Locking-Compatible/dp/B0D5V4769H)** > > Buy Esplus Wheel Lug Nuts M12x1.5 with 1 Socket Key, Black Closed End Locking Lug Nuts 4 pcs Compatible with Accord/CRV/Cruze/Civic/Escape/Focus: Lug Nuts - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases There’s nothing to get an e.g pipe wrench on, and the squiggly pattern of the key vs. lock is individual to that set, or at least one of a thousand similar but different-enough squiggles. Good luck removing those except by welding a socket to the shaft of the lock nut & the impact-wrenching that off. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/32 "2024-11-16T02:01:38Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Just bust a window, open the glove box, grab the lug nut key, _then_ steal the wheels. Had you had no locking nuts, you would not now need to replace your window in addition to your wheels. Right. But a pro-thief won’t even bother with a key or lug wrench. (It will take 10 to 20 seconds to get the key; that’s precious time. And cars have different size lug nuts.) They’ll just use a [cordless impact wrench](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9T821KC/) and [lug nut remover](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08697WPSW/?th=1). (Both of which I own, BTW. 🙂 ) Can zip off any lug bolt in no time flat. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2024, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/33 "2024-11-16T02:05:45Z")
Now that’s a cool tool. What will they think of next? It’s more or less the inverse of a screw extractor or stud puller. I could see trying to design a locking nut that’s resistant to that shape, but whether tht’d be good enough is an open question. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2024, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/34 "2024-11-16T02:22:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s more or less the inverse of a screw extractor or stud puller. Yep. I do a lot of work on cars, and bolt/screw extractors have been a godsend. There are a couple different types: ones that [grab onto the outside of the bolt](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KN9YVWA/), and ones that [grip into the inside of the bolt](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077RTHLBB/). For the latter, you need to drill a hole in the center of the bolt before using the tool. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/35 "2024-11-16T02:30:57Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I do a lot of work on cars, and bolt/screw extractors have been a godsend. Been many years for me, but back in the day … yeah, godsend. On a 10 year old car you could count on one fastener being 80% of the time spent on any given job. The only question before you started the job was which one it was going to be. … Unless you had the right extractor and it was a fastener you could afford (practically, not dollar-wise) to destroy. Then it succumbed quickly to your onslaught. Git er done! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2024, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/36 "2024-11-16T02:31:56Z")
If you have a 1/2" impact set then you already have a key. find one that is slightly smaller than the locking nut and pound it on with a 5 lb sledge hammer. It has to be a close fit. then remove it with a. 1/2" impact driver. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2024, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/37 "2024-11-16T02:39:45Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > pound it on with a 5 lb sledge hammer Not really necessary to pound on them beforehand. They have a tapered thread. As the extractor spins CCW, it digs more and more into the bolt. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2024, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/38 "2024-11-16T03:08:39Z")
I was talking about a standard 1/2" impact set. That’s how I took a locking lugnut off in the 70’s. The set you cited is nice to have but if someone already has an impact set then they can use that. But in the name of buying more tools I like the set you suggested. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2024, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/39 "2024-11-16T03:30:00Z")
Yea, I remember that technique back in the day. 🙂 For theives, of course, everything is about speed, speed, speed. They don’t want to carry a variety of sockets, nor do they want to look for the key. One or two bolt extractors will cover 99% of lug bolts. Sure, it’ll destroy the appearance of each bolt. But they don’t care about, nor want, the bolts. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2024, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295/40 "2024-11-16T03:45:10Z")
The key to the [Lansing Lugnuts](https://www.milb.com/lansing) is hit 'em where they ain’t! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-key-to-locking-lugnuts/1010295.md?page=3)