View Full Version : Steering wheel locks?
wanderer
04-11-2002, 00:24
I'm interested in getting a steering wheel lock to enhance the visual deterrent to potential thieves of my soon-to-arrive Leon Cupra.
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations as to which locks are the best. They seem to range from quite flimsy to bleeding massive, but as all we men know .... size doesn't matter :) What does matter to me is to fit something that makes a thieving scrote think twice.
So any advice would be gratefully received.
Also, seeing as I haven't got my Cupra yet, does anyone know the steering wheel size for a MY2003 Leon Cupra? I'm thinking of buying a lock before the car arrives to be on the safe side and I'm currently leaning towards a full-surround lock of some sort, probably an Autolock 2000.
Thanks,
Gary
Go to : www.autoexpress.co.uk
Look at the Product Tests for Physical Security.
Quote:
Disklok
Rating: * * * * *
Price: £79.99
Wheel cuts: 0
Attack time (secs): 380
With only one minor glitch, the Disklok has been consistently at the top. By covering the wheel it pre-empts many attacks, leaving our team no option but to resort to blunt objects and lots of hard work. The slight redesign was virtually unnoticeable until we looked at the (very noisy) attack time – around 50 per cent up on last year.
End quote
The Disklok's been rated the best 3 times (well almost, the first they tried had a fault). I've used one on my WRC look-a-like Toyota Corolla for the past 4 years and not one attemped theft or breakin, touch wood.
Costco currently have them in at £60 I think.
Hope that helps.
think the wheel is around the 350mm mark,the lock you refer too is the best on the market at the mo but as you say is huge,even got thatcham approval though,brian posted a pic of one that looks like a baseball bat dunno how good it is but you can guess the other use for it should you find twocking toe rags near ya car:devil:
Don't want to be the bearer or bad tidings, but Autoexpress said:
Autolok 2000
Rating: * *
Price: £57.99
Wheel cuts: 0
Attack time (secs): 16
Some products we test with low expectations, but that isn't the case with the 2000, a one-time Best Buy. However, over the years we've sussed out the weak points and Giles went for its metal jugular – the result being a startling 16-second defeat. Disappointing, not least because Autolok knew of this problem last year, and solving it shouldn't be too difficult.
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I was going to get one for my misses' MX-5 as the Disklok it too big to use in the small cabin, but went for a Stoplock Pro instead.
Call me a control freak, but i want to feel secure, so looked into the security thing a lot.
I use two "bar" type locks and have done for years. I tend to put them on just about everywhere. One's a Stoplock Pro which's Thatcham approved still (I think), and the other was approved for a few years, but I can't remember what it's called!
The local Crime Prevention Officer told me once, that whilst both could be got past eventually, the bad lads should just move on, as it'd take extra time, that maybe they didn't have. Fingers crossed...
ive been using the disklok for 4 years now- quality piece of kit. built VERY well, very strong, and looks secure when its locked over your sterring wheel. I feel very confident every time my disklok is on, great visual deterrant too.
Must confess to be considering one.
Hi All
Just a little warning to all of you considering a "disklok". I got one of these for my Cupra and there is one "minor" safety feature to consider. The locking bar folds inside the two half circle sections for storage. Opening it up in my lap to put it on the wheel this weekend I discovered that the arm swings back out quite fast and being rather sturdily built from a big lump of steel is quite heavy. If you position everything just right (or just wrong depending on where you view this all from) it WILL swing out right into your boll~#~s doing you a nasty mischief :eek: :eek: :eek:
Other than that, seems like a solid bit of kit.
Snark (still limping slightly) !
Disklok
I too have considered such a device but have always wondered...
where on earth do you keep it when it's not on the wheel :confused: . It might sound like an obvious question, but any security device that involves work is going to consigned to the bin when I get bored of retrieving it each and every time I leave the car.
wanderer
04-11-2002, 19:03
Thanks a lot guys, very helpful.
I keep my disklock either in the front passenger or rear passenger footwell. After years of use it becomes second nature to move it round the car and avoid serious damage to body and car. Never quite managed to get it to swing at my bollox though!!!
I always use it it only takes a couple of seconds to put on and take off.
At first though it was a pain in the ars@, and the arms as it weighs quite a bit.
i keep mine on the rear passenger footwell. May be a bit of a hassle to put back and get out, but i consider that a LOT less hassle then having the whole car nicked.
LEO LION R
04-11-2002, 21:51
Originally posted by Snark
Hi All
Just a little warning to all of you considering a "disklok". I got one of these for my Cupra and there is one "minor" safety feature to consider. The locking bar folds inside the two half circle sections for storage. Opening it up in my lap to put it on the wheel this weekend I discovered that the arm swings back out quite fast and being rather sturdily built from a big lump of steel is quite heavy. If you position everything just right (or just wrong depending on where you view this all from) it WILL swing out right into your boll~#~s doing you a nasty mischief :eek: :eek: :eek:
Other than that, seems like a solid bit of kit.
Snark (still limping slightly) !
LOL :D
I have a disklok too and it is used every day.
I haven't had a nasty mischief like Snark (AYA :( ), but i have jammed my finger in it whenit was in the open position, and as i started to position it to go over the steering wheel - it swung shut and caught my finger in the middle. It could have been worse if it had been round the other way, and swung with full force, however 2 or 3 seconds and it's on safely now.
As others say it just becomes second nature storing it on the floor. If it is left on the seats it just slams onto the floor when heavy braking is applied as i found out a couple of times.
It is pretty bloody anoying if the key is not inserted fully/correctly, after which it takes several attempts to put it in and turn arround to unlock.
:cheers:
used to use a stop lock until i bought an after market wheel and it squezzed the wheel too much,may go for another one ,but my car ain't worth knicking anymore and the CAT 1 alarm is very handy,and i advertise the fact it is in there too,window stickers on both sides:cheers:
Thanks for the replies guys. Probably look into purchasing one.
Warning noted...;)
I tend to find the two bars I've got, fit neatly into the foot well behind the driver's seat - Scooby or Leon, and are easy to get at. Hopefully, if the worst happened and I had some kind of biggie accident, they wouldn't go flying around the car, doing all kinds of damage to passangers, me or the vehicle...:eek: Fingers crossed.