Any - security wheel bolt

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Wed 6 Nov 2013 22:08
Any - security wheel bolt - wemyss

Took the wifes Fabia for a couple of new tyres. Have gone to the same man for years and is a two man business who give great service and prices.

When he was putting the wheels back on I noticed that whilst he torqued up four of the bolts to the 89ft lb which is specified for the Fabia he only tightened up the security bolt up fairly tight. I asked him why he did this and he said we never torq up the security one as we know of several cases where they have been damaged and we always play safe.

I never thought to ask if he meant the splined wheel bolt or the tool itself but it did make sense to me thinking of the leverage needed to get up to the specified torque. First time I've heard this but it would be a problem if one did break up the splines in an alloy recessed bolt hole.

wemyss

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Wed 6 Nov 2013 22:46
Any - security wheel bolt - elekie&a/c doctor

Common practice in garages that understand what they are doing.The drive on the locking wheel nut/bolt is very poor compared the rest of the fasteners,so if they are tightened to the same spec,once they get some corrosion on them,they become extremely difficult to remove and run the risk of the locking key riding out and chewing up the mating surface.I always do my locking bolt tight and a bit more,never to the torque of the other bolts.hth

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Wed 6 Nov 2013 22:50
Any - security wheel bolt - bathtub tom

It used to be quite common for thick twit type places to ruin locking wheel nuts by using a windy gun on them.

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Thu 7 Nov 2013 08:40
Any - security wheel bolt - Armitage Shanks {p}

As I only have one key for my security locking nuts I have decided to dispense with them altogether. My garage comments that people don't steal wheels anymore - they go for the whole car!

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Thu 7 Nov 2013 09:31
Any - security wheel bolt - Skezza

Perfectly normal practice. They're often made of weaker material. I have a set of eBay locking wheel nuts (cost me about £6) and they're made of very cheap steel, but they're perfectly fine for the job.

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Thu 7 Nov 2013 16:18
Any - security wheel bolt - martint123

Little brother got rid of all his on a Ka after spending all day trying to get one off - followed by another full day and a hundred miles at tyre fitters, main dealers and "specialists". Ended up with a nut being welded on unfastened.

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