Wheel Locks and Wheel Balance

[hellyes]

I was thinking about picking up some wheel locks for my car. I was over at AutoZone the other day and saw some, but they are larger than my standard lug nuts. If I put these on my car, would they throw off the wheel balance? Would the ride quality be affected at all?

[phoenix]

Um, well I'm no expert but you are just talking about wheels locks. I don't see how they would throw off the balance or affect ride quality. They may be an eyesore so that could affect ride quality.

[BenjiBoy650]

I think Honda uses hub centric so it should be ok. But some manufacturers use lug centric wheels, which means if you use generic wheel locks then you might be seeing an issue

[thechamp]

Hubcentric or not, wheel locks aren't going to affect balance or driveability. The difference will be too small and since they are located so close to the center point of the wheel/tire, the difference in weight won't be felt.

Heck, I broke a stud a few times on my old Accord and ran with only 3 lugs for a couple of days each time. Didn't feel a difference.

[BenjiBoy650]

If you have a lug centric car and your wheel lock is not helping to center the wheel...I think you are going to feel a problem...

[thechamp]

My Accord was not hub centric. I even had thin spacers on it.

As long as 4 out of 5 (or 3 out of 4) lug nuts are in good shape and can do their job, you're OK.

[hellyes]

Well... I guess that answered my question. Thanks for the help.