all 4 wheels stolen from Blue Sport AT - one week old
 

I know there was a previous post about this a couple of months ago but it was already 4 pages long so I figured I'd start a new one. It seems this is not as uncommon as I thought when I went outside and discovered this today but I still feel terrible about it. I picked up my Fit 9 days ago and this happened.

Here are the questions for the community:

1. What do wheel locks do?
2. If they come with a key that needs to be attached to remove the lug, don't you need to keep that in the car in case you get a flat? Since you need to keep it there, won't the thieves just get it from inside the car?
3. What are the differences between the Honda ones and Gorilla, Ray and old spoon (mentioned in that referenced thread by users)?
4. If this were you, would you also pony up the $500 for an alarm in addition to the wheel locks (which I didn't even know existed)? I live in Chicago, btw.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...ht=wheel+theft

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/407/dscn1417ex7.jpghttp://img139.imageshack.us/img139/4260/dscn1419tx3.jpg
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/1246/dscn1418sx5.jpg

i keep my locks with my spare... the thing about wheel theives is they work fast... breaking into the car and searching for wheel locks tht may or may not be there is slow, nothing u do will make ur car or any part of it unstealable... all you can do is slow a theif down,since most theifs work fast, enough slowing will will detur them... you could also hide they "key" in your car...

also sorry to hear about your loss... but now u can roll on aftermarkets...

What are "aftermarkets" and would you assume that is what the insurance company will provide? Will that mean thieves won't try again?

They stole ur stock wheels n tires?
Sorry to hear about it!

tonyd

Im really sorry to hear about what happened to you seeing as im also a new buyer i would be extremely pissed off. But this does not seem un-common in Fits around the US. My cousin use to work at a Honda dealer in Orlando and he would tell me at least once a week you would see a Fit sport being brought in on a flat bed, missing the 4 tires and rims. From what i have read of forums it's usually people that steal the rims and put them on EK's and EG's..also becareful because i hear they are also going for the front lips and sideskirts, also to swap them on older civics.

I'm brand new to the forum (any car forum actually) so what are EK's, EG's, lips and sideskirts?

Yes, they were the stock tires and rims. Nothing custom or fancy. The biggest problem is what prevents them from trying again?

Do you have a garage you are able to use?


tonyd

Basically what i ment to say in reference to EK's and EG's is an older generation of civics..for example the hatch-back or the 2 door coupe. By lips or sideskirts i mean that small piece on your front bumper that seems to attatch to it and also on the side. Usually they go when they want something and might not return because of improvements to the car that the owner might have provided..in example the alarm. I use to have a Clifford alarm on my integra, bought it after my radio system was stolen..i had close to $1k invested into my car and it got stole right downstairs from my house..they work fast to get what they need and then leave..my suggestion is to go ahead and pick up a good alarm.

aftermarkets are made by other companies like konig, your insurence will send u a check for the value of the stock rims (which is WAY more than aftermarkets) what you do with that check is your decision, but u can get better rims and tires cheaper by buying them not from the stealership...

and ppl may try again.. wheel locks help... any one know of any rims stolen when wheel locks were used?

^^^ You know what the scary thing is that i have a set of rim locks for the Fit and they are just sitting on top of my dresser..after seeing this bright and early in the morning im gonna go and put them on my car...i dont live in the greatest of neighbor hoods...but then again i dont think people even know what kind of car i drive..lol..they usually look at it like its a mini-van..lol.

wheel locks keep honest people honest, nothing more

it's probably easier to take off a wheel lock using a 12 point socket than it is to take off a regular lug.

still i have never head of wheel locked rims gettin jacked... im sure it happens but alot less often

I agree.


tonyd

When I took my Fit in to replace a missing fuse the sales guy that took care of me told me they had two Fits in the shop with stolen wheels. I got the wheel locks right there and then.

I've been noticing that a lot of cars have wheel locks, even a steel with locks.

Sorry to hear that, totally sucks. I still cant see for the life of me why these wheels are being stolen. IMO they arent that nice to begin with!!!

Definitely get wheels locks for sure, and an alarm system with a feature that sets off the alarm if the vehicle is raised at all. You could probably get a really nice alarm/remote start installed for less than 500 bux.

And spend that insurance money on non factory wheels. You can get lighter wheels and much better tires than the price the dealer will cost for factory replacements. Just remember to get a set of factory tire pressure sensors, and wheels that will accept them, unless having a dash light on doesnt bother you at all.

yeah sorry to hear. well i guess its time to upgrade to some cooler wheels haha and locks.

rocks some rotas wheels. dont go buy some new honda fit sport rims.

yup.

locks help out a lot. someone actually tried to steal my wheels, but since they couldnt take off the wheel locks they just left my car alone.

i found out when a bunch of my lug nuts where stripped of paint and such.

at least they were nice enough to leave your car on blocks and jacks.
sometimes they leave your car sitting on your rotors=bad heh

gorilla locks, rays locks,


try and spend some type of money on them.

muteki,autozone, for example are a bit cheaper...but everyone seems to have those keys. so spend around 100+ for a nice set. in the long run i think they help

Sorry to hear that another set of wheel is lost. :(

When you get aftermarket lugnuts w/ locks. Make sure that it's not easy to take off. It's true that there is methods of getting wheel locks out. But it's not easy and sometimes can damage the locks. Thieves like to work fast to reduce the risk of being seen so when they see wheel locks, it discourages them because they know they will have to go though more trouble and risk to get the wheels. If you get 2 sets of locks with different size bolts, you're most likely not going to get your wheels stolen. At the same time, you're not going to have fun rotating your tires.

SIDE NOTE:
Someone needs to make a device to spray these car thieves with a bad smell when the lug nut is removed without disabling the alarm. That way, we release the hounds at them!

the si wheels and old gsr wheels were probably most stolen wheels of all time. They got my bros and he had two wheel locks per wheel. I run the mcgards on all my cars and slotted gorillas for remaining lugs. I have caught people two times trying to steal my old rims, but they had a car with loud ass exhaust