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I've seen sets of spline drive lug nuts that are cheap but can't be undone with a regular lug wrench. They come in sets of 20 so you don't have mixed nuts.

The splines might not seem like real security but neither are the other types, if someone wants your wheels badly enough there are tricks that can defeat wheel locks for about $5/car.

If you have fancy wheels and park where they could get stolen, get some cheaper wheels or think about finding somewhere safer to park.

 

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One thing to think about is that while splined nuts or traditional locks might not deter a pro, they could stop a kid who wants to pimp his ride and they will both do that about equally.

As far as finding a better place to park, if you live in a place where your rims are likely to be stolen by a pro, you probably spent too much on rims and not enough on your housing...

 

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I'm glad to be a public service.

 

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I just placed an order on Amazon for a set of 20 Gorilla brand short open end chromed spline drive lug nuts and a Powerbuilt 644999 ratcheting click style 1/2" drive torque wrench.

I'll probably get an old impact socket to weld to the spline drive adapter, pop it on the torque wrench and throw the whole thing in the trunk.

So light weight theft resistant lugs and a method for properly torquing them all for under $50.

 

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The lug nuts came in last night. I will swap them out soon.

They are around 1oz each, not a lot of extra metal there and the spline section is thin, you really need the right type of socket to grab the nut.

Security-wise, I think they are good.

The chrome finish should keep them looking good and rust free (the roads are not salted around here).

My one worry is that the open end will leave the stud exposed, the exposed threads may rust and the nut could get stuck. I may measure the exposed threads and make a set of wheel studs with the exposed threads turned down to the root radius. That would eliminate the possibility of stuck nuts and help avoid cross-threading at the same time.

 

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I was thinking about black but I was worried that the finish would scratch or crack and rust might form.

Chrome seems to be fairly reliable and I know it won't look out of place on the stock wheels so I went that way.

When I get race wheels they will be painted or otherwise finished in a dark gray or black probably and I'll think about changing lug nuts again because they are cheaper than center caps and usually more visible.

Please let us know how the black holds up.

 

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Yeah, I went for cheap but I hope as long as I keep an impact wrench away from them that the chrome will survive. I'll probably use a little anti-seize for extra protection.

I was just thinking that QPQ Nitro-carburetion (Melonite) would be just about the best corrosion resistant black finish for a lug nut. I should figure out who uses that process.

 

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Well its Black Friday so I stopped by the local Harbor Freight and picked up another ratcheting 1/2" drive click style torque wrench and a 1/2" breaker bar.

The torque wrench is a good buy because it came with a case and it was only $9.99. My Amazon wrench had no case, it will become a spare in the tool box. The case makes me feel much better about throwing it under the load floor. The breaker bar is for loosening the lugs without throwing the torque wrench out of whack.

I'll be able to ditch my lug wrench after I swap out my lug nuts (maybe tomorrow).

If you miss Black Friday, there is a coupon in the January 2014 Super Street magazine so you can get the same deal.

 

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Air chisel is not the removal method that crooks and mechanics use (when they don't have a working key).

If your mechanic uses a chisel, find a new mechanic.

 

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I finally got my small diameter splined lug nuts on my car.

There was no need to worry about exposed threads, the nuts are longer than the threads of the wheel studs, almost flush with the last thread on the rears and maybe 3 threads past the end of the stud on the fronts.

Without the use of a scale, I estimate the new lug nuts weight about 1/2 of the stock nuts and I saw the small lug nuts described as 25 or 28 grams, right around or just under one ounce, so four ounces lighter per wheel, 1 pound of weight off the whole car.

Its all unsprung and rotational weight (but near the axle centerline so probably not enough moment of inertia to effect acceleration in a measurable way).

Any way, they look fine, are more theft resistant than standard nuts, weigh less and are now torqued to spec with a clicker torque wrench.

The wrench will be a help on the track when changing to race wheels. If I do 12 events a year, that's 24 wheel changes in addition to the maybe 1-2 times for flats, rotation, switching to winters and new tires so there are many more times to screw up your studs or wheels. Controlling the torque and never using an impact wrench are the best way to protect them.