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Hello,
just picked up a new to me C8. It has spline lug nuts but no socket. Is this a standard spline lug nut or is a security spline from GM. I went to a steelership but they were no help. Said they could only help if I had the code.
Thoughts? Should I just replace them or can I get a spline deep well socket?
Nearly a sure thing, you have McGard Security Lug Nuts. They are the Go To brand for most found here. And GMs OEM option. Google McGard Customer Service and contact them.
Updated this post after a jpeg of the lug nuts was posted by the OP.
Last edited by papillion; Mar 7, 2025 at 10:26 AM.
Replace them with standard lugs, lock lugs invites a thief to smash out you window to get the socket. If it has lock lugs, you have a socket in the car.
Just get standard lugs. My body man showed me once how easy it is to remove them as he has customers all the time who lose the spline socket. He simply clamps a large vice grip on the nut, gives it a couple raps with a hammer and loosened. He told me any good thief knows how to break them loose.
You may have this type of Gorilla lock system. If so, you can contact Gorilla customer service and email them a photo of one spline and they will sell you a new key. This is probably the best locking system you can have because removing all of the locks is so difficult and time consuming.
Who in the world would install locking lugnuts and not supply the "key?" Pitch 'em and get regular. If someone wants your tires/wheels why **** them off so they destroy half the car trying to get them, especially when insurance will cover replacements?
Who in the world would install locking lugnuts and not supply the "key?" Pitch 'em and get regular. If someone wants your tires/wheels why **** them off so they destroy half the car trying to get them, especially when insurance will cover replacements?
OP described the car as "new to me," implying that it was purchased used. The buyer either hasn't found the "key" or it is not in the car. Not the first time this has happened with a used car purchase...
Or he didn't bother to look for it. Expecting the "stealership" to fix it for him isn't going to work.
Originally Posted by Bob Paris
OP described the car as "new to me," implying that it was purchased used. The buyer either hasn't found the "key" or it is not in the car. Not the first time this has happened with a used car purchase...
Replace them with standard lugs, lock lugs invites a thief to smash out you window to get the socket. If it has lock lugs, you have a socket in the car.
If the car has aftermarket wheels, the OEM lug nuts may not fit. A lot of AM wheels have smaller diameter lug holes, and come with the narrower spline nuts for that reason.
Originally Posted by gliot1
Just get standard lugs. My body man showed me once how easy it is to remove them as he has customers all the ti me who lose the spline socket. He simply clamps a large vice grip on the nut, gives it a couple raps with a hammer and loosened. He told me any good thief knows how to break them loose.
Spline nuts aren't intended to be security locks. That's not why they exist.
"Is this a standard spline lug nut or is a security spline from GM."
Originally Posted by Red Mist Rulz
If the car has aftermarket wheels, the OEM lug nuts may not fit. A lot of AM wheels have smaller diameter lug holes, and come with the narrower spline nuts for that reason.
Spline nuts aren't intended to be security locks. That's not why they exist.
Any self-respecting wheel thief should have the proper sockets or techniques to remove those. But self-respecting and wheel thief really doesn't belong in the same sentence, now does it?
You should have uploaded your picture with the first post not your last edit. Then using the picture, you could have right clicked on it and selected Search with Google Lens from the drop down menu. Using the 4 corner adjusters narrowed the focus. So I did. And voila discovered the lug's brand and who sells them. The Bimecc Wheel Lug Kit is sold at Discount/America Tire Stores.
Avant Garde wheels have a smaller diameter lug hole and as such require "Tuner" style lug nuts. Standard lug nuts and sockets will NOT fit those wheels. I had them on my car so I am speaking from direct experience with this. Tuner lugs have a much smaller diameter and require a thin walled socket to remove and install them. This is very common for aftermarket wheels. That splined lug is a standard size and numerous folks sell the socket. Discount Tire will have what you need or you can easily find them on Ebay. Tuner lugs are not wheel locks. I usually get 2 sockets as the walls on them are extremely thin and prone to cracking if over torqued. The splined tuner socket is on the left. A Titan scratch resistant 22MM socket on the right. The Titan socket fits stock GM wheels. Here again, the splined tuner socket on the left, compared to a standard 22MM inmpact socket on the right. You can clearly see the diameter difference between the two. There is NO WAY the standard sockets and or lug nuts will work with AG wheels and many other aftermarket choices.
Spline Lug Nuts?
