mab@hou4a.UUCP (Michael Brochstein) (01/11/85)
There were a few items I left out of my first article on protecting ones car from theft. WHEELS If you have fancy wheels on your car which you would like to protect there is one device that has worked for me and many other people I know. They are called McGuard Wheel Locks. They are a set of lug nuts that are put on (one to a wheel) in place of regular lug nuts. They can only be put on and taken off through the use of a "key" (a weird pattern) that is put in the lug wrench when using these locks. The key is unique and a second copy should be secured immediately since these locks are impossible to remove forcibly without damaging the lug. McGuard sells packages with one or two keys, if you can't get the two key package, order a second key. These keys can ONLY be gotten direct from McGuard and are NOT interchangeable. I have two stories reguarding these keys. A friend of mine had a freak accident (a leaf spring broke at high speed) in a BAD neighborhood in NYC. He took the battery home with him by taxi that night and returned the next morning to find his car stripped. The only thing left were his mag wheels (each missing four out the five lug nuts since the McGuard lock was still on each wheel). I later bought these same mag wheels from my friend to put on my 73 Mustang (looked great although my friend's 1971 Mach 1 looked nicer). When my Mustang was stolen, it was found stripped in Jersey City, NJ. While my mag wheels were missing, the lug where each McGuard lock was on was stripped (useless) from the forceful removal of the wheels which had the locks. OTHER USEFUL DEVICES A while ago, after a break-in, I was truly getting frustrated at the situation concerning my car. I came up with what I thought was a great and original idea. Have a canister of tear gas go off in the car X seconds after the alarm did. Lo and behold, this very device is marketed through "Louisville Locksmith" (advertises in Road & Track). I heard of a device (and saw a picture) of something called (I think) a "Denver Boot". This device is supposedly attached to cars that are found to be owing fines for a multiple of tickets such that the cars can't be moved until the city takes this device off the car. It is a large clamp that attaches to the wheel of a car that is too big to let the wheel turn. The wheel can't be removed while it is on and one can't move the car more than six inches without damaging the car. Practically speaking, only towing (with a tow truck) your own car will let you retrieve it from the law. I don't know if this device is sold to the public but it looked like a great theft deterrent. Of course, in NYC we just tow scofflaw cars to a pier on the westside run by the NYPD. If you want your car back you must pay all your fines plus a towing charge ($60. plus). TOPICS NOT COVERED I have come across many other devices and methods of breaking into cars (my parents car was broken into 5 times and the front bumper was stolen) and would be happy to share the information with anyone interested. Please send your questions to me via e-mail. -- Michael Brochstein AT&T Information Systems, Holmdel, NJ ihnp4!hou4a!mab (201) 834-3482
prophet@umcp-cs.UUCP (Dennis Gibbs) (01/13/85)
<>
Concerning locking wheel nuts, I have my doubts about these because of the
experiences of friends who have had them. In one case, a friend of mine
had the wheels stolen from his Corvette. He went out and bought locking
wheel nuts after buying a new set of wheels and tires. A few months later
he found that all four of his tired were slashed by thieves who were very
frustrated at not being able to steal his tires/wheels. True, the locking
nuts did indeed keep them from stealing the tires, but he still had to end
up buying a new set of tires.
Another case is where a friend of mine had an expensive set of mag wheels
on his old Datsun 240Z. Someone tried to steal his wheels. The locking
wheel nuts, of course, kept them from actually stealing the wheels, but
these thieves were somewhat tenacious, and they didn't give up quickly.
They tugged and pulled so hard on the wheels that they damaged both the
front and rear suspension and the owner of the car had no choice but to
declare his car totaled.
My conlusion is not to use locking wheel nuts, but rather park the car in
an area where thieves could be easily seen. If they want my wheels bad
enough, they can have them; I'll gladly pay my insurance company's $100
deductable and get new ones.
Dennis
--
Call-Me: Dennis Gibbs, Univ. of Md. Comp. Sci. Center.
UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!prophet
CSNet: prophet@umcp-cs
BITNET: GIBBS@UMDB
ARPA: prophet@Marylandkevin@voder.UUCP (The Last Bugfighter) (01/15/85)
> If you have fancy wheels on your car which you would like to protect > there is one device that has worked for me and many other people I know. > They are called McGuard Wheel Locks. They are a set of lug nuts that are put > on (one to a wheel) in place of regular lug nuts. They can only be put on and > taken off through the use of a "key" (a weird pattern) that is put in the lug > wrench when using these locks. The key is unique and a second copy should > be secured immediately since these locks are impossible to remove forcibly > without damaging the lug. McGuard sells packages with one or two keys, if > you can't get the two key package, order a second key. These keys can ONLY > be gotten direct from McGuard and are NOT interchangeable. > -- > Michael Brochstein AT&T Information Systems, Holmdel, NJ > ihnp4!hou4a!mab (201) 834-3482 Just a comment about McGuard type locks; they are not fool-proof, nothing is. When I was a manager at a 4Day Tire Store at least once a week someone would come in for new tires who had forgotten his/her wheel lock key. The simplest way to remove them is to pound an appropiate size impact socket (not a standard socket, they'll split!) over the lock and then use a standard wrench to remove. If the lock was too tight or too deeply recessed then you just weld a standard nut on top of it. We used an arc welder to do this which I assume would be a lot quicker than a torch, but torches are not that expensive and places like Sears sell small oxygen/propane versions. And don't think that there aren't duplicates of your key either. If I recall I believe that there are 1200 key paterns actually used so it's not impossible for you and your neighbor to purchase locks that both use the same key. We'd always check our stock of abandoned keys to see if any would fit, on occasion they did. If a thief really wants your wheels he'll get `em! Locks can only slow him down, hopefully enough to discourage him. Incidently, don't get the kind of wheel locks that use a standard key that unlocks a sleeve (with tumblers inside) that slides off the nut. They are the easiest things in the world to punch out with a cold chisel. By the way, those people who always leave their wheel lock keys at home when they bring their cars in? When asked why they don't carry them in the car most say, "So they don't get lost". Wonder what they do when they get a flat tire? -- Kevin Thompson {ucbvax,ihnp4!nsc}!voder!kevin "It's sort of a threat, you see. I've never been very good at them myself but I'm told they can be very effective."
john@hp-pcd.UUCP (john) (01/19/85)
< The best defense is a good offense... B. Goetz> "my parents car was broken into 5 times and the front bumper was stolen" Was that the bumper with the I <heart> NY bumper sticker on it? John Eaton !hplabs!hp-pcd!john
act@pur-phy.UUCP (Alex C. Tselis) (01/21/85)
In article <631@voder.UUCP> kevin@voder.UUCP (The Last Bugfighter) writes: > > Just a comment about McGuard type locks; they are not fool-proof, >nothing is. When I was a manager at a 4Day Tire Store at least once >a week someone would come in for new tires who had forgotten his/her >wheel lock key. The simplest way to remove them is to pound an >appropiate size impact socket (not a standard socket, they'll split!) >over the lock and then use a standard wrench to remove. If the lock >was too tight or too deeply recessed then you just weld a standard nut >on top of it. We used an arc welder to do this which I assume would >be a lot quicker than a torch, but torches are not that expensive and >places like Sears sell small oxygen/propane versions. > And don't think that there aren't duplicates of your key either. >If I recall I believe that there are 1200 key paterns actually used so >it's not impossible for you and your neighbor to purchase locks that >both use the same key. We'd always check our stock of abandoned keys >to see if any would fit, on occasion they did. I sure hope that no car thieves are reading this stuff! It's absolute dynamite!
mikey@trsvax.UUCP (01/22/85)
It just goes to show that the only secure system is your own, not an off the shelf unit. If you can buy it, so can a burglar, and he can take it apart to see how it works. I my hometown in PA, there was a ring that got caught when they started hitting houses protected by this new security company. It turned out they were one of the company's first customers and they figured out how it worked. If a burglar came to rob a house, he'll hit an unprotected house first, a protected house with a standard alarm second. He'll leave a house alone if it has an alarm he doesn't understand, even if it is a relatively cheap and simple system, he won't know what to expect. The same goes for cars. Although the people who steal tires are usually hit and run, a good LOUD alarm with a radio pager and motion detector are a good deterent. I had my motorcycle tampered with 5 times in 4 weeks back in 1980. I tried to put an alarm on it but kept getting false triggers and anoying the neighbors. I finally took it off, to experiment with something else, but amazingly, the bike never got touched after that. The individual(s) who were doing the tampering must have thought I still had an alarm and since they couldn't find it, they left well enough alone. mikey at trsvax
mrl@drutx.UUCP (LongoMR) (01/23/85)
> I sure hope that no car thieves are reading this stuff! It's absolute dynamite!
I don't think there is anything that the net could teach car thieves! They
know it all! This stuff serves a useful purpose. If I am aware of what
they are going to do, I
might be able to do something to slow down a thief or even make it
so unattractive for them that they decide to pick on somebody else's car.
(Not a very friendly philosophy, is it?)
M. Longo ATTIS - Denverbrett@ucla-cs.UUCP (01/28/85)
> The same goes for cars. Although the people who steal tires are > usually hit and run, a good LOUD alarm with a radio pager and motion > detector are a good deterent. I had my motorcycle tampered with 5 times > in 4 weeks back in 1980. I tried to put an alarm on it but kept getting > false triggers and anoying the neighbors. I finally took it off, to > experiment with something else, but amazingly, the bike never got > touched after that. I have a Crimestopper pager alarm system. A couple of days ago I parked in a legal area outside my house and was towed away. I couldn't understand why my car was missing!! Guess what...it was towed because the alarm kept going off. It's supposed to go off after three minutes. I've had problems with the unit before. Also the paging unit doesnt even seem to work around the block from my own house. Does anyone have any experience with these types of alarm units? -- Brett Fleisch University of California Los Angeles 3804 Boelter Hall Los Angeles, CA 90024 Phone: (213) 825-2756, (213) 474-5317 brett@ucla-cs.ARPA or ...!{cepu, ihnp4, trwspp, ucbvax}!ucla-cs!brett -------------------------------------------------------------------------