About McGard
McGard traces back to L.D. McCauley, Inc., a Buffalo, New York precision-machining shop founded in 1959 that did contract work for NASA and the military. In the early 1960s, founder Lewis D. McCauley designed and patented a security nut to stop wheel and tire theft, and McGard, Inc. was formed in 1964 to package and market it. McCauley patented the first one-piece wheel lock design in 1966 and took the product international the same year. The company is headquartered in a 185,000-square-foot facility in Orchard Park, New York, built in 1990.
McGard entered the Original Equipment Manufacturer market in 1977 with a lock for Cadillac's stainless steel wire wheel covers, and Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler followed by installing McGard locks as factory options and standard equipment on alloy-wheel models. McGard states it remains an OE wheel lock supplier to more than 30 car lines worldwide, and its locks and lug nuts are built to meet or exceed OEM proof-load standards of 135,000 to 160,000 PSI, with concentricity tolerances the company says run 30 percent tighter than OEM spec. The catalog has grown beyond passenger cars into heavy-duty truck and trailer wheel locks, marine locks for outboard motors, propellers, and stern drives, and security fasteners for utility and infrastructure use. On RevRated, the McGard 24548 Black Cone Seat Wheel Locks are our top pick for 1/2"-20 thread vehicles.
Brand website: mcgard.com
What McGard makes
McGard's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Wheel locks
cone-seat and bulge-seat locking lug nuts with a computer-generated internal key pattern -- the line featured on RevRated — featured on RevRated
Lug nuts & lug bolts
non-locking replacement lug nuts and bolts in OEM-matching finishes and thread sizes
Heavy-duty truck & trailer wheel locks
M22 and other heavy-thread locking sets for commercial trucks and single/tandem-axle trailers
Marine locks
outboard motor locks, propeller locks, stern drive locks, and trailer wheel locks for boats
Spare tire & tailgate locks
locks for exposed spare tires and truck tailgates
Utility & infrastructure security fasteners
mechanical anti-theft fasteners for water, electric, gas, and manhole access covers
Why we recognized McGard
The RevRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. McGard earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, run on real vehicles, and judged on merit.
McGard products we rated highly
McGard 24548 Black Cone Seat Wheel Locks (1/2"-20 Thread Size) - Set of 5
The internal flower key pattern is a genuinely defeat-resistant design in our testing -- the key reaches into a recessed pattern that cannot be gripped from outside, unlike external-spline competitors that can be hammered with a socket. The 5-lock set covers the spare tire, which most Amazon wheel lock kits skip, and a low-profile black finish blends into dark factory and aftermarket wheels. McGard registers every key code to a printed ID card so a lost key can be replaced through the company's own customer service program.
Read the 7 Best Wheel Locks of 2026 guide →What earned McGard the recognition
- The McGard 24548 Black Cone Seat Wheel Locks are our top pick for 1/2"-20 thread vehicles in RevRated's wheel lock testing, on the strength of the internal flower key pattern and 5-lock spare-tire coverage.
- McGard has supplied Original Equipment wheel locks since 1977, starting with Cadillac's stainless wire wheel covers, and states it remains an OE supplier to more than 30 car lines worldwide today.
- McGard's locks and lug nuts are built to meet or exceed OEM proof-load standards of 135,000 to 160,000 PSI, with concentricity tolerances the company says are 30 percent tighter than OEM spec.
- Every McGard key code is registered to a printed ID card, giving owners a real replacement path through the company's customer service program if a key is lost.
- Founded in 1964 out of a Buffalo, New York precision-machining shop, McGard patented the first one-piece wheel lock design in 1966 and has operated from its own 185,000-square-foot Orchard Park, New York facility since 1990.