A Wheel Pain In The ...

[jeebowhite]

After my wheel and its nut had to be brute forcibly removed from the stud, and having to pay out for a new "Used" wheel, I am looking at ditching the locking wheel nuts.

1) Do I have to inform the insurance company if I do so?

2) Do I dare do it? has anyone done this before and have there alloys lived to tell the tale?

[Focus is cool]

You know it is a risk , only you can tell how much by where you leave your car etc.

If there is a cover over the wheel nuts who is to know there is no locking wheel nuts?

[artscot79]

You know it is a risk , only you can tell how much by where you leave your car etc.

If there is a cover over the wheel nuts who is to know there is no locking wheel nuts?

theyre a waste of money and space ive had to remove them and its easy using a smaller socket and hammering it over the stud as they arent very tight it loosens it off

[Focus_DSL]

theyre a waste of money and space ive had to remove them and its easy using a smaller socket and hammering it over the stud as they arent very tight it loosens it off

Which is exactly what tealeafs do, which renders them useless AND pointless.

[artscot79]

Which is exactly what tealeafs do, which renders them useless AND pointless.

exactly the point they are too easy to get off

[johnH]

i did this on my old peugeot, as the locking nuts and tool are made of chedder and break in the most stupidest of times (when you need to take them of the most) and have been told it is the same for other manufacturers.

but in my personal opinion the last workshop to take your wheen off is partly to blame as they have used a windy gun to put the nut back on, causing other tightness hence problems.

like i was saying i replaced the locking nuts with normal nuts and suffered from pikey *insert swear word begining with c* taking my alloys....no-one twoks them anymore...almost all new cars have them now so there is no point.

i parked my car in dodgy of places aswell - middlesbrough, redcar, gateshead (felling), darlington, newcastle the list goes on.

so i would say go ahead and change them.

as for the insurance company, i would ring them and inquire about it, but i bet they wouldnt care.

[jeebowhite]

Yeah, I was going to yse that "bang a socket over" idea to remove my nut, but the fools who put it on with a gun meant it was impossible.

For the MKII focus, I am using the standard alloys 16" - picture attached, but what size wheel nut covers would I need?

[jeebowhite]

So the wheel I have is This One (hopefully the picture is visible I cant tell from my PC if the image is removed or not!)

Anyway, thats the wheel I use, but I dont know what sort of size wheel nut covers I would require. Can you advise what size is required? and also, can anyone suggest the pro's and con's of using these covers?

[Focus is cool]

Sounds like you are really concerned about the security of your wheels.

So the best solution for your peace of mind is to use locking wheel nuts and smear grease on ALL the nuts and on the back of the wheel where it touches the hub to ensure easier removal of the wheel and nuts.

[jeebowhite]

I am but at the same time I cant be doing with the stress its causing, I am buying a set of new wheel nuts, and replacing them all - locking wheel nuts are history.

after seeing videos on youtube as to how easy the nuts are removable, I would rather take my chances, and maybe use the covers as a deterrent! the other day a second locking nut has started to sheer, so I had to replace that with a third one! I would rather gamble the chance of buying new wheels and tyres, than have to worry about am I going to be stranded by the motorway for hours on end cos the nut has sheared off!

[Focus is cool]

Glad you made a decision mate.

TBH alloy wheels seem to be commonplace on Foci except the base models.

So the risk is a lot less IMO unless you had a set of OZ........ :D

Mark

[jeebowhite]

Certainly no Oz, just the standards!

Whats the point in creating a security device that is more likely to cause harm than good?!? hmmm...

[jjojjas]

volvo use the same ones, Ask any volvo garage tech, I'll bet he's ground off a knackerd locking wheel nut. Just bin them. I have.

[Daryll]

I've had 2 problems with locking wheel nuts... I had a puncture on my Laguna a few years ago, (typically at night in bad weather!) and I couldn't get the locking wheel nut off with the key... it kept slipping. I eventually called the RAC and even he couldn't do it. He did a temp repair on the tyre to get me home, and I had to get a local garage to get the locking wheel nut off... I told them to replace all of them with the original nuts.

My son had a problem too... he went to get new tyres and found that the car didn't come with the key for the wheel nuts....he'd never need to do anything with the wheels since he bought the car... another trip to the local garage and had them all replaced.

I've just bought a Focus, and replacing the locking wheel nuts will probably be the first thing I do on it...

:-)