The day I realized I was tightening lug nuts all wrong

I had been changing tires on my old Civic for probably 10 years, just cranking them down as hard as I could with the tire iron. Last summer I snapped a stud on a 1992 Miata I was fixing up, and a buddy at the shop asked me if I ever used a torque wrench. Told him I didn't own one, and he just shook his head and lent me his. First time I torqued to spec, it was 80 ft-lbs, way less than my gorilla arms were doing. Car felt smoother, no more worrying about warped rotors either. Anyone else learn basic stuff way later than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

foster.wade3d ago

It makes me wonder though, did your buddy ever explain WHY torque to spec matters so much beyond just not breaking studs? Like I get the rotor warping part, but I’ve heard people argue you need to go way over spec on certain cars with alloy wheels to keep them from loosening up, especially if you live somewhere with salty winters. Seems like there’s always some shop lore that contradicts the book numbers.

henry_kelly543d agoTop Commenter

Yeah man, that salt and alloy wheel thing is a real pain. I've seen it too.