Time for some locking lugnuts!



Honda Wheels Are Disappearing | New Haven Independent

After nighttime prowlers ripped the wheels off two Honda Fits, two East Rock neighbors pooled spare tires to help each other out of a jam—the latest in a wave of mysterious thefts.

The two East Rockers woke up Thursday morning to find their cars no longer had any wheels.

They were just the latest in a string of car owners who’ve lost their wheels to thieves.

The two neighbors live on Cottage Street and Livingston Street, about a block away from each other. The neighbors, a student and a mom at Worthington Hooker School, woke up Thursday to discover that thieves had stolen all four tires from their Honda Fits, which had been parked on the street.

The thefts were part of a pattern, according to police. Between six and nine Honda Fits have had their wheels stolen in the past month, according to police. Police theorized that the thieves may be targeting the wheels because the they are smaller than wheels on other modern cars; the price for smaller wheels, to be used on older cars, has gone up. Whatever the reason, the thefts seem to be part of a national trend.

 

yah, those wheels are popular... btw, they should really think about renaming that school.

 

Yea, the kiddies want the new Fit wheels for their mid 90's 4 lug Hondas.

At least I've got a base, 14inch steel wheels are everywhere.

 

Truth.

That sucks though. time for 4 different wheel locks per wheel?

 

There was a article either earlier this year or last year similar thefts were happening in Chicago. Maybe will consider locks, hate to be traveling out of town and have this happen.

 

this is nothing new, the Fit wheels are the new Si wheels from the 99 Civic Si. The OEM Fit wheel is a half way decent looking OEM wheel and it looks nice on older hondas.

 

but where to go for the wheels system, i am still shocked with this thing ?

 

Worthington Hooker School HA!

 

Wheel locks can be bought from your Honda dealer and most auto parts stores, but they are much less expensive on eBaymotors.com. The Honda OEM locks are made by McGard in New York, and Gorilla Locks (a different brand) are very common in parts stores.

 

This may sound a bit silly, but since most of us have at least some scratches on our wheels, taking photos of them would help in case of recovery (and by recovery I mean finding your wheels for sale on Craigslist, where a lot of them end up).

A unique enough set of scratches- as individual as fingerprints...

 

Etch your initials in the back of the wheels.

 

I'm thinking this is a crime of opportunity. If you harden the target with locking lug nuts and a motion sensor or tilt alarm, then the thieves may move on to an easier target.

 

Your your point is demonstrated by the use of a broken cinder block and someone's scissor jack in the photo in the OP. I wonder whose jack they left behind? Not that it has much value. I suppose that pros would carry their own floor jack so as not to leave behind anything other than cinder blocks.

Wheel locks are CHEAP! They won't necessarily prevent theft, but will take longer for wheel removal than unprotected wheels. Adding a second wheel lock to each wheel would probably add enough frustration to defeat most wheel thieves. Worth the cost of the wheel locks just to avoid the hassle of insurance claims and to be able to drive your car away.

If my wheels were stolen in spite of my wheel locks, I would definitely add a second lock to each wheel. So far, one lock has been sufficient for me, and I added them within one week of driving the new car home. But tire shops won't like needing two wheel lock keys to remove your wheels. In that case, I would not care at all. How often would that be an issue?