Most common question: What does it do, and why should I buy it?

Over a week ago (sorry about the re-he-heally late response) a few people asked us what Disklok actually does. Aside from making witty comments and brilliant gif posts on CT we actually do have products that we provide, and we are a very serious company when it comes to this!

First off the Disklok comes in two colours, Silver and Yellow. There used to be a chrome version and even a red, but these aren’t currently on the market. We get a lot of suggestions about colours all the time, but to keep the professional standard up there we currently believe it best to keep to these two standard colours. So let’s discuss why we chose these, the answer is really simple. Yellow is very bright and bold, sticks out like a sore thumb and means any thieves that are within sighting distance will immediately see the massive boulder on the steering wheel and not even approach. Silver is for subtlety, as much as people care about safety we understand that making a statement isn’t always what is wanted or needed so we created the silver version to be obvious but only when up close to the car, which means thieves will look in, let out a sigh and walk away.

The "two kinds" of thieves

There is plenty of various levels of thieves, but for this example we’ll run with a very broad term of two, chancers and professionals. Chancers are most likely innocent people, they’ll be walking down the street and see a handbag or finally decide that they want the car. They won’t have any gear on them whatsoever (or may have few tools) and will do plenty of damage trying to get in. These guys aren’t looking for a profit from your car, they want whatever is inside and they want to have fun driving. At this point it is worth noting we cannot protect you against “smash and grabs”, so even if you do use a Disklok, do not leave valuables in the car, or at the very least on show. This kind of thief is most likely paranoid and scared, doing something out of their comfort zone to gain from it and any little sign of trouble will panic them. This is where a Disklok is pretty much perfect, as someone won’t take a chance on trying to pop one off, it looks far too big and complex to even make a start on, especially when this kind of person is looking for a quick bit of fun, it just isn’t worth it.

The other kind of thief we’ll talk about is professionals. These are people who know exactly what they’re doing and explore the market professionally. They know every bit of information out there and will use this to their advantage when stealing your vehicle. They will assess the car glancing past, blend into the crowd entirely and you wouldn’t even know it. Professionals will not be discouraged easily, the fact is they know all there is to know about what they are doing and either way, they WILL steal something. This kind of thief can scout cars for days, you will never see them and if you do, wouldn’t think twice. They are very visual, may have methods hidden around the corner and will plan out how they’ll steal your ride. With this in mind, it was very crucial for us to get our name out there, and today thieves like this know what a Disklok is, and as soon as they see it slapped on the wheel 9.9 times out of 10 they will simply move on to a new target. Now it sounds unfair to have someone else victimized by this individual, but why risk your ride because others don’t?

So on a visual basis, this is how a Disklok “works”. Chancers are completely scared off and professionals know us now, so aren’t too pleased to see us.

Getting a Disklok off your wheel

This is the good stuff now, this is the part we all love to explain over the phone, simply because not one other company can say the same. The information we provide here, and to our customers is not unique by any means, but we’re the only one who can say it truly and confidently with Thatcham themselves backing us up, so buckle in!

Clarkson can fix anything with a hammer, right?

Sorry, you’re wrong! Don’t lose faith in Clarkson, but a Disklok cannot be “fixed” or removed with a hammer. It simply cannot. There is countless points to be made about the Disklok, so I’ll try to keep it short and sweet (I can’t, sorry).

Firstly, there is no access point. This is a double edged sword really, as we do not possess a way to simply “pop” a Disklok. It doesn’t. Once it is on, it’s on, so DO NOT lose the keys. The design of the Disklok is round, there is no simple point on a Disklok that if you hit it, it’ll break. A chisel, hammer, mallet, saw, screwdriver and various other tools do not have any way to have a go at it, making manual labour a nightmare. If you lose the keys and have it locked onto the wheel it will take a professional locksmith a huge amount of time to break into it and have it release.

The sizing. There are three sizes to a Disklok and it is important to get the right one. Getting the wrong Disklok means that if someone was stupid enough to try to steal your ride with one on, it would be possible to squeeze off. For this reason alone we never “suggest” a size to anyone, you must measure the wheel and ensure you have the right one. Once you give us that golden number, we will then be happy to tell you what to get. The sizing guide can be found here:

It spins! This is probably the most important thing to think of. “But what if they just drive with it on?”. In short, they can’t. The Disklok is designed to fit your steering wheel, but loosely. This means that once you put it on and pull the lever to lock it on your wheel it’ll simply spin around freely and immobilize the steering, meaning your car isn’t going anywhere but straight (or whatever way you aimed the wheels).

The key barrel is also its own security feature. Typically it is a key point thieves target, so rather than leave it open for people to try, the barrel simply pushes down. This doesn’t sound too “protect-y” but when you realise it pushes down into a thick steel frame, completely flat to the surface removing any access other than from the key it becomes quite obvious that nobody can try to unlock it.

The design is also a key feature, as to get it on the wheel it needs to open out. But the simple explanation is that it is designed to resist. A common question is to ask how much force it can withstand, and honestly, we don’t know. The simple fact of it is that we can’t test it. The Disklok is that powerful and sturdy that there is no test which would accurately give a number to the force required to remove it. Once it’s on, it’s as if it’s become your steering wheel.

There are more points we could make but I don’t want to pull you away from too many internet kittens and puppies so let me sum up with one final point.

This point has never really been made to us, other than on CT (no offense guys, but asking this does sound a bit goofy when you reflect on it). The material the Disklok is made of. We’ve had numerous people explain to us that plastic is easily broke, so what’s the point? The Disklok costs £99.99 for a small, and £114.99 for a medium or large, if a company is charging you this for a piece of plastic you should put a Disklok on your wallet because they’re probably ripping you off! The Disklok is made out of a hardened steel, it is incredibly thick and weighs 4kg or 5kg depending on size. The Disklok is not just a visual deterrent, if someone is stupid enough to try for your ride this thing WILL hold up to anything they have.

There's a way around everything

Yes, there is. It’s a simple fact of life that nothing is perfect, and the Disklok admittedly falls under this category too. Fortunately these points have been thought of too. While I won’t be divulging secret ways to get a Disklok off (Google it, you won’t find anything because there isn’t any) there is one way we tell people that our proud product can be removed. Power tools. Sounds easy right? With power tools, it could take 3 - 5 minutes to remove. While this sounds gross and easily scary it really isn’t when you’re a thief. Thieves work on a fast and quick basis, this is neither. 3 - 5 minutes is a long time, and due to it being made of hardened steel the Disklok makes a LOT of noise. This is everything a thief hates, imagine you’re going for a bowl of cereal in the middle of the night, you’re creeping down the stairs not to wake your parents and one stair creaks. That fear you have? Imagine it on the scale of someone committing a crime, on a car, in public, trying to be subtle, using power tools and then it whistles and shrieks loudly. They’ll vanish quicker than a car on F&F with 20 gears.

To sum up, why should you get a Disklok? There are many points that we can make that no other car wheel lock can. We are the only Thatcham approved one and thieves know who we are. Also, the most important point to make is that a Disklok is NOT rice, I mean, just look at it!

Finally, this was quite a substantial amount of text, if you have ANY questions you are absolutely welcome to ask. And remember, we always offer 10% off for you awesome CTzens so if you decide to get one USE THE CODE CTzen-DSK10 !