Clevor

I've rebuilt race engines and transmissions and there, torqueing to spec is pretty critical, particularly the valve bodies on auto trans and the connecting rod bolts on engines. I measured bolt stretch when torqueing the rod bolts rather than go by ft-lbs.

When it comes to lug nuts, I don't bother. If you've had tires replaced at places like Sears, Midas, or any pro shop, the nuts will be way overtorqued by those gorillas using pneumatic wrenches. If you think the Ford factory torqued the lug nuts on my 2013 GT Premium to spec, nope, because when I took off the wheels, there were just as tight as the ones on my Honda Accord that just had tires put on by Sears. I estimate the torque rating at 175-200 ft-lbs or so.

I did try to retorque the nuts on my 2013 Mustang to 100 ft-lbs, but even with a long breaker bar, took too much effort. I just torque them pretty tight by hand.

What I plan on doing in the future is I have Makita cordless 18 volt impact wrench that goes up to 170 ft-lbs. I use that for about 3-4 seconds of hammering and I estimate it's a more fast and reproducible way to torque the lug nuts to around 110 ft-lb. I found that to loosen the nuts on my Accord which the gorillas put on, I had to run the wrench for around 8-10 seconds to loosen the nuts. That's where I get the estimate it must be close to 200 ft-lbs.

tbear853

I do my 1/2-20 and 14mm lugs 100-105 ft lbs. I used to just do them "guuddentite" with a large 4way back in the '70s, then after I joined the state police in '78 and started seeing folk broke down (and some wrecked) with broken studs (too tight and abused) or stuck lugs (like just a flat and could not get lugs loose to change it) or simply no lugs (they "come-a-loose" so to speak) and a run a way tire .... and then when sitting alone on a ramp working radar and the mind drifting and thinking about those high speeds on all kinds of roads .... I soon started torqueing them .... always .... and still do.

It's also better for the sake of the rotors.

Yep, agree 100%. I have a few old beam types, though I admit I use the clicker type more often because they are simply "easy" .... but I do have a pair of double square drive adapters that allow me to couple one to another and test and that's how I test my clicker TWs occasionally .... with a beam TW. A beam type is tougher to upset with a minor "dropsy event" too and unless the beam or pointer is bent or cut, it'll maintain accuracy.

Likely y'all all know this, but I'll say it anyway. A beam type does take some care by the user in operation if consistant results are desired. On a beam type TW the handle floats on a pivot ..... when you are pulling on it to a preferred torque setting, make sure that handle is still floating about it's pivot and that you are pulling in a flat plane (ie: that the pointer is not dragging the scale).

jhawkr

As long as you are not expecting "precise" results, the beam type is OK. I have one and use it occasionally. Try to avoid extreme temperatures in the driveway!

Brando

I bought a craftsman torque wrench for like $50-60 from the craftsman website but picked it up at a sears store - cheapest route... I take care of the wrench (don't drop it and return it to the minimum setting for storage.

I torque to the 100 ft/lbs and re-torque after 100 miles (some lugs loosen up a little bit)...all in accordance with the manual.

My experience is the ford dealer I use over-tighten them. Really losing faith in their ability to do even an oil change/tire-rotation. I can tell because it's nearly impossible to break the lugs after they do it. Breaking 100 ft/lbs isn't difficult with a standard wrench... I had to jump on the thing last time the dealer did it...

I also noticed some slight brake pad rubbing on the rotor on when I changed the tires. It doesn't slow the wheels down when spinning...just enough contact to hear something. That wouldn't be anything to be worried about, would it?

Thanks