Porsche lug nut lock key failure.
 

While removing my wheels today I experienced a total lug nut lock key failure.

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As I put presser on the breaker bar I heard that familiar death rattle and the wrench completely disengaged, I feared the worst.

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As you can see it has been welded once before, so I took the faulty key to my local Porsche dealer, the nice salesman told me that the new 981 lug key was completely redesigned and that it did not experience total failure anymore, an in the 986 model, but that my key was out of warranty and would have to buy a new one.

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Here is the new and improved key, its more shout and robust than the old, I cant Wait to put it in my tool kit. :)

Yours,

Kasmire

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Thats a big breaker bar for taking off those lugnuts, there is no way that the lugs should be that tight to break the locknut key... WOW... Somebody obviously over did it using that key once before and it was beginning to split.....
130NM or 95.8 ft/lbs is the torque spec although i generally torque mine between 86-88.... never an issue so far with the key.

I think it may have been the trained monkeys at Discount tire, their impact wrench may have been set to high.

I swear some of those guys would be lost without an impact gun... Very Scary!

I only hand torque my key nut to 85 ftlbs.

Had the same thing happen to me….no breaker bar but Discount Tire was the culprit using an air impact gun. Got a muffler guy to weld the locker for $5 (beer money) and managed to get lugs off.

Bought a set of locking lugs off ebay. While the thread pattern and depth were correct the head size is wrong. Had a member offer his, but these darned chrome rims strike again!

Had forgot about it until I saw this thread, thanks for reminding me Kash!

Anyone have CHROME locking lugs they want to rid themselves of?

I replaced my locking lugs with regular bolts. I'm gambling nobody is going to steal the wheels on a 12 year old car.

Whenever I get my cat back from a shop that has removed the wheels, I always re-torque the bolts to the right spec, although last time I was pleasantly surprised that Tire kingdom had torqued them correctly. Once, they were so tight, I couldn't break them by hand and had to go back to the shop to have them loosened with an impact wrench, and then watch them as they torqued the the bolts with a torque wrench.

You can get torque-limiting extensions for impact guns. I use my impact gun to tighten the lug bolts to about 85 lbs and hand tighten them with a torque wrench up to 96 lbs.

That is a pretty serious breaker bar you have there!

Question Time
 

It seems that most of us have thrown away our Secret Squirrel locking lug nuts because they are a pain in the a$$ and of no real value. Has anyone ever had the wheels stolen from his Boxster? Anyone? I may be wrong, but it seems to me that members of the low-life scum squad who would steal "rims" are not interested in those found on a Boxster. What? No spinners?

I wish someone would steal my rims. Then I could get the ones I actually want plus a new set of tyres on MPI's dime!

+1 The happiest day of my life is when I got rid of those dang locking lug nuts!

And its hard to image someone stealing rims from a 12 yr old car that is worth less than a 2008 Honda Civic.

Funnily enough the previous owner of my car got rid of the security lug nuts. I haven't had any issues with theft.

Actually I use a longer one. I only torque mine to 90lbs. With the long bar it is easy to remove. I hate using impact gun to remove. A few slips is all it takes to mess them up.

My key has a split in it. I'm debating whether or not to replace it or get 4 regular lug nuts.

Thats ok... I was hoping he didnt actually need one that big to take them off due to them being too tight... most guys i know that use breaker bars that big, forget that the longer the bar is the easier it is to overtighten the bolts - ah just another 1/4 turn and it'll be ok - SNAP... :D

It's sort of like getting your oil changed at the quick-lube... Yup, those oil pan bolts do have a torque spec... LOL

Do yourself a favor -- get replacements and be done with it.

+1 go with regular bolts, the locking ones break too easily & it will cost you more time & money somewhere down the line.

Just get rid of the locking lug bolts. They are totally useless against theft of your wheels. A set of special sockets that cut and grab ANY locking lug nut are about $40. Any serious wheel thief will have them in the booth of his/her car!
I know, I used those special sockets to get rid of my locking lug bolts since I didn't have the key. Piece of cake!

I did the same. Bought the keyed lug removal tool to get rid of mine since the car did not come with the lug key.

Just locks on as you twist and takes them off easily as if you where using the key.

If anyone needs the set at half price $20, I only used it once to take off my 4 locks and replaced with regular lugs. Retails for $40.

Any car thief will have no issue at all removing locking lugs so they are completely useless.

I'm done with the locking lug nuts. I just ordered 4 regular ones fron Suncoast. Along with the programmable key fob to replace the one that got messed up.

My car didn't have the locking lugs when I got it & I added that to my initial to-do list. After thinking about it more I came to 2 conclusions:
1) I pay for insurance for such an instance, sure I would be inconvenienced but would have a set of new rims & tires.
2) How many times have you heard of a Porsche getting it's rims stolen, usually it's the whole car. Again what I buy insurance for.
Just my 2 cents.

This is how you fix the security bolts

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1355199468.jpg

I don't know if security lug nuts are worth the trouble. Years ago my daughter was visiting us over Christmas in her new 2001 Audi TT Quatro. She had security lug nuts. The car was parked just outside her bedroom window with the car alarmed. The next morning we found the car on cement blocks and all 4 alloy wheels and tires were gone. If they want them, they will take them.

Good news - the thief was caught selling them on Ebay. He paid complete restitution to stay out of jail.

My key turned up missing. I found an 11/16 12 point socket pounded over the heads took the bolts right out.

I know this is an old thread, but this just happened to me. Picture a set of 14 yo 16" 2.5l Boxster standard rims with Blizzaks on them. On the driver rear tire, four standard bolts were missing, one (security) remaining. I didn't figure this out until I tried to swap my summer tires on. I drove the car with only one bolt remaining… The standard front lugs were loose too, but not gone, except for the security bolt (which was snug).

So, it appears that the unusual shape of the Porsche OEM security lug bolts is sufficient to prevent your garden variety amateur hour theft of wheels + rims. I'll be retrofitting the McCard variety on the Audi Wagon as well, though I am not nearly as enamored with a brand that sells its entire master key set to any tom dick and harry on Amazon for $205.

I wonder if the Porsche bolts would fit an Audi - the thread and pitch is the same, though its not clear if the radius of the ball is identical or if the thread length is the same either. But if they fit, they seem like a pretty good bet to prevent theft since their pattern is sufficiently different from most theft prevention brands to make it harder to source the right key. Naturally, the snap-on approach to destroying them may still be an option.

All that said, at least I hope it was an attempted theft. The other option (i.e. someone trying to do me harm) is less than happy. FWIW, the car was parked in the street or an open driveway, so there is ample opportunity to approach the car. Given that multiple cars in Cambridge have been subject to complete tire thefts (Acura, Scooby, etc.) I'd like to think that theft to order was the motivating premise, not bodily harm. However, the cops and I were wondering why the thieves would have left with the OEM lug bolts… Perhaps its time for a camera… (sigh).

Nobody wants those wheels. And if they did, they can buy this for $20 and get them off faster than you can with your expensive lug nut key.

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Got rid of them the first couple days I bought the Box...PITA and not worth the trouble. As stated, who steals wheels (I even have the Carrera 5 spokes)?

If I had twists, they could have them for free!