Lug Nut torques specs-Is it really that important?

amxguy1970 · January 2, 2017

To actually answer the OP because most the posts are just what they do/did; is it that important? NO. Can things happen if they aren't to spec? Sure, it has to be quite a bit different than spec to start causing issues. I go by feel, always have. My family always have and we always have onthe race cars, never had a tire fly off or any issues. As with any opinion do what you feel is comfortable. Something as strong as a wheel and lug nuts it will be hard to over tighten by a good amount that is can cause issues unless you are putting a breaker bar on it and jumping on it. As long as you give it a good amount of tight and alternate the order you will be fine in all but the most rare of cases. What ever you have been doing is probably just fine...

BTW, many tire shops have torque extensions that flex to a rough spec on their impact guns.

Tyler

CRApex · January 2, 2017

Thanks AMX...That's basically what I was asking. I have never ever torqued the wheels and have never had an issue with balance, warped rotors or a wheel coming off but started to wonder after seeing some threads discussing the importance of proper torque. I suppose the manufacturer puts it in the manual to cover their butt for the guy that installs the wheels finger tight compounded by not alternating the order.

Thanks to everyone's feedback on this, I'm actually going to check the torque on my wheels after I rotate them and tighten the old fashion way just to see how far off I really am.

Braxas · May 3, 2022

Used an impact for years till I had one break all 5 hubs..turned out garage that put new front one on it has 3 rusted and 2 holding.Bought a torque wrench and found all 5 going around were loose.spec is 100 according to rockauto chart on all lugs they sell

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=970846&cc=1430925&pt=7676&jsn=2048

Ianf · May 3, 2022

5 hours ago, Braxas said:

Used an impact for years till I had one break all 5 hubs..turned out garage that put new front one on it has 3 rusted and 2 holding.Bought a torque wrench and found all 5 going around were loose.spec is 100 according to rockauto chart on all lugs they sell

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=970846&cc=1430925&pt=7676&jsn=2048

Please read that chart carefully all Silverados and Sierras are 140 not 100

diyer2 · May 3, 2022

I have used a 4 way lug wrench for years. The leverage available using this to tighten lugs has worked without issue.

movario · May 3, 2022

I worked as a tow truck driver. Every year, when the people changed from winter to summer or summer to winter tires, I had a lot of customers with either loose lug nuts or broken (sheared) wheel studs/bolts.

So yes. It is important.

poconojoe · June 11, 2022

Torquing lug nuts is absolutely necessary for many reasons.

If you go to shop and notice they don't use a torque wrench, say something and find another shop.

And that also goes for 99% of all bolts, nuts, etc. on any vehicle!!!

Doing a brake job? Grab that torque wrench!

Torque values are given for several reasons.

You don't want to overtighten, undertighten, unevenly tighten, strip threads, break bolts......

poconojoe · June 11, 2022

And...tighten the lug nuts in increments and rotate with opposing sides to make sure even torque is applied.

I start by snugging them by hand, then torque them all with my torque wrench at half the value. Again, doing one, then do the opposite one, continuing around.

Then, after that I go to the full torque value.

CamGTP · June 11, 2022

That's a lot more time consuming than it needs to be in my opinion. Snug them down with my impact gun and go around once in a star pattern to the full torque spec and I've never had a wheel off.

Other bolts or doing other jobs, 95% of the time I never torque anything. Couple braps with my impact or real snug with my wrench and I just say "click".

Head bolts, fly wheels, flex plates, axle nuts and things like that will get a torque wrench but everything else, nope lol.

Edited June 11, 2022 by CamGTP

Z45 · June 11, 2022

Had tires changed once at GY tire store. Noticed one guy tightened them with a guns and another finished off with the torque wrench. I asked why and they head guy, said law suit. A guy forgot to tighten one wheel on a ladies Trans Am. She made it 10 miles and the tire came off causing an accident. The store was sued for negligence. Now every tire/wheel is checked by 2 people. Not using a torque wrench is short-cutting the job and sooner or later, will bite you in the arse.

poconojoe · June 11, 2022

35 minutes ago, CamGTP said:

That's a lot more time consuming than it needs to be in my opinion. Snug them down with my impact gun and go around once in a star pattern to the full torque spec and I've never had a wheel off.

Other bolts or doing other jobs, 95% of the time I never torque anything. Couple braps with my impact or real snug with my wrench and I just say "click".

Head bolts, fly wheels, flex plates, axle nuts and things like that will get a torque wrench but everything else, nope lol.

I'd rather do the time consuming thing (torque to spec) than worry about compromising the integrity of any component.

Safety is always paramount.

The torque value on some of those bolts for the brakes are only 20-30 ft. Pounds, if that.

One can easily overtighten them, especially when not knowing the proper torque value.

Manufacturers specify torque values for a reason. It's not supposed to be guesswork. Threads, metals, etc. have stretching and breaking points.

Am I being over cautious? I don't think so. It's just the proper thing to do.

CamGTP · June 11, 2022

Never take a vehicle to a repair shop if you want things done proper. I know of zero mechanics that actually torque every single bolt down. I've done thousands of tires changes, tons of brakes jobs and everything else while working and torquing bolts down has it's place. You get a very good feel for what is tight and what is too tight that will break the fastener. Lug nuts are always torqued to spec but not everything on every single job.

Also an even torque is the most important. It doesn't even have to be the proper value but an even torque is always the most safe. Like on a Chevy Truck if someone did 115 ft lbs on the lug nuts, that is still going to be safe even though the specs calls for 140 ft lbs because that value is done evenly.

Edited June 11, 2022 by CamGTP

poconojoe · June 11, 2022

A friend of mine recently had a problem with a lug nut on his Jeep Liberty.

Some shop overtorqued it.

When attempting to loosen it, the head of the lug nut was basically soft chrome and it just shredded. Of course, the rest of it was seized in there.

It didn't help that Chrysler made crappy lug nuts. They are steel inside, but the nut part itself was just a peeling chrome cap. A lot of manufacturers have this now. They care more about shiny chrome than strength.

Three people gave their best to get it out to no avail. We tried those backward easy-out things for rounded nuts. We tried heat and penetrating oil. We tried everything.

One of his friends took an acetylene torch to it. He got it off, but the wheel was destroyed.

Moral if the story....if they had used a torque wrench, he wouldn't have had this nightmare to deal with.

CamGTP · June 11, 2022

Chrysler has had terrible lug nuts for a long time now. Salt gets under the cap and swells the lug nuts too. We just beat sockets onto them to get them off. Sometimes it takes a 23mm to get a 22mm off or it steps down to a 18mm from a standard 19mm if the caps break off.