how many of you actual follow torque specs on wheels?

[LiU]

It just hit me that I've never follwed torque specs when I change my tires or take them on/off for a reason... I usually just step on the wrench a coupla times to make sure it's good and tight... any of you guys just gun it like I do or do you actually follow torque specs?

[IvoryJ30t]

depends. if its a normal driver, i just do it by hand. if its a fast car, i break out the torque wrench.

[TrunkMonkey]

i do.

specs are 72 - 87 ft-lbs.

-demetrius

[Bubba1]

I do too

[Nathan]

I haven't before, but now that I have a torque wrench I'm sure I will whenever possible.

[BuudWeizErr]

I don't usually, but I did some touge last night and I did.

It was only off by 1-2 ft-lbs, so I trust my hand almost as much as I trust the torque wrench.

[MainEvent212]

just wondering, but how possible is it to over-torque the lugs by hand?

[Nathan]

I'm a pretty big guy and I haven't managed to on other cars I've owned. I usually just tighten them until they make a loud popping sound, then stop. I haven't ever broken a bolt or had a wheel fall off so I must be doing something right.

[szh]

I use a torque wrench. Without them, you are likely to cause too much stress on rotors by overtightening some lug nuts and not tightening others - consistency is key, of course.

Alos, fwiw, never use an impact air wrench! If any place you go to (for tires, brakes or other wheel work) starts doing that, stop them immediately.

Z

[DAEDALUS]

I'm a pretty big guy and I haven't managed to on other cars I've owned. I usually just tighten them until they make a loud popping sound, then stop. I haven't ever broken a bolt or had a wheel fall off so I must be doing something right.

Nothing right about that! If it's popping, that's the press-fit lug spinning in place. Could be: 1) It's too tight if the lug's spinning, or 2) It's not tight enough because the lug's too loose from repeated spinning.

[Nathan]

Well, I haven't done it on the 240, but that's good to know. I actually got the advice "just tighten it until it pops" from my dad and it has actually served me well so far. What I don't get though is why it will also pop when I loosen them and they always feel like they are tightened the same amount when I go to break them loose. I always assumed the kind of screeching/popping noise when they got tight was just metal on metal contact of the self centering lugs on the wheels...just a product of the friction between them. What do you think? I shall have to break out the torque wrench and tighten them down properly to see if they make the same sound. I really doubt I could be putting them on tight enough to rotate the lug itself considerign I've broken studs OFF after tire shops put them on with impact wrenches. It seems that their use of impact wrenches would have stripped out the lug hole or the actual serrations on the lug enough that it wouldn't have enough grip to be loosened if that was the case. I know I'm not tightening MORE than an impact wrench can.

[Bandit240]

Hmm never thought about this before. Normally i just set impact gun on 2 or 3 and go till it stops. Could be the reason i had 2 borken lugs.........I might have to do that from now on.

[Altiman94]

Never broken a lug and I don't use a torque wrench but i actually do have one now. I'm not that anal about my car

[SmithSR]

I torque 100 wheels each day, on average. 25 cars. That's 25 chances for liability claims, 25 chances for me to lose my job because a wheel falls off because it's not torqued to spec. Also, if a wheel falls off a car I work on, and that wheel hits another car, or God forbid, hits a pedestrian, more liability claims. I'd be looking for work before the day was out.

There's no reason not to torque to spec. Too busy? How long does it really take you to torque 4 wheels?

I've seen 'em too loose, and fall off going down the road. The car is brought back on a hook and we foot the bill. I've also seen 'em too tight, and people break studs. Then they get a flat tire, and can't remove the lug nut because it's stripped out from being too tight. Do it right, and you don't have these problems.

[Nismo_Freak]

You have to properly use the impact to use it... there is nothing wrong with using an impact to put on the lugs.

- Hand thread lugs- Impact them w/ torque stick- Tighten to spec w/ torque wrench

Saves time, effort and with the right torque sticks you will never overtorque the wheels unless you blatantly run on the nuts.

[Nismo_Freak]

Alos, fwiw, never use an impact air wrench! If any place you go to (for tires, brakes or other wheel work) starts doing that, stop them immediately.

Z

Only stop them if they are not using a torque stick ... which is a special extension that will allow only X amount of torque.

[Fezzik]

i've always tightened them to pretty tight and then put my weight on it about two times to get it extremely tight. Never had problems with that.

[civics91]

i use a torque wrench.

[R4v3n]

I used to work at "Just Tires" and I did exactly what Nismo Freak said. I would hand tighten them to start, impact them until the lugs are snug. Then I would use a torque wrench to torque them. It takes 2 mins, I don't understand why anybody wouldn't do this. Do you not wipe your *** entirely when your done ****ting becuase you don't have the extra time?!