I bought 4 regular Honda wheel locks and realize they are taller than the bolts on S2K. Later on I found out Honda is selling some newer short wheel locks to fit S2K. Will the taller/regular Honda wheel locks affect the wheel balancing on my S2K?

 

TTT for mingster, i would also like to know.

btw sorry for being kind of off-topic: i just plugged my front tire since there was a big nail in it. anyways, the tail was right in the center of the thread. couple of my friends said you should balance the wheel due to the added weight of the plug. i have driven for a hundred miles or so and i have not experienced any vibrations or something liek that. should i go ahead and balance it or just leave it alone?

 

For the locking lug nuts, no, the slight amount of extra weight (1/4 oz) in that position will not affect the overall wheel balance enough to cause a problem.

And for the tire plug, those things are very lightweight and should not affect tire balance.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by moparacker

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RazorV3

 

I doubt it would mess with the balance. And if it did, you'd have to do an on-car balance job to correct it. Most places take your wheel and mounted tire and throw them on a balancing machine so the lugs aren't even present during the balance process. As others have said, they just don't weigh much and they are so close to the center of the wheel as well. Just my $.02.

 

I did an analysis of this long, long, long time ago. I weighed the two on a Mettler balance to the nearest milligram, measured the lug and wheel radii, and did all the relevant calculations. I don't have my exact numbers but it went something like this:

-Stock locks weigh significantly more than stock lugs, maybe 10-15 grams

-The "effective" weight difference at rim distance is about 7 grams (divide radius to lug by radius to inside of rim, multiply by weight difference of lug nut and wheel lock.)

-Manufacturers make wheel balance weights of 5 and 10 grams, suggesting that a 5 gram imbalance at the rim is worth correcting for some applications

Conclusion: The weight difference between stock lug and wheel lock might be enough to cause an imbalance, or to ADD to an existing slight imbalance thereby making it a significant imbalance.

Solution 1: Don't use 'em. Or, if you feel like you have a problem try moving the lock to a different lug on the same wheel and try to correct by trial and error.

Solution 2: Buy a few more sets so you can use them at every position (what a PITA)

Soution 3: Don't worry about it

Imbalances are usually only a factor at their resonant frequency (speed), so with 16" wheels you might only feel a vibration at 78-82 MPH.

I have used them since day one (1634 days ago) without any problem.

 

I hate those damn things - I also agree that given the weight differential, even the fact that they are close to the centerline of the revolving unit (the wheel) there might be enough to throw off the balance.

On every car that came with those, the first thing I did was buy 4 new lug nuts. I figure that if they try to steal them and can't, I am left with cosmetically screwed up wheels, and insurance companies do not like little comp claims all the time. I would rather they took all four wheels and left me with one big claim - I guess you could also upgrade to MY04 wheels (+ tires) if you wanted to, or pay the diff if the insurance only covers the MY00-03 wheels.

 

The slight extra weight of the lugs do not affect balance.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by S2000PILOT