how common is wheel theft?

[mikemikemike]

How often do we hear about theft of wheels these days? That is, is it worth getting locking lugs? I've got method rims on my sprinter 4x4 and hadn't thought of it until now, curious whether this is something that still happens. The times I'd think my van would be vulnerable would be when parked at trailheads while I'm off in the mountains - I tend not to leave it around in sketchy urban neighnborhoods

[shenrie]

Almost all locking lugs can be bypassed by pounding a socket just smaller in size over the top of them. Point is, if they want the wheels they will generally get them one way or another. That said most alarms can sense the pounding and will go off. So even a blinking light inside will detour most low end thieves cause it’s just not worth the hassle. Professional crooks will just take the entire rig.

[BVerhulst]

Gorilla lugs or similar are a dime-a-dozen these days; everyone has a key.

[mc14850]

Best to make sure your insurance will cover theft of aftermarket wheels and drive it.

[carringb]

Nobody is going to steel Sprinter wheels. Hondas, maybe.

Wheel keys just means you might not be able to find the key when you most need it, and many of the fancy ones (i.e. machined pattern on the end rather than splines) don't handle the extra torque needed to break loose after it's been on a while

[mikracer]

I have the pro comp wheel locks and if I had to do it over again, I would have just used regular lug nuts. The tire shop accidentally kept the key once. Its just one more thing to keep track of in my opinion.