I know that it should be done in a star shaped pattern, I know it should be perfectly torqued to 85lbs/ft. but I am not sure where relative to the ground it should be. I've heard from some people it should be completely on the ground (jack removed) and I've heard from others it should be a little off the ground so the tension is not on the wheel. What's the dellyo?
Thanks,
-Cyrus

 

Only way to do it on a jack is with the impact wrench which is not that accurate. The best way is you torque it on the ground and check again 100miles later.

Dixit

 

Thanks Dixit. I just torqued my wheels properly for the first time and wow vibration is down by at least 50%!
-Cyrus

 

i tighten untill its tight. works i guess heh.

 

getting your lugs to the right ft/lbs is critical for a smooth ride. i just had my tires put on and took a trip. the whole way my steering wheel shook harder than you would a red headed stepchild... but when i got back i checked the lugs with my torque wrench and they were way too tight and some were tighter than others. i put them all to 85lbs and it made a world of difference.

 

Exactly.

ILoveMyMax I can't stress enough what a big difference this made for me. I used to be one of those "tighten them all as hard as you can by hand and it will be ok" kinda people. Recently I had some very bad vibrations and this fixed them. You will LoveYourMaxALotMore once your torque them.
-Cyrus

 

ok when i get my hands on a torque wrench i try it out thanks guys

 

just remember to retorque them again after you drive around for a few days.

 

Also over-torqueing tends to lead to warped rotors. You should never use an impact wrench unless you are going to re-torque soon, or unless the wrench has an adjustable torque mechanism.

 

I lower my car just enough so that the tire touches the ground, but the weight of the car is not on the hub. This way you can tighten them with out the car weight on the hub, yet the tire won't spin when you torque them. It's really not necessary I think, but that’s the way I've been doing it for years now and it seems to work well for me.