alfadriver said:
Does anyone seriously think that previous generations actually torqued their lug nuts down, or do you want to just think the world sucks because.
Very, very few friends or parents of friends did that that I recall. I know we were not an average family doing much of our own work.
I have a couple of torque wrenches.
I seldom use them on lug nuts. I bang them on with a impact and call it good. The only cars that actually get the torque wrench applied to the lugs are friends cars that are being worked on at my shop. And that is just CYA.
As a general rule, the only bolts I torque are head bolts and other critical engine fasteners. Everything else gets a SWAG
As to the recall, there have been no incidences of wheels coming loose. They must have caught it during QC.
I replaced 20 lug nuts and a couple studs yesterday because someone who used to service it didn't believe in torquing lug nuts except for just tightening them good enough.
The tapers were all shrunk from being overwedged into the seat in the wheel, so they were more like 11.5x1.50 on the first couple threads rather than 12x1.50.
And people say I'm nuts for recognizing that wheel bolts are superior in their idiot-proofness. At least I know how to use a torque wrench.
Knurled. said:
At least I know how to use a torque wrench.
To each his own, but if you know how to use an impact, the torque wrench isn't necessary and nothing gets damaged. Just because the gun will go to 400 lb-ft doesn't mean you have to use all of it.
In reply to Toyman01 :
If you're guessing, you're guessing.
It wouldn't be so bad if we were talking about shouldered lug nuts, or lug bolts. But tapered seat lug nuts, especially in steel wheels, have a fairly narrow range between "not tight enough" and "so tight it wrecks things".
In reply to Knurled. :
I must guess pretty good then. 
I tighten my lug nuts with a lug wrench. Never found one that was loose, so...
Do you polish the threads before you torque your wheels? Do you use the factory recommended lubricant on the threads? Do you ever spill a bit onto the seat?
You're doing it wronger than using an impact.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
Danger is my middle name.
(I know you're not exaggerating. I've read the Ford precedure for installing lug nuts)
Tom Suddard said:
Just because we’re enthusiasts and can do this doesn’t mean it’s necessary or normal for everybody else to be able to. That stopped 70 years ago when cars went mainstream.
I consider "being able to change the tire on a car" a mandatory skill for driving. Much like being able to use a plunger is a required skill for anybody who has ever had to take a massive dump.
In reply to Brett_Murphy :
Apparently at least in the British occupied corner of Ireland changing a tire has been on the road test for some time now. 
GameboyRMH said:
Modern first-world society has raised a class of ultra-yuppies who know how to do very little beyond restructuring virtual asset portfolios or whatever practically useless obscure thing they do at work...
Look, being a software Product Owner is a real thing, and SOMEONE has to move those stories around in Jira, they're not thing to move themselves!
.. Or maybe they are? What project did I move it to?
In reply to Brett_Murphy :
Discount tire uses a torque wrench when they do the free tire rotation every spring and fall. I buy the wheels and tires for the winter tires from them and in the spring the swap to summer tires for free.
In the fall the winter tires go on free.
They match tire rack’s prices and free winter summer tire swaps free! Her Honda is on it’s 5th year.
Each year it’s completely free ( and they won’t try to sell you anything, just thank you and wrap the tires in new plastic bags for storage) Mine will get its winter tires this fall and I’ll start my cycling.
Tom Suddard said:
To everybody complaining that the world has gotten soft and people should torque them themselves...
You don’t go to the doctor when you need your blood drawn, do you? What, you don’t own a needle and whatever that blood container is called?? It’s only like a $20 tool! Society has gotten soft and young people are only good at Facebook! 
Just because we’re enthusiasts and can do this doesn’t mean it’s necessary or normal for everybody else to be able to. That stopped 70 years ago when cars went mainstream.
What is the proper amount of torque to hit brass hammer with when tightening knock off wire wheels?
In reply to frenchyd :
Judging by the number of Midgets that I have seen with stripped splines, the answer is "more than you think".
There ARE sockets available for knockoffs. I don't know what the torque spec is for knockoffs, but for centerlock wheels the nut is usually well north of 300ft-lb.
In reply to Knurled. :
How many ugha-duggas is that on an impact?
I’ve seen several wheels fall off at Lemons races. Most of them were “torqued” with an impact. Amazingly enough even after quizzing the car owners about it and cautioning them about the use of an impact they stuck to their guns on it. One then went out to lose another wheel.
I’m more comfortable with a breaker bar for tightening them than an impact. At least then you have actual feedback.
Can you use an impact and get away with it? Sure, probably. But you can also probably get away without changing your oil for 20k miles.
One of our local tire shop chains zips the lug nuts on with an impact wrench, then goes around with a torque wrench set at 100 ft/lbs. So our lug nuts are at least 100 ft/lbs. 'Course some of them might be 175. Who knows. :)
NermalSnert said:
One of our local tire shop chains zips the lug nuts on with an impact wrench, then goes around with a torque wrench set at 100 ft/lbs. So our lug nuts are at least 100 ft/lbs. 'Course some of them might be 175. Who knows. :)
I got shouty when I saw someone do that. What is more fun is that he had no idea how to use a torque wrench. He would throw the socket on and give the wrench a hard yank to click it.
No. Smooth pull. And if the nut doesn't turn before it clicks, loosen it and torque it up to spec.
a memory filtered through the mists of time. Definitely gotta be the eighties but I'd say one and a half squeaks on the tire iron to tighten. Breaker bar for removal? Stand on the tire iron. I did try the last thing not so long ago. Can't remember which car. Impact to the rescue. Oh yeah it was the pos SVTf. That thing was abused more than a rescue. 
