i am trying to get some wheel locks, but the stores are telling me that i need to tell them a size ans washer type of the nut. what are they? thanx

 

The nuts are the same ones that have been used on Honda/Acura products, and virtually every full size American and foreign made car, for many years, so they should know what you need. I believe the stud size is 12mm. There is no washer, but the cone shaped edge of the nut that contacts the rim has to be correct for the rim you are using.

If they have a problem, all they need to do is to take one of your lug nuts off and look at it.

Have you priced the locking nuts at the Acura dealer? I don't know if the price is close to what the parts stores charge, but you won't get any hassle about size and washer type.

 

i think he's trying to buy the generic cheapy "6 bucks a set" ones. that will unbalance his tires for sure.

 

Well, you get what you pay for, but the biggest problem with the cheapies is that they will probably rust, while the good ones will be shiny for life.

The cheapies should all weigh pretty much the same, so there shouldn't be any effect on the balance.

 

My wheel locks were thrown in by the dealer as part of their no additional charge protection package (wheel locks, trunk tray, mud flaps). I think that this is a fairly common practice so you might consider trying to get them out of your salesman for free. Staying with the Acura locks makes it easier at service time as well since the Acura dealers keep masters.

 

For the MSRP of $49 for a set of genuine Acura wheel locks, I definitely wouldn't try to save a couple of bucks by buying cheapies.

Remember, you are only replacing one nut on each wheel. If the new nut isn't the same weight as the other ones, you'll throw the wheel out of balance and no amount of re-balancing of the tire will fix this (the tire guys don't take the nuts into account when balancing the tire). Plus, if the new lock dosen't seat properly, your wheel might not be torqued evenly and you could run into problems like warped rotors, screwed up rims, etc.

Shop on the internet for discount OEM Acura wheel locks or just shell out the $49 at the dealer. It's not worth the savings.

 

They are like $20 at handaacessories.com

 

Try Ebay. I got my delivered for $30! (Factory Set)

 

Ditto.

 

Although i bought (and would buy again) the wheel locks from the dealer, for the simple fact that they were made for the car, and they are high quality, and like 93shocar said acura has masters if worse comes to worse. the cheap ones shouldn’t significantly throw the balance off on your tires being the fact that the weight is so close to the hub, centrifugal force is significantly higher at the outer edge of the wheel then it will ever be at the hub. this is also why some people don’t even realize if a lugnut is missing, and that difference in weight is far greater then you will ever find in manufacturer differences. as for the proper torque specs, when you torque it, you torque it, there is no difference. however if the seat on the lug nut is different then the seat on the rim you will damage the rim (especially our nice aluminum rims) by using them. over time this can lead to failure of the rim, especially if you use a air hammer to install them, time, and time again. you will not (in most circumstances) damage the threads, lugnuts, or brakes, as the metal in these components is stronger. do what you want, just be educated in what you do. me? i bought the actual acura locking lug nuts it aint worth the risk

ps, check the honda dealerships for the lugnuts to 03 and up accords (6 cylinder of course) this is the chassis our car was based off, the hubs are the same (my sisters 03 is wearing my original 17" as i stepped up to the a-spec rims) i checked the specs and compared the lugnuts (when swapping rims) you might get a cheaper price through them

 

more like $30 plus shiping