Are the lugnut locks really worth it?

[ScotM]

I only have them on my spare tire.

I put a bolt lock on the spare. More things to annoy thieving ba$tard$

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[jaymz]

Not worth it in my opinion. More often than not it’s far more inconvenient for the owner than it is for the thief.

I've got a set of Gorilla lug nut locks on all four plus the spare. I'm sure a "professional" wheel stealer would have the tool to defeat them. But they should slow down the opportunistic meth head punk from stealing them.

I've got a 23 with the XR package. These rums and tires ain't cheap. I figure the price I paid for the locking lug nuts are a cheap insurance policy. Makes me feel better anyways.

A professional will steal your Jeep. The meth heads are the ones that’ll steal your wheels.

I got the black Gorilla locking lug nuts because, to me, chrome lug nuts look strange on the XR wheels. And maybe a thief will steal the wheels off the other Jeeps in the neighborhood rather than messing with 23 splined lug nuts.

There’s only about a half dozen different splined socket sizes for lug nuts. If thieves are looking for Jeep wheels, they’ll have the right splined socket, and it’s a 99% chance it’ll be a 6 spline nut, maybe 7

 

[Terrymo]

Not worth it in my opinion. More often than not it’s far more inconvenient for the owner than it is for the thief.


A professional will steal your Jeep. The meth heads are the ones that’ll steal your wheels.



There’s only about a half dozen different splined socket sizes for lug nuts. If thieves are looking for Jeep wheels, they’ll have the right splined socket, and it’s a 99% chance it’ll be a 6 spline nut, maybe 7

I’m not under the illusion that I’ll stop a determined and prepared thief, just the lazy ones

 

[jadmt]

If some one steals my jeep I have insurance for that...if someone steals my $700+ spare my deductible is $500 so the cheap locking spare lugs are worth it in my world. I am the only one who rotates my tires so never have lost or misplaced the socket as it rides in my jeep. I actually have two, one at home and one in the center console..

 

[Terrymo]

If some one steals my jeep I have insurance for that...if someone steals my $700+ spare my deductible is $500 so the cheap locking spare lugs are worth it in my world. I am the only one who rotates my tires so never have lost or misplaced the socket as it rides in my jeep. I actually have two, one at home and one in the center console..

Same for me on tire rotations and most maintenance. Plus I have 3 splined keys. One in the small tool box in my Jeep, and two clearly marked in the tool chest at home. I just rotated my tires yesterday morning and although the splined key slows you down slightly, I’m not on a nascar pit crew.

 

[Bandit59]

Does anyone really steal Stock Rubicon rims? I guess the 35s are worth about 1500 or so?

If you live in an area that is bad maybe. But I would say no. Those tires and wheels are big and heavy. They may take the whole Jeep first

 

[TrailScooter]

Anything I can do to slow down or annoy a thief makes me happy

Buy a big dog...

 

[ForgottenTaco]

If you live in an area that is bad maybe. But I would say no. Those tires and wheels are big and heavy. They may take the whole Jeep first

All I’m picturing is a bunch of hood rats running down the street with a 5 100lb+ tire/wheel combos

 

[TrailScooter]

All I’m picturing is a bunch of hood rats running down the street with a 5 100lb+ tire/wheel combos

Oh hell, they train for that now....

 

[KHR Racing]

I wonder this same thing - mine came with them. They were obviously added by the dealer as the plastic bag the locks came in was in the back with the removed nuts. I would have never requested this but since they are already there I figure it is really cheap insurance.

But to be honest it has been DECADES since I saw a car anywhere with stolen wheels.

You have not been to the Santa Monica Los Angeles area.

 

[Jeep Wick]

Does anyone really steal Stock Rubicon rims? I guess the 35s are worth about 1500 or so?

The first thing I did to my Jeep was remove those junk Mopar locks. Nobody wants your factory wheels. Look on Marketplace, you can barely give them away.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

It's not meth tweakers, or hood rats stealing wheels and tires, it organized thieves. That's all they do. They especially love the six and eight lug 20" and 22" GM and Ram truck and SUV Wheels. Their bolt patterns allow them to fit many different trucks and SUV over the years. Fords have bolt patterns that limit them to only Fords, so they aren't stolen near as much. (The Harley Davidson ones where though) Rarely do aftermarket wheels get stolen. One guy had a lifted truck with 37s and some high dollar bead locks that got stolen.

Investigations I've done have shown the theives to be highly organized. They scout the nicer areas of town at night. They will drop of one or two guys to remove lug nuts, locking or not, they just get tossed aside. Then later, a truck or van will roll up, two guys with jacks get out and pull the wheels off in less than a minute. They will use a rock, or landscaping brick under the frame to get their jacks out.

We caught one guy who used to go around and steal spare tires out from under trucks. He would get the spare of in seconds, throw it in the back of his POS SUV, then go. He was selling them to the yellow painted Mexican tire shops. That guy was a tweaker. He would roll under, cut the spare tire winch cable, or the end of it with bolt cutters, then slide it out and go. All in about 15 seconds.

I maybe took a report of one Jeep spare being stolen. And it was more than likely by another guy with a Jeep who needed a spare himself.

But, yeah. Professional, or experienced thieves have the special sockets they need to remove wheel locks. The only thing they really do is keep honest guys honest.

The bad guys go shopping in the good parts of town. Because that's where all the good stuff is. Stealing wheels and tires and breaking in to cars at night. Breaking into cars in parking lots and into houses by day. They never stop. Live in a city or county with a Soros funded DA? When those guys get caught stealing, they are out on bond before the paperwork is done.

 

[Heimkehr]

The bad guys go shopping in the good parts of town. Because that's where all the good stuff is. Stealing wheels and tires and breaking in to cars at night.

Yep.

Our nice neighborhood has a Ring doorbell group that shares videos of general interest, as well as weather updates, community garage sale announcements, etc.

The "general interest" content has more or less descended into footage of the underclass from a nearby town casing our driveways, and/or checking door handles, and/or breaking glass. While such episodes are relatively infrequent, they didn't used to occur at all.

Even an objective explanation as to why that is would likely trigger a forced vacation. It doesn't matter, though. Every person reading this post, and this thread, understands precisely what's occurring.

The bad guys are mobile. They come to us. Adjust your defensive posture accordingly.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

Yep.

Our nice neighborhood has a Ring doorbell group that shares videos of general interest, as well as weather updates, community garage sale announcements, etc.

The "general interest" content has more or less descended into footage of the underclass from a nearby town casing our driveways, and/or checking door handles, and/or breaking glass. While such episodes are relatively infrequent, they didn't used to occur at all.

Even an objective explanation as to why that is would likely trigger a forced vacation. It doesn't matter, though. Every person reading this post, and this thread, understands precisely what's occurring.

The bad guys are mobile. They come to us. Adjust your defensive posture accordingly.

It’s shocking how many people leave their pistols and wallets in their cars, then leave their cars unlocked overnight in their driveway. That’s what they are after most. They will take anything else of opportunity though. Radar detectors and GPS mounted on the windshields draw them too.

I caught three guys once, in a nice neighborhood, just before the break of dawn. They had a car full of stolen stuff. And two backpacks worth laying in lawns close by.

It took until noon to sort out all of the stuff they had. Pistols, wallets, pocket knives, sunglasses, tools, flashlights, radar detectors, GPS, tablets, phones, random loose jewelry, etc. One thing in particular was a digital SLR camera with a bunch of photos on it. I was able to determine who the owner was by going through the photos. When I contacted her, she said that the camera was stolen from her house that was broken into and burglarized a few months prior. So, there was another case solved. She was very grateful.

It was kind of funny to see them. POS Mitsubishi Eclipse, in a nice neighborhood, with three guys trying to get a low as possible as I drove up.

Be careful if you catch these guys in the act, they will likely have a gun on them that was stolen earlier from another vehicle.

Down here, close to Mexico, local gangs break into cars primarily for guns, then sell them to Mexican drug cartels. They don’t need to worry about finding a buyer. $50 for pistols, $100 for rifles. Cash. Stolen 3/4 and 1 ton Ford and Ram trucks (primarily for the solid front axles) get $3k delivered to Laredo, or $1500 locally. Cash money paid by the cartels.

 

[Heimkehr]

It’s shocking how many people leave their pistols and wallets in their cars, then leave their cars unlocked overnight in their driveway.

It was kind of funny to see them. POS Mitsubishi Eclipse, in a nice neighborhood, with three guys trying to get a low as possible as I drove up.

Be careful if you catch these guys in the act, they will likely have a gun on them that was stolen earlier from another vehicle.

My father was a no-nonsense Military Policeman in the Army. He made sure that I learned safe gun handling, and the value of profiling, at a young age. I'd have IDd the occupants of the Eclipse in an instant.

And you're of course correct that they know when they're being watched, and especially when they've been figured out.

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