Evening all,
Just looking for some advice on locking wheel bolts / wheel wrenches after having a nightmare with mine at the weekend when trying to get the wheels off.
I have 15mmm spacers on the rear so have 45mm bolts and Mcgard extended (45mm) locking wheel bolts. On the front I just have the standard length bolts and OEM locking wheel bolts (older multi spline style ones if that makes sense).
Now I have had issues with the Mcgard key rounding off so I had that replaced under warranty and bought a spare as I have the wheels off fairly regularly to give them a good clean. Unfortunately the key started rounding off again at the weekend as it kept slipping off due to how tight the bolts had been tightened. They proved an absolute bugger to get off but after a lot of swearing and going back and forth for further attempts over 2 days I finally got them loose.
Then came the issues with the front lockers. This time the wheel bolt rounded off so the key was just spinning inside. I tried hammering a socket on but that would budge it. Finally on Monday morning I went to a local garage who managed to get it loose by hamering a star key in and using a long arm. Now I have the wheels off and am sending them off to be refurbished on Thursday. While they are off i'm trying to decide what locking wheels bolts to use when they come back. To be fair the mcgard bolts are in great condition its just the keys that seem the weak point.
Im now looking for opinions on the various options that I have lined up. Firstly i'm thinking of investing in a cross wrench in an attempt to keep everything square when undoing the bolts since I feel that much of the slipping that is occuring is due to the crappy wrench supplied with the car. Other option was possibly an extendable wrench which would allow me to exert more force with less effort on the bolts but then I may still experience slipping if its not all kept square with the locking wheel bolt key fully seated. Thoughts please chaps? What do you use?
Secondly which locking wheel bolts to go for. Should I stick with the Mcgards for the rear and just get a new key (hopefully under warranty)? Alternatively I have seen these
http://www.alloywheelsdirect.net/option/locking_bolts second ones down (LB2) but whilst they are the right spec for what I need they are of the same design as the OEM ones that I had which failed on me. Anyone got any experience of using these RAD ones?
Finally locking wheel bolts for the fronts. I have seen these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ALLOY-WHEEL-LOCKING-LOCK-NUTS-BOLTS-VW-GOLF-MK4-F6-/320651368907?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Wheels_tyres_Trim_Nuts_ET&hash=item4aa84f99cb Now they look very similar to the new style OEM bolts and in thinking they will be much better due to the bolt head / key design. Again has anyone had any experience of using this style of bolt and key?
oh and one final thing I have read mixed reports regarding the use of copper slip on wheel bolts. Would the use of copper slip help? Is it dangerous?
Thanks in advance for any comments.
Ste
