Topic: Lug Nut Torque Question

[Mike-NB]

I swapped my summer wheels/tires for my winter ones last night and as usual I had problems with several lug nuts.  I weigh 180lbs and I need to jump up and down on a 10" lug wrench to get them to budge.  One of them took about 10 minutes of this before it moved.  These are obviously tightened by the dealer when they have the wheels off to inspect the brakes or something.  Surely this level of torque can't be specified.  Does anyone know if this is true?  It would seem to me that there would be a risk of damaging an aluminum wheel with that torque.  If this is the correct level of torque, how could someone smaller than me (say a woman or a senior citizen) ever be expected to change a flat on the side of the road?  (Assuming no CAA or roadside assistance, of course)

[tenpenny]

Pain in the butt, that is.

Still, I'd rather have that than the Toyota dealer who didn't tighten up ANY of the lug nuts on one wheel on my wife's car. 

[wing]

That's too tight, most cars are between 80-100ft-lbs

[dr_spock]

I carry a 24" steel pipe in my car that fits over the manufacturer supplied tire wrench.  It works great providing more torque to remove over-tightened nuts.

[gotak]

That's why people should either have roadside or get the 12 volt impact wrench.

Speaking of that cantire had their big electric impact gun for sale at 68 dollars or so? That's half their regular price. If you intend to do your own swaps each year it's quite useful.

[tenpenny]

I carry a 24" steel pipe in my car that fits over the manufacturer supplied tire wrench.  It works great providing more torque to remove over-tightened nuts.

Or defense against over-tightened nuts, too.

[neil]

For what it's worth, the torque required when installing is not necessarily going to be the torque required to remove them months later.

Most shops use torque wrenches now when installing rims.

[Jameel]

I'd say put on some more weight, or hit the gym a bit more?!    Just kidding, that's all, I have nothing infomrative to add.

[Jay31]

Ugh...careful jumping up and down on the wrenches - for one thing.. you can hurt yourself... for another, it's applying pressure in a way that could end up damaging the nut or worse.  That said, I have to admit, I've done it once or twice - didn't find it too effective (I only weigh 150lbs).. I actually found last time, that pullling up on the wrench, rahter than pushing down on it...or jumping on it....worked 100% the time.

The ideal way is a breaker bar or pipe extension though.

[dave 2]

I bought a torque wrench a month ago at Cdn Tire on sale.  My Accord manual recommends 80lbs torque.  Same wrench is on sale this weekend.

[CyberNick]

Hmmm... So a 10 inch wrench and 190 lb applied to the end of it should be what... ~160 ft-lb at the lug.... that is a lot! 

Like someone said it may be that several months later it requires more torque to remove it.

But.... If you're servicing at the dealer I assume that's a newer car with warranty and what not... Don't most new cars come with road-side assistance as long as the warranty these days?

EDIT: Spelling.

[DoubleClutch]

I carry a 24" steel pipe in my car that fits over the manufacturer supplied tire wrench.  It works great providing more torque to remove over-tightened nuts.

That's what I do too ... it works great.

[Rupert]

I presume that 80 lb means 80 lb.ft. Anyway my tip is related to dead vacuum cleaners. Save the chrome tubes and you can squeeze the end down in a vice to fit your wrench handle and this will make a great lever bar. A tube will fit cross ways in the trunk and takes up very little space. Have carried one around for a long time and only time it was used was to help someone else with aluminum wheels. Gosh those nuts were tight.

[Marc_]

I'd say put on some more weight, or hit the gym a bit more?!    Just kidding, that's all, I have nothing infomrative to add.

 

What about that guk you put on the nuts to keep them from sticking, can't remember the name.

[safristi]

..Oh ya mean the MOANER LOOSER!!!!.....................

[PJungnitsch]

What about that guk you put on the nuts to keep them from sticking, can't remember the name.

Antiseize.

The usual reason for overtightened wheels from a garage, AFAIK, is using an air impact wrench to do the tightening (fast and easy) but leaving it hammer too long instead of taking the time to do the final tightening with a torque wrench.

[Squishy]

Don't put antiseize on the studs, that will throw off the torque reading.  Most shops I have been to either don't torque at all, or use "torque sticks", which in my opinion don't work well at all.  The last time I let a shop touch my wheels, I asked them to use an 80-lb torque stick (and watched them use it).  As soon as I pulled out of the garage, I went to torque them to 98 ft-lbs with my own torque wrench.  The nuts wouldn't budge until 115 ft-lbs on the wrench.  The difference between static and kinetic friction is not that much; they were obviously overtorqued even though a stick was used.

There is only one shop I know of that will use a torque wrench and properly torque the wheels off the ground, and that is Go! Glass at Weber and Columbia in Waterloo.

[safristi]

..I agree...who wants SQUISHY NUTS.........hell i'd be happy if i could get them ORFF after a tyre change or a puncture Fix  OR a balancing or a .............whatever//////

[articsteve]

Similar to what Neil said; garage uses proper torque to install lug (say 90lbs.)  Lug then seizes onto rim after long period.  Hence, takes 150 lbs. of torque to remove same lug because it's "stuck", although original torque was proper.   

[airbalancer]

So when I step on the wrench does that mean I am putting 250 lbs on the bolt