Where to keep Locking wheel nuts

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 12:47
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - Canon Fodder

Hello all - perhaps a silly question but should I keep the locking wheel nut key thingy in the car or not?

There is also a peice of paper with a code that is obviously meant to be keep out of the car but with the key thing itself is seems a choice between;

- in the car (theives can break into the car and then nick the wheels)

- not in the car (RAC man can't change the tyre if I get a flat)

What do others do?

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 12:57
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - unthrottled

The only practical place is in the car-like you say you don't want to be in the position of not being able to change a wheel. There must be loads of cubby holes where you could stash the key.

Remember you don't need to make a car theft resistant (impossible); you simply need to make the theft more hassle than it's worth. Parking next to a more desirable car is a good move! :)

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 13:05
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - RT

Mine's in the car but not on view - if they break into the car I doubt it would be the wheels they're after - either the whole car or some valuable piece of luggage, not that I have any of that. In any case, valuable and/or attractive wheels aren't kept that secure by the locking wheel nuts anyway !

The locking wheel key also needs to be present for servicing.

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 13:23
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - Canon Fodder

Thanks - that's what I was tending towards. Glove box it is but perhaps disguised in an old tin of boiled sweets or something...

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 13:29
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - bathtub tom

The problem with hiding it in the car is remembering where you hid the damn thing. There's also the chance of it being thrown away during a clear out.

I've got mine taped in the wheel brace.

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 13:29
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - elekie&a/c doctor

Most of my customers keep the locking wheel nut key in the cutlery draw in the kitchen!You can never find it in the car.!!

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 13:39
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - unthrottled

On my last car, I used to use the airfilter housing as a cubby hole. You won't forget that-and while the bonnet is open-there's no excuse not to check your fluid levels.

Annoyingly, the current car has has an a jubilee clip and screws scuring the top of the housing, rather than a simple wing nut, making this cubby hole impractical.

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 13:56
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - Avant

A lot of cars, like mine, have a place for it in the place that holds the jack and wheelbrace - in my case, a polystyrene cut-out that lives 'inside' the spare wheel.

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 14:19
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - julie page

With the spare wheel!!!

Mine would not unlock when I got aq flat.

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 15:29
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - Mike H

I used to keep mine in the boot, tucked in the polystyrene wedge that came with the car to hold a screwdriver, blades etc.

I say "used to", because in the last week I have had no end of hassle because I managed to lose it :-( I forgot to take it off the stud when I had finished working on the car a couple of weeks ago. It flew off along the road somewhere, don't even know where or when. And couldn't have happened at a worst time - needed to get the winter tyres on, and local MOT due, and the front (summer) tyres turned out to be just below the legal imit.

The garage were unable to remove the locking studs, their drill wouldn't touch them. The studs were McGard type, with a spinning outer section meaning it was impossible to hammer on a removal tool. By the biggest stroke of furtune I have had for a long time, I went to a tyre fitting outlet that the garage had recommended, and they just happened to have a discarded locking wheel nut key of the right type and right pattern, so all's well (I did ask whether one of the mechs had found it alongside the road). You might not be so lucky! I now have ordinary bolts all round.....

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 22:11
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - madf

I keep mine in a small plastic box above the spare wheel.. So I cannot forget it.

Wrapped up in a clear plastic bag and sealed with an elastic band so it will not get wet.

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Sun 28 Oct 2012 01:02
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - unthrottled

Wrapped up in a clear plastic bag and sealed with an elastic band so it will not get wet.

Or, alternatively, you seal the moisture in so it will not get dry. Done that before!

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Sat 27 Oct 2012 23:33
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - Smileyman

In the boot in the dedicated holder (next to wheel brace etc). I know it's there as I had a puncture a few weeks ago and needed to use it so to put the spare on the car.

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Sun 28 Oct 2012 10:52
Where to keep Locking wheel nuts - Bobbin Threadbare

I always put the locking wheel nut in its little plastic bag, in the 'bin' next to the fag lighter. Can't see it, never forget where it is.

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