Lug Nut Issues

bonnie_rick

in the News and Views Conferences' Over-tightened
Wheel Lug Nuts (Topic #291).

Catch up and come back here to continue!

Bonnie Rick
Town Hall Community Manager, edmunds.com

vivona

This conference started with my posting that I had the wheels on my new car balanced and they used an impact wrench to install the wheels. Go back to the News & Views Conference (Topic #291) for details.

Using an impact wrench will grossly overtighten lug nuts and lead to damaged alloy wheels, warped brake rotors and stripped lugs/nuts. Also, if you ever want to change a tire using hand tools, forget it! In extreme cases, the overtightening can stretch the lugs and lead to breakage and the wheel will fall off while you are driving.

I have dealt with this improper practice for many years and want to take a crack at trying to stop it. Most people are unaware of the problem. The next time you have tire work done, watch the mechanic. He will remove and replace your wheels with a compressed air powered tool called an impact wrench. He may tell you he will use a torque wrench or torque stick to correctly torque the nuts when he is done, but he typically does so AFTER he has already overtightened the nuts with the impact wrench. Obviously, the mechanic just doesn't understand that the torque wrench doesn't unloosen nuts that are already too tight.

If you do some of your own work and have a torque wrench, set the wrench to the ft lbs recommended for your wheel nuts (see owners manual, typically 80 ft lbs for a car) and try to remove the nuts. Keep increasing the setting until the nuts first start to come loose. Read the torque. That is the torque at which they were tightened to the last time the wheels were installed. I find that the tire shops will typically tighten to 120 to 200 ft lbs, that's way too much. Caution, if you do this test, don't remove all the nuts if the weight of the car is still on the wheel or it will come off! Retighten each nut to the proper torque.

I am trying to influence industry groups to better educate tire mechanics. I may also approach NHTSA and similar safety groups. What I need are your comments and stories here in this topic.

So, let's here the horror stories, comments, suggestions, etc.

Are you torqued off? Did some lug give you a wrenching feeling? Are you tire-d of this practice?

C13

One note:
I believe that if you use a click-type torque wrench to loosen the bolts, you'll mess up its calibration. Someone said this here earlier.

vivona

Some click type wrenches are designed for tighten only and some are racheted for use both ways. I have a Craftsman that is designed for use in both directions. When you hit the desired torque, all you are doing is unseating the head from a resting socket it is held into by a spring. It doesn't care which way you turn it.

Perhaps there may be some slight affect on calibration (my instructions do not say such a thing) but we are talking a small amount. For general use, being +/- 5% is sure much better than being way off the mark. Most torque specs are in a +/- 10% range, i.e. 65-80 ft lbs, so I wouldn't worry about affecting the calibration unless you were wanting to keep your click type wrench within extreme accuracy. And if you did, you would sent it out regularly for recalibration.

So I contend that you can go ahead and use a click type torque wrench to check torque by unloosening a nut, provided that it is designed to be bi-directional.

C13

You might be right. Just to be safe though, I'll just assume that they're torqued to criminally high values by the local vo-tech dropout, and take em off with a breaker bar and put em back on with Mr. Snap-On.

Incidently, I finally did this yesterday after 2 weeks of neglect since I got my new tires. I feel much better now.

PS Part of the super-high reading you get is gonna be due to the pre-load effect of the rim; like a lock washer.

gus

I have a torque bar, and I use a 3/4" drive air gun to put on lug nuts. Note: when I tighten the lugnuts with the torque bar, I use only the torque bar. I usually use the torque bar only on the front wheels, because that's where you're most likely to experience any problems due to overtightening. Over-tightened lugnuts (or unevenly tightened lugnuts) will help cause the brake discs to warp.

Tomorrow (or soon, at any rate), I'll try to find out how tight torque bars and impact guns really get lugnuts. The experiment will be conducted on Volvos and Toyotas. If I haven't posted results by Saturday, please remind me, and I'll do my best to get something up by Monday evening.

geo0791

C13,

I work as a quality technician for a company that manufactures hydraulic pump and motors. We have over one hundred snap-on torque wrenches to keep calibrated on 6-9 month intervals. The "click" type wrenches are designed to torque both clockwise and counterclockwise but are not designed to break fasteners loose. I quote from the snap-on catalog:
"Use of torque wrenches to break fasteners loose may cause overload." To be safe, I would use a breaker bar to loosen the lug nuts.

Snap-0n certifies accuracy on it's click type wrenches is +/- 4% CW and +/- 6% CCW of any setting within the upper 80% of scale.

I have seen wrenches out of calibration by as much as 20% due to miss use.

vivona

I agree that a torque wrench shouldn't be used beyond its rating as a breaker bar. But if a torque wrench is used within its rating, I say that is okay. For instance, if a nut is tightened to 80 ft lbs and you set your wrench to 90 and the nut comes loose before clicking, that is okay. If the wrench clicks and you continue to pull on the handle to unloosen the nut, that is not okay.

Note to C13 reply: I have never experienced an unusually high reading due to the starting torque. I can tighten a lug nut to 80 ft lbs and come back a day, week or year later and it will click at setting of 80 and untighten at a setting of 85. It would have to be rusted or corroded on for there to be much more starting drag. And I am talking about overtightening to 150 to 200 ft lbs here. There is no way that the starting drag upon unloosening can cause a nut tightened to 80 to require 150 ft lbs to untighten.

As to checking torque on front wheels only, I would recommend that it be checked on all wheels. You can warp drum brakes, too. And many cars have disks on the rear. Besides, overtightening can lead to stripped threads, broken lugs, alloy wheel damage or a wheel that can't be removed by hand tools in the event of a flat tire on the road.

C13

Interesting.

Speaking of misuse, I've seen torque wrenches used as hammers. Also, the manager at that same shop (not an automotive shop) would very firmly chastise an employee who didn't use a torque wrench when he was supposed to, but the wrenches were all set at different values for the same task (like it matters, once it's been used to hammer). I asked the manager what they should be set at and he had no idea what I was talking about.

Just a little story I like to bore people with. Has nothing to do with the present subject.

I bought my 3/8 Snap-on clicker at a pawn shop. Very new-looking, in a case. I guess I need to get it calibrated though.

gus

Okay, I re-read my post, and I meant to say that I use a 1/2" drive impact gun (3/4"?! What was I thinking?!)

I tried testing a 7-series Volvo with aluminum wheels today, and you know, C13 is right. There is just too much pre-load on the lug nuts to get an accurate indication of how tight they are (if you're backing them off with a torque wrench). I could try to start at 80 lbs. and work my way up in 10lb. increments until I got the nut to tighten some more, but that would do more harm that good--I wouldn't want to strip the studs or damage the wheels. I really couldn't come up with an adequate way of measuring just how tight the nuts were, coming off or going on! So, I began to think about why lug nuts need to be torqued properly.

Lugnuts need to be torqued properly for several reasons. First, they need to be torqued uniformly, so that the brake rotors, as they heat up, won't become warped. Second, they need to be torqued properly so that the holes in the wheels won't be totally chewed up. Different rims will require different torque specs. Steel rims can generally stand a greater amount of torque, and aluminum/alloy rims require less torque. I think that if the nuts are torqued properly, then a person changing his/her tires should be able to undo the nuts with a standard tire iron.

I will keep on looking into this.

geo0791

I recently rotated the tires on my 98 Intrigue. I used a snap-on torque wrench to torque the lug nuts. Most wheels have a torque spec of 80 ft lbs but these chrome alloy wheels are specified to be 100 ft lbs in the owners manual. The owners manual also states that lubricant should not be used on the threads because the wheels could possibly loosen. I followed their direction and did not use lube. I usually put some anti-seize compound on the threads. The treads being dry caused difficulty in getting the proper torque because the lug nut did not tighten smoothly but had a great deal of sticktion. The lug nut would tighten in sporatic jumps. I was using a dial type wrench and I had to constantly reset the zero as these jumps would bounce the pointer past the proper setting. I think next time I will put some anti-seize on the nuts anyway. Anyone else have a solution for this problem?

C13

Gus:
Wow, I was right about something mechanical. Now I feel better about typing on this lop-sided desk. I swear I measured carefully and used a square and everything. I blame my tools.

geo:
That's an interesting question. I can't imagine that there could be a problem with Loctite, the right one, whichever one it is. That's probably got enough anti-seize but also some 'glue', so to speak. I probably wouldn't risk using plain anti-seize on lugs. My racing buddies safety wire everything, though I guess that wouldn't be too practical.

I wonder if anybody's tried 2 nuts per lug (the first one is not capped, obviously), the second one to lock the first? Then there are those clips, like on a motorcycle axle. Some vandal used to keep pulling my front axle clip out on my old Yammie. Never caught him. Had to carry spares. May he suffer eternal torment.

Mr_Shiftright

I think if you just clean the threads with a wire brush they'll be fine.

Often lubricant is not recommended on fasteners that are torqued because the lubricant gives you a false reading or in the case of aluminum, might allow you to overtorque before you realize what you've done.

vivona

Gus, I would suggest you do try the process of starting at 80 and increasing in 10 ft lb increments. You cannot hurt a nut or lug by applying force to unloosen it. It is the overtorqueing while tightening it that does the damage. I am surprised you found problems with measuring torque on lug nuts. Maybe the nuts or wheel holes are roughened up and are causing undue friction. Or maybe the threads are damages.

On many cars over many years, I have always been able to use a torque wrench to tighten the nuts to the proper torque and come back immediately, a week later or a year later and use the progressive torque setting to measure how tight the torque was. I just did that with my new car. I had torqued the lugs to 80 ft lbs. A week later I set the wrench to 75 and it clicked before the nut unloosened. At 80 some nuts would loosen, some would click the wrench. At 85, all nuts would unloosen.

I just can't imagine a nut being tightened to 80 requiring twice that to unloosen due to pre-load.

A lug and nut in good order should be easy to tighten by hand until the nut hits the wheel. If it is hard to turn, the threads have been damaged by improper handling (over torque, cross-threading). Cleaning up with a wire brush, or better yet, a thread file, can help. Even a messed up thread only ads 1 to 5 ft lbs of drag. You can verify that by using a dial-type torque wrench to install the nut. It is also important to make sure the surfaces where the nut and wheel make contact are clean and smooth. If not, smooth them gently with a file or crocus cloth. Manufacturers warn against oil on the treads, but say anti-seize is okay. Not loctite to hold the bolt in place, but anti-seize to prevent corrosion or rust, though I have never seen a nut rusted in place.

Though all of this conversation is interesting, the main point of this topic is the issue of mechanics grossly overtorqueing lug nuts to the point of damage, warping, lug stretching/breaking, etc. What we need to do is prevent the problem at the source. Demand that all tire work is done with hand tools and that nuts are torqued tight with an accurate torque wrench. It's your car.

geo0791

vivona,

You made some very good points in that last post. Next time I rotate my tires I will apply a little anti-seize compound to make them tighten smoother.

My daughter has a 98 Pontiac Grand Prix GT. She took it in for service yesterday to have the wheels aligned and an oil change. I told her to stop over after she picked up the car and I would check the torque on her lug nuts. First off they did a poor job of alignment because they only did the front end. The torque varied to loosen the lug nuts from 60 ft lbs on the left side to 200 ft lbs on the right. The right side varied in itself from 100-200 ft lbs! If that don't warp a rotor, nothing will. I told her to ask the service department if they torqued to the proper spec. They told her that they did and used a torque bar. I'm not sure what they are calling a torque bar but apparently it's a poor method. I also checked the rears while I was at it and found them to be 120-130 ft lbs but more uniform.

To top it off, I checked the air pressure in the tires and sure enough, 42 psi in every one. The book calls for 30 psi in the Goodyear Eagles on the Pontiac and on my Intrigue also.

What in the world is wrong with these guys that are working on our cars? This is just plain incompetence.

tnt2

I rotated my 33" tires on my 4x4 every oil change. I used an impact wrench with a torque bar calibrated for my trucks specs. I thought at first that these torque bars were a joke. Then I used one and measured the torque of the the nut. 24 lug nuts ranging from 79-82 lbs. with an 80# torque bar. I was sold. The way I tested was to seat and set all lug nuts with the torque bar and go back and check with a calibrated torque wrench "tightening" each lug 1# at a time until they broke sealing paint. One other note, micrometer type torque wrenches should be turned back to "0" before putting away, this will save calibration.

gus

Most torque wrenches should be "dialed down" before they're put away, otherwise they'll become uncalibrated.

geo0791: Most shops, if asked to do an alignment, will only do the front wheels. There is usually not any reason to do a rear-wheel alignment, especially on such a new car. Rear-wheel alignment usually comes into play if there's something wrong with the rear suspension--mechanical defect, accident damage, or other.

C13

Click-type shouldn't be put away with a torque value set?

Wuh-oh.

Be right back.

gus

Not a high value...somewhere near the low end of the spectrum is fine.

tnt2

I do have a Snap-On dial torque wrench that does not need to be set to 0 before putting away. The wrench doesn't have springs that are under any type of preload, such as those present in micrometer type wrenches.

cobra98

A couple of weeks after my wife had new tires put on her Grand Cherokee I decided to replace the front brakes. I replaced the brakes on the driver's side, and when I went to the passenger side, I had to take a breaker bar and put a 3' jack handle on the breaker bar to get most of the lug nuts. One of them refused to come off. The lug literally twisted into a piece of licorice. I then put the other lugs back on, drove it to the tire place and b*tched at them. They said that they have the air guns set to automatically shut off at X foot-lbs. BS if you ask me. They then made me bring the vehicle back the following weekend so that they drill/chisel the lug off. Well, when they did that they put major gouges in the aluminum wheel around the lug hole. Because of this, they gave me a free inspection and emissions test (even though my county doesn't require an emissions test and put the final set of brakes on. My wife wasn't too upset about the marks on the wheel, but I can only imagine how I would've felt if they did that to my car. I would've shot someone for sure.

Actually, now that I think about it, we just had BOTH front rotors break on the jeep within 3 weeks of each other (about 5 months after the tires were put on.) I wonder if this is a coincidence or not??? The break was weire. If you picture a rotor, it has a raised center where the lugs go through, and a 'lower' level (if it's lying flat) where the brakes ride. Well, the raised center seperated from the lower level perfectly. Hmm, I think I might go buy a rotor and torque the lugs down to 200lbs and do some stress analysis on it to see if this was what broke them...

tnt2

You are right to say bs to the guys who put your tires on. Setting the air control on an impact will not properly torque the lug nuts. If they didn't use a torque bar, they caused the damage and the rotor failure.

araz

Fascinating. How much does it matter if the lugs and studs are hot, cold, or "just right"? The tire shop I go to unloosens them with an impact, but brings them up in 10 '# increments starting at 70 or so. All three of our vehicles have different torque specs. Also, I have had lugs pull thru the steel wheels on a trailer because I torqued them to the sticker value, and not what the wheel manufacturer spec'ed. I would always clean and lubricate threads before torqueing them.

tnt2

I wouldn't think that the temp would matter, as long as the lug and the nut are close to the same.

MN9thPA

Is there a downside to putting a slight amount of oil on the threads before replacing the nuts? I have done this for years to keep the lug nuts from rusting when exposed to a salt environment over the winter months. The effect? I figure it will reduce the friction on the threads and more of the applied torque will be used to elongate the stud rather than twist the stud. Will the nuts be more inclined to lossen while driving? They haven't yet. I torque them to 85ft-lbs.

araz

The temp directly effects the length of the stud. The warmer, the longer. The torque effects the "stretch" of the stud. If you torque them to a value when they're cold, the studs elongate when warmed, and if the wheel is made of a different material, it may not expand at the same rate. Conversely, if torqued at high temp, they'll get "tighter" as the assembly cools. Nitpicking I think, but for purists, significant.
Most good machinery manuals spec torque values for both clean and dry threads, and clean and lubricated threads. My only problems with lugnuts has been when there was 35% or more difference between the correct value and the one it was torqued to. The charts up here are for clean dry threads, and specific to each vehicle, with stock wheels and nuts.

vivona

Because the shop grossly overtightened my lug nuts, most of the nuts now are not easy to unscrew off the lug with my fingers once they are unloosened. The overtorqueing damaged the treads in the nuts and/or lugs. I got the shop to give me a new set of lug nuts. I plan to replace all the lug nuts, but wonder if I should clean up the threads on the lugs first. I could either run a die up each lug or use a thread file. Anybody have any experience on this? Comments?

Grove

I have 31x10.50 tires on my 99 Jeep Wrangler. My
problem is: on almost full turn of the wheels the
front tires will rub on the inside wheel well. My
question is: will wheel spacers be a good idea ?
I have heard that the spacers will make my lugnuts loosen. Has anyone heard of this or have used spacers ??

C13

I would rather go to a smaller tire than experiment with shims.

gus

I agree with C13.

#26>It probably doesn't matter which one you use, although if the stud is really, really chewed up, a file may not do you much good. Once you've done that, run the nuts backwards over the lug stud to see how freely they turn. If the stud isn't entirely clean, you'll feel it without messing up the first few threads of the lug nut. This may be impossible if you have closed-end lug nuts!! Good luck!

vivona

I guess the reason that mechanics routinely overtighten lug nuts is that few owners are aware of the problem. And even those in the know have come to accept it as just one of those things you live with. Notice how many posts this topic has received as compared to what wax or oil to use.

I did write the manufacturer of my car to complain about the overtightening of my wheel lug nuts. I finally heard back from them today. They agreed 100% with me and said they try to get mechanics to properly torque lug nuts, but it takes constant reminding. Old habits are hard to break.

geo0791

I for one am not willing to accept improperly torqued lug nuts as something I have to live with. I've had it with the lack of professionalism among those who are supposed to know better. I plan to loosen and retorque any wheels that anyone installs on my vehicles from now on. I also plan to do my own tire rotations. I suggest also that if you are having new tires installed that you first remove your wheel covers. The professionals don't take the time to make sure they are reinstalled correctly and if you lose one on the way home, it's your loss. It cost me $40 to replace an original wheel cover with a grade 2 cover from the salvage yard for my '89 Dakota PU.

vivona

geo0791 --

Three cheers for you!! I wish many more people would join me in expecting reasonable shop practices from tire mechanics. If this was just an isolated problem, I wouldn't give it much thought. But for over 35 years I have dealt with overtightened lug nuts from virtually every shop that his touched my tires. Even when you demand that they use a torque wrench, they don't know how to use it (see my previous posts).

I am open to ideas to do a better job of fighting back. I have written the ASE, but they never replied. I have considered approaching NHTSA, but have been waiting to see what comments I can get in this topic to use as a case statement.

Unfortunately, when Edmunds decided to move the topic from its original place (News & Views?), they renamed it "Lug Nut Issues". My original title was more like "Overtightened Wheel Lug Nuts" and attracted more direct attention to the problem. I wish Edmunds would rename this topic back to the better title, but not freeze it and start another. That often kills the momentum of a discussion.

C13

Amen.

I can't think of too many other issues regarding lug nuts than the question of overtightening.

vivona

Well, leaving them too loose would be bad, too. And I suppose the guys in the wax and polish topic would like to apply Zaino wax on them. Seriously, many Townhall visitors may think that there are enthusiasts that like different lug nuts, i.e. chrome, locking, etc. But putting overtightened in the heading would get their attention that we are discussing a real problem.

gus

vivona, unfortunately, I think you're stuck with this topic title. The momentum here has died just a bit--maybe a new topic with a new name would get things rolling again. It'll be listed as a new topic, and maybe people will check it out when it has its new and improved name (or is that old and improved name). Just say the word, and I'll freeze this one so that you can start a new one. Otherwise, we'll keep this one with its name the way it is.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, a good lubricant for lug nuts is Never-Seize...it looks like an aluminum paste and it works well on anything you tighten and would like to get off again someday. Boat and trailer owners take notice...you'll thank me someday.

spokane

Cobra98 told us of twisting a lug during attempted lugnut removal on his Grand Cherokee; the galling undoubtedly caused by thread damage incurred during previous overtightening. In such a case, I find it best to keep twisting (counterclockwise) until the lug breaks off. This way, you can remove the wheel so it's out of harm's way when you go to work on the hub repair.

Using this method doesn't mean I am any more tolerant of the frequent overtorque bad practices than Vivona. However, because the store with good tire prices may not have good work practices, I took a deep breath several years ago and have since done my own tire rotation. Need to look at brakes, CV joints, and suspension anyway. For new tires, I take only the wheels & old tires to the tire store. This is some hassle but ....as you guys seem to know very well....saves time and money in the long run.

guitarzan

Well, if you try to get the lugs off, and quickly realize it ain't gonna happen, AND you don't have expensive wheel covers, do what people do to get off caliper bolts: heat them with a torch. The slight expansion should loosen them without having to break them off. Gus, what do you think? Also, don't know if this has been suggested already.

vivona

I do my own tire rotation's too. And as I have said before, I have never found the lug nuts hard to remove because I personally tightened them to the correct torque last time.

I have thought about bringing just the tires and wheels to the store when I need new tires, but the tire store usually wants the mileage off the vehicle for the tire warranty. I don't know how they would react to me just showing up with wheels and tires. But it is an interesting idea for when I have the wheels balanced.

My experience, over many years and many cars, is that mechanics can often create as many problems as they solve by not following proper shop practice. I have thought about starting a topic in TownHall about that. Ohh, the stories I could tell...

spokane

Guitarzan, I agree that heating the lugnut should be tried in the circumstances you describe...I haven't dealt with enough case to know the likelihood of success. My "wring-it-off" suggestion applies if you know the lug is already damaged. In this situation there's no need to risk damage to the wheel with a chisel.

Vivona, it takes a little nerve, but in the new-tire negotiation you can frankly tell the tire dealer about your previous lugnut tragedies and therefore your need to take him the tires & wheels only. Get him to agree on how log the mileage before you sign the order. You will get a strange look and an explanation that his shop never overtorques but, in the end, he will agree because this scheme is reducing his labor.

A small floor jack and a pair of stands will easily fit in your trunk. You could drive to the tire store and remove your own wheels in his parking lot.........

I concur that the installation and removal torques will differ very little unless there are unusual circumstances such as pre-existing thread damage, heavy thread contamination, or long-term rust.

gus

You could heat the nuts up and take them off, but that seems like something to do in an extreme case. If you heat them, you also want to use something fairly low-temp. You don't want weld the nuts to the stud or the nuts to the wheel. Remember, studs are usually replaceable. You may need to take the caliper and disc off, or take the brake shoes off, but they can usually be replaced. Go ahead and twist them right off, if you feel comfortable with that.

avs007

Or you can insist that the mechanic ONLY uses a torque wrench, and have the service manager write on the order that Customer will watch the service, and if sees an impact wrench being uses to install the tires, customer will not pay for service....

Especially intimidating if you have a camera pouch on your belt like I did... (Though it was just a coincidence, I was taking pictures of some houses I was interested in....)

araz

I just had tires changed over yesterday, and wa able to stay within two feet of my truck. The "tire guy" used a device that he called a "torque stick" between the impact wrench and the lugnut. After running them up with that arrangement, he then tightened them with a torque wrench. I asked what he did, and he showed me a set of "Accutorque" devices. Apparently, they limit the torque applied, to a level below spec, and then he does them up by hand. They looked to be a two piece assembly, that slips at a predetermined torque. Never seen that before.

jeffrey

...I've got a LOT--I told my son a few years ago that I've got enough for about a 100 generations. SERIOUSLY, I've got 3 POUNDS of it, in grease/calking-gun tubes (my partshouse was clearing it out--I bought 5 tubes). If someone wants a tube, e-mail me--$10 delivered in 48 states.

dnedef

I recently bought a used 1997 Wrangler and was not given the key to the security lug that locks my tires (including spare) on. Does anyone know how I can remedy this problem? Can you order a new key from Wrangler?

gus

Are you certain that the locking nuts are made by the manufacturer? Many times, those things are aftermarket. There are removers that you can buy, but they usually screw up the appearance of the lock (scrape the chrome or chew it up a bit). It doesn't seem likely that you'd be concerned with the appearance of the locks if you don't plan on keeping them, though. You can probably find the removers at Pep Boys, or Kragen or Grand Auto, someplace like that.

vivona

I would start with the local Jeep dealer just in case the locks were supplied with the Jeep as new. The repair shop keeps a full set of keys on hand for maintenance and can try them on your locking nuts. If they find a match, then you can order one from parts.

If that doesn't work, hold a piece of paper against a nut and rub a pencil or crayon across the surface to make a copy of the locking surface. Then take that around to auto parts stores and check out the patterns on the locking nuts they have for sale. You may find a match.

You might also check with tire dealers that sell mag wheels. They may keep a large selection of keys on hand.

sam775

A co-worker of mine tells me I shouldn't torque wheel lock to factory specs because they will not come off. He says to undertorque them because you only need 2 properly torqued nuts for the wheel to stay on. I argued (without knowing) that if you torque them properly with a torque wrench that they will come off. Has anyone had problems getting wheel locks off that have been torqued properly? I just got some wheel locks and plan to install them this weekend. Any advise would be much appreciated.

vivona

Wheel locks should be torqued to the same spec as the other nuts. ALL nuts (not just two) must be torqued to the correct spec. The issue is not just keeping the wheel on, it is to keep it on evenly without warping the brake disk or drum, and that is done by evenly torquing the nuts by progressively tightening them in the correct pattern.

I torque my wheel locks to the proper spec and have never had a problem removing them.

guitarzan

I think this business of torquing lug nuts is like an argument between regular and synthetic oils. I just use common sense when tightening, and won't allow anyone to use hydraulic tools on the nuts again. Would someone suggest I'm heading for any sort of disaster?