Just as an add-on to my previous post, there are 3 partial solutions that may not deter all thieves, but certainly >99%:
1) use >3 unique lock nuts per rim. You only have to really remove your tire every 10-15K miles, so this will not be a huge inconvenience. Most thieves (and the thief can be a jealous neighbor, the kids down the street or the guy trying to make a buck on Craig's List or Ebay) will not attempt a theft if it will take too long. 1-2 lock-nuts take about 5-7 minutes to remove.... 3-5 take about 15. Add the time it takes to remove all the remaining nuts and it becomes too time consuming (15-20 minutes per tire). The thief will generally go looking for easier prey if they see a complex problem. I know from experience.
2) You know to park in well lit areas; however, if you can park alongside a wall or structure that limits access to 2 wheels, thieves are much less interested since the wheels have significantly less value in sets of 2.
3) Tilt sensor alarms can also help out. Smart thieves can sometimes disable your alarm system... but that takes time too, unless you set up alarms that are hard to get to on your car.

In the end, time is a thieves worst enemy-- you don't want to be in one place for too long trying to take someone's wheels. However, if someone wants your wheels, off they go. If you combine these recommendations with what I suggested earlier, your risk drops significantly (approx 99%). Don't forget to tie down your headlights, by the way!

 

Wow, that is a lot of trouble to deter wheel theives. Best bet would be to have the wheels included onto your car insurance.

 

do both - deter and add to insurance... don’t just rely on insurance, if there is a claim your premiums will go up... might as well try to prevent that. Besides, my wheels took 4 months from Japan - insurance or no insurance I don’t want to go through that wait again.

 

Good point. In addition, nothing worse than walking outside and seeing your car on blocks, wheels and headlights gone and all busted up from the damage of having parts stripped. Then there's the real hassle of figuring out how to get new wheels ASAP, having them put on, waiting and waiting, being pissed off for weeks and weeks. I say 15 minutes of hassle is much better than a claim, then the waiting and that really sick feeling when your property (for many their God or Goddess) has been violated.

 

Best locks out there that I have seen/used are Mcgard spline drive lugnuts. If I remember reading correctly, they change the size and shape of the spline drives and locks every couple of thousand sets. You get a multi code piece of paper to get the sockets ordered if you lose them. Lose it and your screwed.

 

Very true. I also recommend a good garage with a good security system + a big DOG

 

Good recommendations added...

i would rather spend a whole day or so to get the G alarmed.tied.and go thru the hassle than GOING THRU the hassle of a victim.

never thought about the parking near a wall...

keep em coming guys

 

Good points being made here, what about these locks? I was thinking about getting a few sets of these maybe 3 per wheel. The spinning sleeve that guard the wheel lock threads should make these close to impossible to remove without a key. What do you guys think?

 

I considered the Gorilla locks when I researched - as stated a few posts above, I went with McGard - but Gorilla is a good choice too. Those are the only two I would consider.

Rays, Muteki, Kics, etc - I wouldn’t bother with.

 

No issues with my 20" wheels and I've had the car for 3.5 years.... no wheel locks on my car...

Maybe I should get some, but if they're gonna jack it, they'll find a way.

If I'm not sure about an area, I just put on my car cover so my car doesn't get noticed to begin with.

 

Locks or not if they want them they will get them. For me I dont worry about them. Whats good is that my car is so damn low that you can't even slide a stock jack underneath it.

 

So where do you live..... j/k.

 

In Compton.

 

^+11 same here, you can't even fir a low profile jack under my car, it'd take them at least over an hour and have to make alot of noise if they really wanted my wheels!

 

Thieves don't need to jack the car up.... they can use a 1X1X36" square, steel bar and a 4X4 piece of wood as the fulcrum (experience) to jack it up in <5 seconds, slide two 6", 4X4's beneath one side and your in! The lock nuts with the spinning external part are another story. If I saw those, I'd move on quickly. Time is the key and anything that takes too long is not worth it, even $1000 wheels!