hnefrdo

Wheel shops over torque nuts!

I don't know if all wheel shops over torque lug nuts, but the bigOtire in Pleasant Hill, CA, certainly does.

i hadn't touched my wheels since about two months ago when i had bigOtire rotate my tires for me, and when i did a rotation in my garage today, i found that BigOtire torqued my nuts to over 100 lb/ft!! i had a hell of a time trying to get them off. in case if you wonder, i know the torque because i unscrewed the nuts with a torque wrench.

Just giving you guys a heads up. if you have a shop work on your car, it wouldn't hurt to undo the nuts and retorque them again when you get home. tirerack.com says "Be careful because if you over torque a wheel, you can strip a lug nut, stretch or break a wheel stud, and cause the wheel, brake rotor and/or brake drum to distort."

I've also taken the following chart from Tirerack.

Hardware
Size Torque in
Ft/Lbs

10MM
45-55
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12MM
70-80
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14MM
85-90
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7/16"
70-80
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/2"
75-85
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9/16"
135-145

engifineer

Any good tire shop should have invested in torque sticks. They are extensions for impact wrenches that are designed for specific torques. They are sized to twist and flex enough at the specified torqu so the impact bounces and ratchets, so you dont overtorque. They allow you to to safely torque wheels properly. I always dread the tire shop cause they hardly ever seem to do this. It definitely is bad for rotors and alloy wheels!!!

pharynx

Just thursday i had justtires add hubcentric rings to my wheels for free. But of course there was a downside. The idiot working the wheels seemed to use too much torque and he totally broke a tuner lug. It took like an hour to get it off, and now i'm left with a scratch, and an oversized nut hanging off my wheel. ____ed -_-

bB2NER

They are the ones with 1 scratched slightly used wheel. They need to order you a new wheel and a matching set of tuner lugs then fire the idiot that did this IMO.

This is another reason I do 99% of my own service work. I hate people that don't take care of other peoples cars!

TurboMe

You shouldn't let a shop use a torque wrench. It will scratch ur rims.

bB2NER

WHAT the heck are you talking about and how is a torque wrench going to scratch a wheel??? That statement makes 0 sense
A torque wrench is the only proper way to tighten you lugs to 80 ft. lbs with out causing 1. warped rotors 2.broken or stripped lugs-studs 3. cracked wheels

TurboMe

You can do it by hand. If u dont think a torque wrech doesn't scratch your rims then shoot yourself.

bB2NER

How exactly do you "THINK" a torque wrench works and how does it even touch the wheel.(This, I gotta hear) Even my wife can use a torque wrench and not scatch a whell. If I must explain, A torque wrench is nothing but a "Special 1/2 inch drive ratchet" That goes click when the lug is tight. If you don't know how to maybe you should pay someone that does! If I were you I'd be as embarassed as hell and I'd want to shoot myself

TurboMe

Look here, I know a guy that owns a shop. He service top quality cars. All the wheels are loosen and tighten by hand because guess what? It can cause scratches. But oh well you can use whatever you want on your 13k box.

engifineer

Seriously, a torque wrench can in no way scratch your rims any more easily than any other wrench. A torque wrench is a wrench, just like any other wrench you would use to tighten a bolt. The difference is in the handle mechanism, which clicks when you reach the set torque. Other than the mechanism in the handle, it works the same a a normal ratchet or wrench. I think maybe there is a terminology mixup?

bB2NER

You still didn't explain how exactly the wheel get scratched. The only possible way you can scratch a wheel with a torque wrench is by taking it and purposely hitting the wheel or dragging it acoss it. When used properly in conjunction with a deepwell impact scocket the freakin wrench DOES NOT TOUCH the wheel. Plain and simple ,FACT!!!!! You are either major thick, stupid or both. If you don't believe me ask anyone else and they will tell you the same freakin thing. Get a life!!!
OH, BTW do some research! Where can you get a NEW BOX for 13K? I'd be rich quickly Mine was 16K before mods and I'd put it's quality up against say Mercedes (read many recalls) anyday. You take what others say without checking the facts first. That is what happens when you are young and still finding out what life is about. I pitty you

TurboMe

do whatever you want on your box and ill do what i want.

bB2NER

Still waiting on your explanation Why talk about stuff when you have no facts to back up your statements. The guys are gonna love reading this in the morning.

TurboMe

I already told u my facts/ my reasoning behind what I said. Are you retarded?

bB2NER

NO, but clearly you must be. Where did you explain how and when the wrench touches or scratches the wheel. Does your buddy have bionic fingers and doesn't have a need for any sort of wrench??? And how do you do it by hand and not use a wrench of any sort??? Lots of questions and not one single explanation. You cannot be serious! You generally have to pay for this type of entertainment!!!

TurboMe

hand wrench

bB2NER

OK, I can't take anymore of this. My side is hurting from all the laughter. Pleeze if you have the nerve to. Print out this discussion I've had with you and show it to him. Let him explain it to you (because I give up. You don't get it and you don't want to get it). You will feel very dumb when HE explains it to you. Maybe he can show you what it looks like and how it works? If not, oh well!

Somnambulated

I think the guy screaming about a Tourque Wrench is thinking of a Pneumatic Tourque Wrench. And yes, these will scratch wheels and twist the heck out of the bolt. And probably chew up your lugs pretty well.

That is, if, they are being handled by an idiot.
Which at most rim shops, unfortunately they are.

A manual tourque wrench is the best way to get rims on a car without overtightening. I've heard horror stories about idiots at rim shops overtightening the lug nuts, to the point that the wheel studs actually snapped off the car. Sometimes the owner of the car may not notice until they're barreling down the freeway at 60+ mph, and they see flying lug nuts in their rear view mirror.

I'll bet the person who suggested tightening lug nuts by hand is in their garage right now, twisting real hard with their bare fingers and wondering if they're at 80lbs pressure yet.

tinybigrig

i belive turbome is talking about impact whrenches, a pneumatic impact wrench, or electric for that matter can tourge a nut, depending on its strength upwards of 300pounds per square inch. which is more than enough to snap a stud, i recomend turning nuts on by hand and hitting them lightly with an impach wrench, (read till it clicks once) then tourquing them to 75-80 pounds for out boxes, as well as the tc's....but what do i know i only worked for tow wheel companies and have installed several hundred sets of wheels

brent

tinybigrig

oh too add to this, if your worried about scratching the inside of your wheels around the lugnuts, use a thin walled socket, snap on has a huge selection as well as a number of other companies

brent