VVhite-0ut

Ok so, I've taken the tires off of my '14 Max a few times already with on 2k miles. Dipped the front wheel once and the back wheels twice. My question is mainly, how much does applying the lug nuts by hand differ from a torque wench? Is the difference big enough to be unsafe? I don't have a torque wrench and don't feel like I should need to buy one (unless this topic leads me to). Obviously one wouldn't have an idea on how tight you're really applying the LNs by hand. So there's the greater chance for a difference in force applied, leading to vibration maybe? Or wearing you're tires oddly?

I don't know if it matters at all? What do yinz think?

FrankA33

iTrader: (15)

Depends if you're a twig or a muscle head.
If you dont torque them enough your lug nuts might come loose and you might loose a wheel while you're on the highway....
On the other hand, if you over-torque them, you will either strip it and have the amazingly fun time of changing 1,50$ studs, or the next time you come to take them off (and for example you go all out with a air gun to install your lugs without a torque bar) you will have a b*tchin time taking them off.

My opinion, if you have money to buy a '14 maxima, you have money for a torque wrench. Good ones are under 200$ for the amount of times you'll use them in a year, it's not a 500$ that you use in a shop. Save yourself future hassles. And buy anti seize while you're there to put on the studs.

VVhite-0ut

Hahaha well... 5'6 145lbs... But I put 'em on tight baby!

I guess my main concern is the difference in pressure I apply for each lug when doing it by hand. I doubt a wheel is going to come off (who knows), but I could see tire wear being an issue or damage to a lug because it's not even.

Get a gun for under 200? That's 200 to tint the windows... or buy a sub... or a single wheel! I was born with the ability to do things for FREE I kinda wanna put that to use if I can ya know?

I'm not against the torque wrench. I just need more of a reason to buy it.

FrankA33

iTrader: (15)

You can damage rotors also, forgot to mention. If not done right, say you miss a couple of turns and the mag is not sitting on the hub correctly, mega vibrations = no good, other stuff around can also be affected.

You can go lower in the price range if you want for a more basic torque wrench(say one that goes up to 100ft-lbs). look it up around your area (autozone or something) In Canada we dont have those so i cant help you.

that tint money though, if **** hits the fan and you loose that wheel, as soon as the balance of the car is tipped, rear or back, damage is inevitable and it could be much more than the price of the torque wrench you could have bought.

and dont torque the lugs with too much weight of the car on the wheels, should be in the air btw or just enough to stop the wheel from moving when you torque it. yes i've seen it done and my friend couldnt get up to 50 mph without the whole car shaking after his dad installed his tires...

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

The torque wrench can be used all over the car, like when installing new sprak plugs. Because the engine is aluminmum, the threads are sensitive to stripping. Using a torque wrench to get a feel of just how much twisting force you need to lock down the plugs is very beneficial IMO.

For torquing down the wheels? Not so critical. Just make sure to screw the lugnuts in a criss cross fashion. Left one then the right one, north one, then the south one etc. By using the criss cross method, as well as keeping the wheel perfectly paralellel to its mounting, you make sure to have the wheel 'kiss' the hub of the brake rotor properly so the brake heat will be dissipated properly. If anything, borrow one from autozone or a friend so you can get a feel of how much torque you need. The 4th gen FSM specifies 72 to 87 ft-lbs.

asand1

iTrader: (1)

I have seen loose lug nuts cause they will to fall off. I have also seen an 8 lug wheel come off when the lug nuts were over tightened and the studs broke.

A torque wrench is also good for engine parts, suspension and other stuff.

dfj240

iTrader: (1)

In many years of working on cars, building cars, and everything else, I am yet to use a torque wrench on lug nuts. Is it preferable to use one? Yea, probably. But certainly not serious enough to warrant spending the money on one for that purpose.

If you plan to do a lot of engine work yourself at all, then you will certainly need one as it's imperative in that area.

As was stated before, always tighten lug nuts in a star pattern on 5 lug setups, or criss-cross as it is referred to above. Start at the top, tighten, move to bottom right, tighten, move to top left, tighten, etc. And double check your work after tightening.

I'm 6'0" and 160, so I'm no offensive lineman, and I'm yet to encounter a situation where tightening lug nuts with a decent size 4 way or 12" bar has ended badly.

Just my thoughts.

Leo_Koneval

iTrader: (4)

To be honest, it really is not exactly necessary for lugs. Although it is definitely a good idea to use one, to avoid potential damage.

I am 5'7 and I weigh 125 pounds. I wanted to see how much torque I could apply by hand one day so after doing some work on my car, I put the wheels back on then tightened them by hand with one of those + bar thingys as much as I possibly can. Then I took a torque wrench, set it to 100 pounds and retightened all the lugs. A few of them moved a bit and the rest did not move at all and the torque wrench clicked. So I assume it means that I got most of them either at or above 100 pounds by just the strength from my skinny ***.

But then I loosened everything back up and retorqued them to 90. Having everything that tight made me nervous for the rotors and the studs. But as long as you put in some serious muscle you should be fine because even someone like me can torque those lugs to 100 pounds by hand.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

If you believe in doing everything possible for FREE like you said, just go to Discount Tire and ask them to torque your lugs once you're done taking your wheels on and off. They'll do it for free.

Also worth noting, all reputable tire shops use a torque wrench when securing the wheels. Think about that for a moment, that should tell you something...

Dave H.

iTrader: (5)

Is this really being discussed? Get a torque wrench.

deathwobble

iTrader: (1)

That! I ran I tire shop. I have seen wheels fall off because someone didn't tighten them enough, I have also seen then fall off because the studs split from too much pressure because they were put on too tight. I would not let a car leave my shop until it was torqued to what the manufacture said it should be and any shop at all that is reputable will do the, even dealers. At the end of the day it's a satiety thing. You want to run the risk of a wheel falling off, that is your call. But the damage from a wheel falling off will cost a lot more the $150 you could spend on the proper tool. Or lake stated before, get a shop to do it for you

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

i only use torque sticks with an air gun or an actual torque wrench. i used to just muscle them on with a tire iron or breaker bar until at a place i worked at a guy used a breaker bar on a vehicle and overtightened the lugs. screwed the threads and the lugnuts just spun without coming out again and he had to pay for a new hub. im bad for overtightening stuff so once i heard that i dont take chances

you dont need a fancy one, at work i rarely use a torque wrench besides engine internals and lugnuts so i just have a $40 one that works just fine

ac max 92

iTrader: (13)

Absolutely! I really don't think it's so much a matter of what the repair costs if the wheel comes off off as to the fact is it really worth the gamble of playing with your life if your wheel comes off on the highway or hurts or kills someone else in the process? I think we all get the point. Either get a torque wrench or get a shop to swap em so they can torque em

gizzsdad

The torque wrench below can often be had for $9.99, and has been tested for accuracy by multiple **** retentive types. I have one and would use it more, but I now have a nicer one that is longer, so easier to use. Dumb not to use one IMHO.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-hal...rench-239.html

5th gen dd

If you would rather spend $200 on a speaker than to get the tool needed to do a job right then perhaps auto mechanics is not your thing?

Do you need a torque wrench to put lug nuts on? No

However, there is a reason why it is highly recommended. All of which has already been pointed out in this thread.

I learned a long time ago not to even attempt a job unless I have the right tools. I can't tell you how many stripped bolts and shredded knuckles this would've saved me before hand. In your case it can make the difference between your own wheel passing you on the highway or not.

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

I would say there are factors involved here...

1. Depends on which bolt/but you are going to be tightening. Obviously, a head bolt versus a lug nut have different tolerances (stated by MFG) and even then you can go outside of the tolerances on the lug nut without repercussion.

2. Your experience as a mechanic. Over time, you can gain the "muscle feel" to apply the torque within the ballpark. I can tighten my lugs within the MFG spec without a torque...I've only been doing it for 13 years on my Maxima.

3. Your pocketbook...sure there are cheap torque wrenches that are probably accurate until...you drop the wrench. Then you have no clue as to how accurate the wrench is...proceed with caution.

So for the OP and his lug nuts...take the advice of using anti-sieze (ask me how I know) and worry more about other people who are working on your wheels and tires because shops have a greater tendency in over-torquing or under-torquing your lug nuts than you ever will.

darkside_supaman

I feel like the OP is using "torque wrench" in place of Impact gun, you still have to use muscle when you use a torque wrench.

JvG

A torque wrench will measure the amount of muscle you are applying to the nut. Saving the 20 bucks it would cost to buy a half decent torque wrench at Harbor Freight, well that's... NUTS.

MaximaDrvr

iTrader: (1)

Oh, and anti-sieze is a terrible recommendation.
You should not use it on lugs. If you do, the torque specs change as it changes the friction coefficient between the nuts and stud.

deezo

iTrader: (3)

I use a torque wrench when locking down the lugs all of the time now. I found that when I started using it, I got rid of my wheel vibration.

lightonthehill

Most torque wrenches I have see cost under $100. I bought a top of the line (of the three levels of Craftsman torque wrenches available at that time - mid-1990s) from Sears for around $60, and had it checked for accuracy at a tire shop. I have used it for two decades, having the accuracy re-checked every five to ten years. If I dropped it on concrete, I would have it re-checked immmediately.

Specs call for wheels on the 5th, 6th and 7th gen Maximas to be torqued to 85 ft lbs. When I bought my 7th gen new, I checked all four wheels, and found they ranged from 78 to 96 ft lbs. I seem to recall a similar disparity with my 6th gen Maxima when it arrived at the dealer. That tells me the factory folks must be 'winging' things.

I have carried 75 ft lbs on my wheels for at least forty years. My son has been a a 'car nut' for 35 years, and always carries 70 ft lbs on his Acuras. I can't bring myself to go that low, because somewhere just below 60 ft lbs is where many wheels can work loose, and that is not a pleasant thing.

As several here mentioned, it is very important to get the lugs seated very straight and cleanly into the wheels before tightening the lugs, and the tightening should be done 'star-fashion', alternating from one side to the other.

A note to the original poster: althought not having the lugs properly torqued can cause several different problems, unless the lugs are either not seated correctly, or come loose, improper torquing pressure will not affect tire wear.

Another note to all: I have absolutely no problem torquing the lugs on the steel wheels of my wife's trucks to the specified 125 ft lbs, so it is easily possible to overtorque Maxima wheels if not using a torque wrench.

MichMaxFan

Pls tell me why you wouldn't feel impending disaster in the steering wheel prior to a wheel coming off? Does it all just happen so fast there is no notice?

lightonthehill

An experienced driver on a good road would know something was not right before the wheel came off. I only experienced this one time, and that was (gulp) almost 65 years ago.

Unfortunately, between 75 and 85% of drivers I see on the road these days are either driving on roads so bad they would not miss a wheel or two, preoccupied with electronic gadgets, listening to their stereo at 150 decibles, chatting with a carful of other folks, shaking their fist at other drivers, etc, etc, to notice much of anything.

Wheels do not come off cars nearly as often as they did fifty or sixty years ago, partly because roads are now mostly paved, and most tire mounting shops overtighten the nuts, making it very difficult to remove the wheel when we do have a flat.

saig

If safety is the only concern, then simply trust the engineers from manufacturers. Hand tighten is enough. They could provide you a tool with longer bar, why not they?

No need to buy a torque wrench which does require calibration maintenance. Cheap one is usually not accurate. Each has applicable range. One with large range is expensive but not accurate. One with shorter range is usually more accurate but limits itself to certain applications.

Hectic

iTrader: (20)

This thread is like asking whether condoms should be used, or if going at it raw will suffice.

george__

iTrader: (1)

Had a broken torque wrench which made NWP spacer installation a pain

sonomamax

I worked in aviation for a long long time.... Get a torque wrench. I use one from Home Depot,, (Husky) for several years, I had to get it calibrated once a year.. It never failed calibration or did they have to adjust it out, I still use one when i am working a critical area... (Wheels are Critical)