Loose Lug Nuts: Heat-Related, Anger-Related or Stealing-Related? - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

nilfinite · 03-30-2016, 09:52 AM

My Camaro with 1LE wheels was tampered with day before yesterday.

1. Parked the car in the public garage near my work.
2. Left for a meeting at 1pm and noticed weird ticking sounds when I was moving and when I wasn't moving, sounds went away when I started driving (sounded like electrical issues, made an appointment with the dealer for the weekend)
3. Drove home and back to work the next day (tire pressures were acting strange in the rear left wheel)
4. Getting gas on the way back home, checked the wheels and saw rear right wheel was completely missing a lug nut
5. Lug nuts on the rear left were hand-loose, rear right were extremely loose. Front left was loose as well.
6. Shit my pants that the wheels didn't fall off on the highway
7. Brought it to a tire shop to have them torque it down
7a. It was closing time for Redwood General Tire & America's Tire. Guys were walking out the door when I asked for help. The General Tire guys are lazy and blamed that their tools were locked up so they couldn't get to them. America's Tire for the win. Another Camaro-owner was there and helped me out. His was Black, Supercharged & M228 wheels. Sweet.

So I have 3 potential scenarios on what happened:
1. Someone wanted to steal the wheels, first loosen the lug nuts then come back with some strong guys/tools to lift up the car and pull off the wheels. This was all during the day. Luckily I left early that day.
2. Someone hates me. No sure who I've pissed off but always a possibility. The Camaro is a beast car.
3. Went to an autocross school (20+ runs) the last time I drove the Camaro and heat could have loosened the lug nuts. Maybe it took this long for them to get this loose. I've had a similar situation happen before with the front wheels on my FWD car.

Plan of action:
1. Carry a torque wrench around and 22mm sockets
2. Get locking lug nuts

Curious on what you guys think.

SynergyGreenSS · 03-30-2016, 10:31 AM

My thoughts are that because there were several wheels with loose lugs, someone wasn't trying to steal your wheels, but they were either trying to harm you, or mess with you (not a good way to mess with someone). If they were trying to steal them they wouldn't have tried taking several wheels off. Not good.. Just my two cents. Hopefully nothing like this happens again to you

yzark99 · 03-30-2016, 07:23 PM

3. Dash cam that records when movement is detected.

IkoIko · 03-30-2016, 07:37 PM

Someone tried to steal your wheels. I had a similar thing happen to me when I drove an '82 Z28. I parked my car in a residential neighborhood in Richmond, CA while I enjoyed dinner with friends. Following dinner I got in my car and drove home which was San Francisco at the time. I parked and as I went to retrieve something from the hatch, I looked along the right side of the car. I noticed lug nuts missing off the right rear and after checking the right front the lug nuts were loose. The thief (thieves) weren't able to complete the theft.

Moving forward in time, I've driven nine hours through the Mojave Desert during daylight for nine hours in my 2012 SS and the lugs and tires, for that matter, were fine.

I'm glad the thief was unsuccessful and you are alright. My lug nut incident with the Z28 led me to install two locking lugs per wheel to make the thieves shop elsewhere.
I think the two locks per wheel will send the appropriate message. Don't you?

Scalded Dog · 03-31-2016, 11:22 AM

I cannot imagine hard driving loosening this many nuts... there had to be some human with evil intent who turned those things.

If it makes you feel any better, even having two nuts still holding on, you are probably still not going to have major problems immediately. Most of the support on the studs is shear pressure (gravity pulls the car down, not out/ away, although cornering changes that dynamic). As long as you have good studs, if the wheel is still held in place, you are probably going to be fine... just start making a habit of eyeballing those things more frequently, in case you DO have somebody trying to steal your wheels... or kill you off.

A while back, I was driving on a mountain highway (I commute on this road every day, at fairly high speeds). I thought I had a flat tire, when things got all wobbly, bumpy, and noisy. I pulled over, all tires were good. Ended up flatbedding the car to the house... and discovered that I had FOUR broken studs on ONE wheel... only one heroic lil' stud was holding that wheel on (when 5hit went south on me, I was in a high speed turn, with THAT wheel on the outside... ). I have no idea how ONE stud held on, when his four buddies had quit and left him holding the entire wheel, but, hell, it worked. No major catastrophe. I'm not saying that it's great to go around with missing lug nuts or missing studs, BUT, for the most part, the wheel should stay on long enough for you to notice, get it fixed, and see another day.

CJandtheSS · 03-31-2016, 11:44 AM

Someone was def trying to steal your wheels. There are countless pics of 1LEs and Zl1s on bricks. Especially in the bay area the Camaros are still a hot commodity for thieves. Get some gorilla lugs wont stop em but will slow them down a lot and make some noise in the process.

PS the America tires guys almost always ask for revs from the garage when i drive by. Cool dudes.

JLSuperfly · 03-31-2016, 12:19 PM

Not as bad as what happened to you but I just noticed that someone stole all four valve caps in my Camaro although I am not sure when this happened.

nilfinite · 04-01-2016, 05:54 PM

Thanks guys for your thoughts.

I agree it's probably someone trying to steal the wheels. I don't usually drive the Camaro to work, usually DD a Fiat 500e. No surprise that the few days that I drive the Camaro, something happens to it.

This was a good experience though. Never going to park the Camaro overnight in that garage now. Thought it was safe since other more expensive cars park there overnight.

Never worried about car security this much until the Camaro. It's crazy. There's a big black market for these wheels and engines apparently.

SPCBA · 04-02-2016, 04:38 PM

It's not necessarily the price of the car but how easily they can get parts off and sold. Goodluck

nighttowl · 04-02-2016, 10:46 PM

All 5 bolts on my wheels are lock nuts.

nilfinite · 04-04-2016, 12:33 AM

I bought the chrome McGuard locking nuts. Going to also get Gorilla locking nuts soon too.

Any suggestions on how I can DIY paint the McGuard locking nuts black? That way all of the lug nuts will be locking + two different locks.

Nor Cal ZL1 · 04-07-2016, 06:58 PM

Your lucky they didn't just take the car. Palo Alto is in close to the prime theft area.

nilfinite · 04-15-2016, 09:47 AM

Update: Locked up the wheels with 2 different types of wheels locks. Also have security so they can't just take the car lol.

03-30-2016, 09:52 AM	#1
nilfinite Drives: Camaro 1LE Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 245	Loose Lug Nuts: Heat-Related, Anger-Related or Stealing-Related? My Camaro with 1LE wheels was tampered with day before yesterday. 1. Parked the car in the public garage near my work. 2. Left for a meeting at 1pm and noticed weird ticking sounds when I was moving and when I wasn't moving, sounds went away when I started driving (sounded like electrical issues, made an appointment with the dealer for the weekend) 3. Drove home and back to work the next day (tire pressures were acting strange in the rear left wheel) 4. Getting gas on the way back home, checked the wheels and saw rear right wheel was completely missing a lug nut 5. Lug nuts on the rear left were hand-loose, rear right were extremely loose. Front left was loose as well. 6. Shit my pants that the wheels didn't fall off on the highway 7. Brought it to a tire shop to have them torque it down 7a. It was closing time for Redwood General Tire & America's Tire. Guys were walking out the door when I asked for help. The General Tire guys are lazy and blamed that their tools were locked up so they couldn't get to them. America's Tire for the win. Another Camaro-owner was there and helped me out. His was Black, Supercharged & M228 wheels. Sweet. So I have 3 potential scenarios on what happened: 1. Someone wanted to steal the wheels, first loosen the lug nuts then come back with some strong guys/tools to lift up the car and pull off the wheels. This was all during the day. Luckily I left early that day. 2. Someone hates me. No sure who I've pissed off but always a possibility. The Camaro is a beast car. 3. Went to an autocross school (20+ runs) the last time I drove the Camaro and heat could have loosened the lug nuts. Maybe it took this long for them to get this loose. I've had a similar situation happen before with the front wheels on my FWD car. Plan of action: 1. Carry a torque wrench around and 22mm sockets 2. Get locking lug nuts Curious on what you guys think. Last edited by nilfinite; 04-08-2016 at 08:13 PM.

03-30-2016, 07:23 PM	#3
yzark99 I run 2 catch cans... Drives: 2012 1LT SIM Auto Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: OR there Posts: 1,038 View My Garage	3. Dash cam that records when movement is detected. __________________ Overkill tuned • Air Scoop • CAI • VMAX PTB • JacFab Laminator FX + Extendolator • SOLO Hi-Flo Cats + Cat-Back Exhaust View my top 3 LFX performance mods and more: .

03-31-2016, 11:44 AM	#6
CJandtheSS Drives: 2012 Victory Red Camaro 2SS/RS M6 Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Redwood City, CA Posts: 130	Someone was def trying to steal your wheels. There are countless pics of 1LEs and Zl1s on bricks. Especially in the bay area the Camaros are still a hot commodity for thieves. Get some gorilla lugs wont stop em but will slow them down a lot and make some noise in the process. PS the America tires guys almost always ask for revs from the garage when i drive by. Cool dudes. __________________ 2012 Victory Red 2SS/RS: Cold Air Inductions CAI, Long Tubes, HF Cats. Corsa Catback, Hurst Short Throw, Dyno Tune, Matte Bronze TSW Nurburgrings, Factory High Wing, Afterburners/Illuminated Rear Bow-Tie, and 275/315 Nittos. 420HP 421TQ

04-02-2016, 04:38 PM	#9
SPCBA Drives: pleather and Chiclets Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: a line somwhere Posts: 4,206 View My Garage	It's not necessarily the price of the car but how easily they can get parts off and sold. Goodluck __________________ the power by www.cunningham-motorsports.com the brakes by www.RacingBrake.com

04-02-2016, 10:46 PM	#10
nighttowl Sarcasm loading -------- Drives: 2018 ZL1 1LE Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: TX Posts: 1,806 View My Garage	All 5 bolts on my wheels are lock nuts. __________________ "The salesman actually told me to stop getting it sideways during the test drive" 2018 MBM ZL1 1LE - Stock 2014 CRT ZL1 574 rwhp, 537 rwtq - SOLD 2010 IBM SS Camaro VVT L99 w/ TR6060 swap, 489 rwhp, 444 rwtq - SOLD

03-30-2016, 10:31 AM	#2
SynergyGreenSS Drives: 2011 2SS Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Arlington, Texas Posts: 1,333	My thoughts are that because there were several wheels with loose lugs, someone wasn't trying to steal your wheels, but they were either trying to harm you, or mess with you (not a good way to mess with someone). If they were trying to steal them they wouldn't have tried taking several wheels off. Not good.. Just my two cents. Hopefully nothing like this happens again to you

03-30-2016, 07:37 PM	#4
IkoIko IkoIko Drives: '12 2SS 6MT Victory Red Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: NorCal Posts: 299 View My Garage	Someone tried to steal your wheels. I had a similar thing happen to me when I drove an '82 Z28. I parked my car in a residential neighborhood in Richmond, CA while I enjoyed dinner with friends. Following dinner I got in my car and drove home which was San Francisco at the time. I parked and as I went to retrieve something from the hatch, I looked along the right side of the car. I noticed lug nuts missing off the right rear and after checking the right front the lug nuts were loose. The thief (thieves) weren't able to complete the theft. Moving forward in time, I've driven nine hours through the Mojave Desert during daylight for nine hours in my 2012 SS and the lugs and tires, for that matter, were fine. I'm glad the thief was unsuccessful and you are alright. My lug nut incident with the Z28 led me to install two locking lugs per wheel to make the thieves shop elsewhere. I think the two locks per wheel will send the appropriate message. Don't you?

03-31-2016, 11:22 AM	#5
Scalded Dog Drives: 2011 1LT Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Crestline, CA Posts: 3,029	I cannot imagine hard driving loosening this many nuts... there had to be some human with evil intent who turned those things. If it makes you feel any better, even having two nuts still holding on, you are probably still not going to have major problems immediately. Most of the support on the studs is shear pressure (gravity pulls the car down, not out/ away, although cornering changes that dynamic). As long as you have good studs, if the wheel is still held in place, you are probably going to be fine... just start making a habit of eyeballing those things more frequently, in case you DO have somebody trying to steal your wheels... or kill you off. A while back, I was driving on a mountain highway (I commute on this road every day, at fairly high speeds). I thought I had a flat tire, when things got all wobbly, bumpy, and noisy. I pulled over, all tires were good. Ended up flatbedding the car to the house... and discovered that I had FOUR broken studs on ONE wheel... only one heroic lil' stud was holding that wheel on (when 5hit went south on me, I was in a high speed turn, with THAT wheel on the outside... ). I have no idea how ONE stud held on, when his four buddies had quit and left him holding the entire wheel, but, hell, it worked. No major catastrophe. I'm not saying that it's great to go around with missing lug nuts or missing studs, BUT, for the most part, the wheel should stay on long enough for you to notice, get it fixed, and see another day.

03-31-2016, 12:19 PM	#7
JLSuperfly Drives: 2014 Red Hot LS3 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: SF Bay Area, CA Posts: 4,266	Not as bad as what happened to you but I just noticed that someone stole all four valve caps in my Camaro although I am not sure when this happened.

04-01-2016, 05:54 PM	#8
nilfinite Drives: Camaro 1LE Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 245	Thanks guys for your thoughts. I agree it's probably someone trying to steal the wheels. I don't usually drive the Camaro to work, usually DD a Fiat 500e. No surprise that the few days that I drive the Camaro, something happens to it. This was a good experience though. Never going to park the Camaro overnight in that garage now. Thought it was safe since other more expensive cars park there overnight. Never worried about car security this much until the Camaro. It's crazy. There's a big black market for these wheels and engines apparently.

04-04-2016, 12:33 AM	#11
nilfinite Drives: Camaro 1LE Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 245	I bought the chrome McGuard locking nuts. Going to also get Gorilla locking nuts soon too. Any suggestions on how I can DIY paint the McGuard locking nuts black? That way all of the lug nuts will be locking + two different locks.

04-07-2016, 06:58 PM	#12
Nor Cal ZL1 Drives: 2013 ZL1 M6 Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Nor Cal Posts: 1,825	Your lucky they didn't just take the car. Palo Alto is in close to the prime theft area.

04-15-2016, 09:47 AM	#13
nilfinite Drives: Camaro 1LE Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 245	Update: Locked up the wheels with 2 different types of wheels locks. Also have security so they can't just take the car lol.