#TireTheft101: How Do Car Tire Thieves Pull Off the Cinder Block Trick?
Have you ever wondered how car tire thieves manage to lift a car onto cinder blocks without anyone noticing? Well, let’s dive into the sneaky tactics they use to execute this brazen crime.
### The Jacking Technique
One common method that tire thieves use is by using a car jack to lift the vehicle off the ground. They simply find a sturdy spot underneath the car to place the jack and slowly lift the car up. This allows them to remove the tires with ease and leave the car propped up on cinder blocks.
### Why Use Cinder Blocks?
Now, you may be wondering why tire thieves bother with placing the car on cinder blocks instead of leaving it on the pavement. The answer lies in the ease of access to the tires. By elevating the car, thieves can work more comfortably and quickly remove the tires without having to crouch down or struggle with the lug nuts.
### Preventing Tire Theft
To prevent falling victim to car tire theft, consider these tips:
🔧 Invest in wheel locks or lug nut locks to deter thieves.
🔧 Park in well-lit areas or a garage to make it harder for thieves to work undetected.
🔧 Install a car alarm or tracking device to deter thieves and help recover your stolen tires.
By taking these proactive steps, you can reduce the risk of becoming a target for tire thieves and protect your vehicle from this costly crime. Stay vigilant and always be on the lookout for suspicious activity around your car. #CarSafetyTips 🚗🔒
Often there is more than 1 person working on the car. When you jack up one tire you can set it on a block and jack up a different tire while somebody work on removing that first tire. It would be really slow doing it one tire at a time.
If you tried to lower the car onto the brake rotors you wouldn’t be able to remove the jack.
There was a car theft ring in Sacramento in the 90s, they specialized in broken down cars alongside the road.
They had a garage shop on wheels, and a “pit crew” that would put NASCAR to shame.. they would roll up on an abandoned car, a hydronic jack would slide underneath and lift the car, as a team they would proceed to strip the car to the frame. According to the news report they would finish in about 15 min.
Edit: Hydraulic
I use to steal cars. Other answers are good but the easiest way is to get the blocks up to height under the frame and then deflate the tires. Car will rest on the blocks and you can get the tires off, sometimes have to wiggle a bit but you don’t need a jack or anything crazy.
Loosen lugs on the rear while jack man lifts.
Drop it on blocks while wrenchers remove the rears.
Loosen lugs on the front while jack man lifts.
Drop it on blocks while wrenchers remove the fronts.
Out of the van and back in with a full set in less than 5 minutes. Cinder blocks you can grab at most industrial sites.
They use a jack to lift, but probably prefer the cinder block method for their own version of “The floor is lava” game.
They’re like reverse Santa: instead of leaving presents, they’re leaving cinderblocks and taking your wheels.
So they can get the jack out after they remove the wheels. Otherwise they lose their ability to steal another set of wheels
Buddy of mine back in the day used to do this. They are not after the tires they are almost always after the rims. What he would do is stick the blocks under the frame cut the valve plug off or slash the tires so they deflate very quickly then just unbolt them and pop them off. He said he could get a set by himself in under 3 minutes.
I’m just gonna leave this here:
There’s a reason the other term for these people is “carjackers”.