Cal Club Autocross Forums

I need a new torque wrench. 1/2" drive. Need it for wheels and alignment. The highest torque is #125lbs. Which one should I buy? $100 range. Clicker type.

thanks,
Steve A.

Steve Abbott wrote:I need a new torque wrench. 1/2" drive. Need it for wheels and alignment. The highest torque is #125lbs. Which one should I buy? $100 range. Clicker type.

thanks,
Steve A.

Harbour Freight - $15 + tax
Keep the receipt for lifetime warranty

Got one recently at Northern Tool Co. was 40 bucks, lifetime warranty. Even got good reviews to boot.

http://www.northerntool.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is one of the things I'll be buying myself for Father's Day:
http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_ ... =microtork" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Okay, you got me, I'm not a dad, but the tool sales are awesome! I have the small one that goes to 250 inch/pounds and actually just used it for the first time today. I was VERY pleased!
Mark D.

Mark DeShon wrote:This is one of the things I'll be buying myself for Father's Day:
http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_ ... =microtork" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Okay, you got me, I'm not a dad, but the tool sales are awesome! I have the small one that goes to 250 inch/pounds and actually just used it for the first time today. I was VERY pleased!
Mark D.

That's the one I use for spark plugs.

I forget, may have been Consumers Reports, or GRM, whatever,but they tested a HF & A Sears digital & one more and they were ALL deemed suficiently accurate. Just sayin.

Bob Plante wrote:I forget, may have been Consumers Reports, or GRM, whatever,but they tested a HF & A Sears digital & one more and they were ALL deemed suficiently accurate. Just sayin.

Define sufficiently accurate. And for what?

For accuracy, I believe in the range that covers lugnuts & alignment bolts (80-125 lbs/ft) you'll get something on the order of +/- 3% with high end wrenches. For lesser grades it's probably closer to +/- 5-6% and possibly as much as 10. So, in the best case, with the wrench set at 100 lbs/ft, the actual torque will be anywhere from 97 to 103. And remember, anything that changes the effective length (crows foot, extension, etc.) from the center of the handle to the center of the drive will change the torque value. There are measuring tools calibration shops all over So Cal that can test torque wrenches. Shouldn't cost a lot unless you want a cert.

Bob Beamesderfer wrote:

Bob Plante wrote:I forget, may have been Consumers Reports, or GRM, whatever,but they tested a HF & A Sears digital & one more and they were ALL deemed suficiently accurate. Just sayin.

Define sufficiently accurate. And for what?

They were all +/- 4%

Not for Space shuttle, but as good as anything a local mechanic will have. I imagine when vehicles are manufactured it's to a better spec.

Bob Plante wrote:

Bob Beamesderfer wrote:

Bob Plante wrote:I forget, may have been Consumers Reports, or GRM, whatever,but they tested a HF & A Sears digital & one more and they were ALL deemed suficiently accurate. Just sayin.

Define sufficiently accurate. And for what?

They were all +/- 4%

Not for Space shuttle, but as good as anything a local mechanic will have. I imagine when vehicles are manufactured it's to a better spec.

That's pretty good. Good enough for anything I'm going to be doing.

For lug nuts +/- 15% is good. Most folks double click their torque wrench when tightening lug nuts which adds another 15% anyway with that second click.

John Coffey wrote:For lug nuts +/- 15% is good. Most folks double click their torque wrench when tightening lug nuts which adds another 15% anyway with that second click.

Hah, good point, I did wonder about all that "double checking" of lug nuts. I figure with a multi driver car and a bunch of OCD drivers you could get to , say, 200 ft lbs.

John Coffey wrote:For lug nuts +/- 15% is good. Most folks double click their torque wrench when tightening lug nuts which adds another 15% anyway with that second click.

OK, when I hit the single click and release pressure there's a second click. How does that add torque?

Bob Beamesderfer wrote:

John Coffey wrote:For lug nuts +/- 15% is good. Most folks double click their torque wrench when tightening lug nuts which adds another 15% anyway with that second click.

OK, when I hit the single click and release pressure there's a second click. How does that add torque?

That is the release. I think he is referring to doing "another one" for good measure.

They were all +/- 4%

Not for Space shuttle, but as good as anything a local mechanic will have. I imagine when vehicles are manufactured it's to a better spec.

Actually, even for the shuttle, the +/- of better torque wrenches is sufficient. Torque values are one of those nebulous deals that depend on things such as fastener materials, threads per inch, thread diameter, usage environment, among other things. Follow your owners manual, use a decent tool. All will be well.

John Coffey wrote:For lug nuts +/- 15% is good. Most folks double click their torque wrench when tightening lug nuts which adds another 15% anyway with that second click.

[citation needed]

Will Kalman wrote:

John Coffey wrote:For lug nuts +/- 15% is good. Most folks double click their torque wrench when tightening lug nuts which adds another 15% anyway with that second click.

[citation needed]

What? You don't consider John enough of an authority on his own?

This is the one I use. Snap-On Dual Fork 1/2 inch. Very accurate and you can leave it sprung.
Link - http://www.4wdandsportutility.com/tech/ ... to_05.html


I tested it to be <1ftlb off on my 80ftlb WRX wheel torques.

Jonathan Lugod wrote:

Bob Beamesderfer wrote:

John Coffey wrote:For lug nuts +/- 15% is good. Most folks double click their torque wrench when tightening lug nuts which adds another 15% anyway with that second click.

OK, when I hit the single click and release pressure there's a second click. How does that add torque?

That is the release. I think he is referring to doing "another one" for good measure.

OK, that's always what I thought.

Jonathan Lugod wrote: Harbour Freight - $15 + tax
Keep the receipt for lifetime warranty

$10 with a coupon! http://tinyurl.com/24kyt4c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Daniel Yeung wrote:

Jonathan Lugod wrote: Harbour Freight - $15 + tax
Keep the receipt for lifetime warranty

$10 with a coupon! http://tinyurl.com/24kyt4c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've compared these to expensive torque wrenches and they're right on the money. Only problem I've had is that the ratchet will break every 3 years or so. They've always replaced it with no questions asked and no receipt.

[citation needed]

My Snap-On Techwrench has a digital display of the torque number and that display will hold the number for 5 seconds after releasing. Come by the shop and I'll show you what an additional tightening click (or beep in my wrench's case) does to the torque number.

George Schilling wrote:

Daniel Yeung wrote:

Jonathan Lugod wrote: Harbour Freight - $15 + tax
Keep the receipt for lifetime warranty

$10 with a coupon! http://tinyurl.com/24kyt4c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've compared these to expensive torque wrenches and they're right on the money. Only problem I've had is that the ratchet will break every 3 years or so. They've always replaced it with no questions asked and no receipt.

I get a new one every 2 years, never any issue on the returns. IMO what is as important as the wrench you buy, is the prep of the fastener. Clean/dry/lubed/loctite etc & experience of the user & knowledge of the fasteners/quality/reuse or not etc.

John Coffey wrote:My Snap-On Techwrench has a digital display of the torque number and that display will hold the number for 5 seconds after releasing. Come by the shop and I'll show you what an additional tightening click (or beep in my wrench's case) does to the torque number.

My question would be - why would your wrench even allow a higher-then-set torque? Isn't that the entire *point* of the wrench? I do know that many people tend to still "push through the click" and inadvertently over torque but I don't expect that you'd do that. I always "sneak up on the click" and watch for additional movement of the socket when multi-clicking.

Bob Plante wrote:

I get a new one every 2 years, never any issue on the returns. IMO what is as important as the wrench you buy, is the prep of the fastener. Clean/dry/lubed/loctite etc & experience of the user & knowledge of the fasteners/quality/reuse or not etc.

First torque wrench I bought was a Craftsmen micrometer in 1975. It last 30 years and I exchanged it for a new wrench. Unfortunately, Craftsmen doesn't warranty torque wrenches forever anymore. Still, I own three of them, mostly out of convenience: one measures inch-pounds and newton-meters, the other two are foot-pounds and newton-meters, two different ranges. Two never leave the garage, the other is the one I use for wheels and travels to events.