Are they now more trouble than they are worth?
Time was only the top models in a range had alloys and they were (and are) expensive to replace. So the locking wheel nut was invented.
They are almost universal now, as are alloy wheels.
And herein lies what I see as the issue.
1) It’s pretty hard even to find a car for sale new that doesn’t have alloys. Is there still a thriving market for knocked-off ones?
2) Every scrote in the country knows how simple it is to overcome locking wheel nuts
3) They are a right pain in the posterior every time you take a car in for new tyres or suffer a puncture
I am seriously considering ditching the keyed nuts on our two ‘posh’ cars (The Ute actually has steels and no locking nuts)
Somebody will doubtless pop-up and say “It will invalidate your insurance”. If that’s a fact then I’ll be interested to learn it, but I’d rather have experience than anecdotal evidence of this.
What do you think?
Moggy
By: Lincoln 7 - 23rd April 2014 at 10:18
Moggy. Over the last month, my wife has had two punctures in her tyres, with nails in the sidewall, (Stifles huge laugh at this) it cost her £97.00 per new tyre, yes, they are expensive to replace, as it would appear to be the policy with BMW that a replacement must match the others on the car.
Jim
By: Moggy C - 23rd April 2014 at 10:08
Very much BMW. I think they were a bit phased with Audi’s Vorsprung durch Technik campaign and needed to fight back with visible technology. The ‘Helicopter View’ which has now filtered down to everyday Nissan and Toyota was a terrific advance, I loved that
I have never actually bothered to check, but I think all the BMs I drove when working on 5, 6 & 7 were probably on runflats. It’s all the same to me as I give them back at the end of the gig and can’t compare them with the same model on conventional tyres. But it was always nice to hand back the keys to whichever BM and climb back into my own car – that’s when the grin came back.
I can’t recall the last time I had a puncture. Must be twenty or thirty years back I’d guess (Though I did demolish a 9-spoke alloy on a pothole which led to catastrophic deflation – something runflats wouldn’t help with)
Moggy
By: Creaking Door - 23rd April 2014 at 10:00
I didn’t even know ‘run-flat’ tyres were in such common use…..must be a BMW thing!
By: Derekf - 23rd April 2014 at 09:48
I’ve had alloys for years now and always with locking nuts. For the number of times I’ve had to change wheels, it isn’t too much of a hassle.
My experience with run-flats is that thay are a great benefit when you actually have a puncture. When you get a low tyre pressure warning on the M56 at peak time or driving in a busy town, not having to stop and tackle a wheel change at the side of the road is a major plus. The down sides are that they can’t be repaired often and are expensive to replace. I can’t comment on the ride as I never had a 5-series without run-flats. Of course , the other big advantge is the a huge increase in boot space.
By: Lincoln 7 - 23rd April 2014 at 09:46
Surely that’s not true any more Linc? I’m not a car thief and I could get a ‘keyed’ wheel nut off (If I didn’t care about using it again) as quickly as any of the other three or four.
How do you find the ride with the run-flats? When I was doing the BMW training days for dealers, most of the staff seemed to think they’d try and avoid them if possible. This was on 5, 6 & 7 Series, it might be different on the smaller models.
Moggy
Moggs. My car has a “Sports” button, when pressed, it firms up the suspension, and you also get better throttle response.which makes the ride firmer, I also seem to get far better road holding, when going for a “Thrash”.I prefer them over the ordinary road tyres I have had on other cars. One benefit is that should one get a puncture, you can run the car at about 50 mph for 50 miles, which is very handy should you be on a Motorway, and have to pull over onto the hard shoulder to change the tyre, and possibly get rear ended.It also has a can of sealant and a compressor in the boot, and a ciggy lighter hole, where you plug the compressor into, at least you can get to a Layby and charge the car tyre with the sealent, and then put air into the tyre via the compressor.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: Creaking Door - 23rd April 2014 at 09:12
I ditched my locking wheel-bolts about six years ago; at the same time I started using snow-chains on the car.
I live in a relatively low-crime area but I park my car all over the place (even Liverpool) and nobody has nicked my wheels yet.
My car, an Audi, just has steel wheel-bolts and it is fairly obvious that the locking wheel-bolts are not fitted. I cannot remember if it ever had those little plastic covers over the bolts but I’d have binned them immediately anyway; it is dangerous enough having to change a wheel at the roadside without pissing about with extra trim!
I once, foolishly, costed some new alloy rims for my snow-tyres; they were about £360 each so I didn’t buy them!
By: Moggy C - 23rd April 2014 at 08:59
Surely that’s not true any more Linc? I’m not a car thief and I could get a ‘keyed’ wheel nut off (If I didn’t care about using it again) as quickly as any of the other three or four.
How do you find the ride with the run-flats? When I was doing the BMW training days for dealers, most of the staff seemed to think they’d try and avoid them if possible. This was on 5, 6 & 7 Series, it might be different on the smaller models.
Moggy
By: Lincoln 7 - 23rd April 2014 at 08:53
My tyres Moggs are “Run flats” when punctured, I can go at 50 mph for about 50 miles, however, mine has locking wheel nuts, and I keep the “Master unlocking nut” in with the jack iin the boot, TBH I would keep them on the car if possible, It;s mainly opportunist car thieves that nick the car, wheels take time to get at and steal, and time, is the biggest enemy of any thief. Keep them on.
Jim.
L .7
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April 23, 2014 at 7:44 am