Ok so Ive had the volk formula lug nut set since I got my wheels and painted the inserts silver to match the wheel.

Fast forward until now (4 months later or so) and I get a huge screw or small metal stake in my tire on the highway. I pull over after hearing the noise because I thought I had a flat. Anyways I decided I would just change the tire to the spare for now and take care of it this weekend. I get my flimsy little insert key which happens to be a plastic allen wrench and I attempt to remove the insert. The fcking inserts not only didn't spin and loosen but it stripped and instead of hexagon shape are now round and there is no way to remove them....from ANY tire. The cold weather and driving with them for so long must have tightened the hell out of them and somehow made them softer?

I decided to drive home with whatever the hell was in my tire. I heard it come lose and bash off the undercarriage. I made it home and then within 10 minutes the tire went completely flat to the rim. I now need to have it towed to the dealership in the morning and hopefully they can plug the hole and I'll be on my way. The problem is I need to change to stock winter tires any day now and have no way to remove these locks to get the fckin tires off! I have to call everywhere asking if they can cut them out and I will buy dif ones next spring, which sucks.

for anyone thinking about getting these, I strongly suggest you do not unless you don't want to ever change your tires. I guess they do their job and protect from theft anyways....



PS anyone have any suggestions how to remove these or where to bring it?

thanks

 

are you on stock wheels? or....?

 

That sucks. I never used my key lol. I have my Allen wrench set that I keep in my car . It's made of metal and not plastic. Basically it fit my lugs way better than my keys so it never strip any of them

 

Get a Allen wrench that is barely bigger than it then bang it with a hammer. It will get stuck in the insert and spin away. I would like to think of myself as a key breaker pro.

Also your inserts are probably were stuck in pretty tight cause after awhile the inside get rusty

 

vossen 082

 

thanks bro, the problem with using a normal allen wrench is I already stripped the inserts.. I will try banging it with a hammer and slightly larger wrench but I am having it towed tomorrow morning so hopefully they can plug it and I can try these tactics without having to cut them all off. What a PITA these are.

 

Yeah yo, they suck. I hate mine, both keys are stripped.

FYI, the little plastic allen key is 7mm IIRC so you can just use a regular allen key to get the caps off.

But once the 7sided metal key strips out youre screwed. Mine gets stuck in each lug when i take them off/put them on. I HATE THEM.

 

Is there a all around good choice for lugs or is volk formula one just it?

I was thinking of getting them maybe just leave the insert out

 

They must be awesome... They're Volk and made in Japan, right?

But seriously, sorry about your nightmare. BTW, your tire is worthless now that you've driven on it flat. I doubt that anywhere even half reputable would repair that, but even if they did it'd be very dangerous. Don't risk it.

 

thanks man, I will pick up one of those. problem is the inserts are no longer seven sided...it's circular since the shtty plastic allen key stripped it and the key itself is stripped too

 

hahaha one would think

well I drove on it with the nail/stake in the tire. It came out about 2 miles from my house and the tire was still 90% filled with air as it was parked in my driveway. I found the slit and listened to it leak air all the way to flat. So I didn't actually drive on it flat.... do you still suggest not having them plug it? I will only be driving on it for a week or short period until I go back to stock.

 

there are a lot of good lugs. If you plan on leaving the inserts off the volks, might as well not even spend the money on this since it is what makes them unique and add another level of security...

I got them for this reason and for the looks, that really backfired

 

I thought you drove it with the tire flat. It may still be salvageable

You can might be able to use a spiral screw extractor to get those out. Why the hell are they not made of metal???

 

I think it is a 6mm allen wrench... although I am not 100% sure. Anyway, I found that you just have to be gentle with them. I have taken mine on/off 4-5 times with no issues, but I take my time and don't tighten the crap out of the centers. I also don't let the tire shop install the center pieces, and I obviously make sure they install everything by hand (no impact wrenches).

I will agree, for the money there are probably better options out there. I think something like the Project Kics is probably a better option for the money.

 

fyi! they are made out of metal. just the part where you put the key in is plastic.(which sucks) i broke mines in the second day of owning it and tell you the truth it's sitting in my garage collecting dust now. i replaced them with the project kics neo chrome(thanks to Lou@amplified)

i had to use a thin flat head screwdriver to pry the end and use a sharp nose plier to pull it out. looks good but not very made.