Showerthought: I keep seeing people skip the torque wrench on lug nuts

Had a car come into my buddy's shop in Springfield last week with warped rotors, and the root cause was uneven lug nut torque from a quick oil change place. They just used an impact gun and called it good. I've been using my 150 ft-lb torque wrench for every wheel for a decade now, and it matters more than folks think. How do you guys handle it when you're in a rush but still want to do it right?

3 comments

3 Comments

dylanward2mo ago

Man, you are so right. I watched a neighbor snap a stud off last month doing the same thing, just hammering them on with an impact. My rule is I'll use the gun to run them on, but I always back off and do the final tighten with the torque wrench in a star pattern. Takes one extra minute, tops. That uneven pressure is a rotor killer for sure.

maxb4613d ago

Huh. I don't know about all that. I've been using an impact to put wheels on for years and never had a rotor warp or a stud snap. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I think people overthink this stuff. A torque wrench is nice and all, but if you're not building a race car or something, you're probably fine. Snapping a stud usually means you're using way too much gun or the threads are already jacked up. I'll keep running them on with my impact and save the extra minute.

olivia_webb2mo agoMost Upvoted

Okay but how many people actually own a torque wrench? Sounds like overkill unless you're working on something fancy.