Locking valve caps

[Ken R]

Given the spate of tyre deflation on SUV's by climate change activists under the "tyre extinguishers" banner has anybody fitted locking valve caps? How good are they and any recommendations?

[NemesisUK]

I'd rather  they deflated the tyre than stick a screwdriver through it...

[PCM]

Not sure I would bother.

Just buy a (electric) pump - worth having anyway.

[rayaans]

Definitely dont

Some of them are poor quality and corrode which can be a pain

And above else, I would definitely have a deflated tyre than a damaged tyre. Ive seen all sorts including biros used to puncture tyres

[Rabbers]

In pre-TPMS days I once bought an expensive set of Pirelli self-locking valve caps, not because I was especially worried about possible mischief but because their tops changed colour to warn of any significant loss of pressure, which they did reliably enough.  However, their removal required you to press down hard with a special key, and this tended to destroy the thread of the valves with the result that the use of  pliers or a cutter became necessary. Apparently this happened so often that Pirelli eventually withdrew the caps from the market, though not before I and many others had already thrown them out.

I have used only standard caps ever since, usually Lexus originals, and I would be reluctant to do otherwise.  If you are concerned enough to think of using locking caps you should bear in mind that the people you would be foiling are also the sort likeliest to vent their consequent frustration by other means not necessarily limited to your tyres.

[LenT]

5 hours ago, Ken R said:

Given the spate of tyre deflation on SUV's by climate change activists under the "tyre extinguishers" banner has anybody fitted locking valve caps? How good are they and any recommendations?

Unless regularly greased - and sometimes not even then - metal valve caps have a tendency to corrode on to the metal valve stem.  When you try to remove them, the result is that the expensive TPMS valve sheers off - and I speak from experience!

This is why Lexus dust caps are now plastic.

Of course there are sound reasons why ‘climate activists’ would be foolish to puncture a tyre to further their cause.  For one, it’s actual criminal damage and vandalism which might not sit well with supporters.  Or the Courts.  But mainly the resulting repair or replacement merely contributes to the very problems they’re claiming to protest against.

So something of an own goal!

[First_Lexus]

1 hour ago, LenT said:

Of course there are sound reasons why ‘climate activists’ would be foolish to puncture a tyre to further their cause.  For one, it’s actual criminal damage and vandalism which might not sit well with supporters.  Or the Courts.  But mainly the resulting repair or replacement merely contributes to the very problems they’re claiming to protest against.

So something of an own goal!

I’m sure they are (mostly) well meaning, and I’m in no way a ‘climate change denier’ but I do fear that most of the people doing this sort of thing have simply fastened onto the issue in order to cause mischief. 

They aren’t always the brightest either. On a radio phone-in about this last week, a caller had her Honda Jazz tyres deflated. In what universe is that an SUV?! Another caller was disabled, displaying a blue badge, and despite the ‘activists’ claiming they wouldn’t target vehicles clearly owned by somebody with a disability, they still had. 

The icing on the cake was the caller who had their tyres deflated…on an ELECTRIC car. 😆 Stupid hippies.

I blame the education system. 

[LenT]

12 minutes ago, First_Lexus said:

I blame the education system. 

And rightly so, Ed.

As you say, what ever the merits of the cause these individuals  espouse, the examples you give merely demonstrate that they don’t fully understand it themselves.