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Post the tire rotation, I noticed shop technician most likely over torqued all lug nuts to about 110 lbft vs 83 per spec. I guess this could be quite common. I noticed this when I re torque after 50 miles post rotation and I can not feel any bit of move. My digital torque adaptor showed me peak of 110 when I loose that bolt.
Shall I be concerned, loose all and re torque myself to 83 or just leave it as-is. 110 is not too bad vs some horrible stories about 200 lbft put on by impact air tools at some shops.
I believe the wheels that use the tapered acorn lug nuts can be damaged as well as the lug studs stretched. I have never changed any out due to the numbskulls over tightening them but changing a tire can be fun if using the factory lug wrench. Anytime I visit the tire shop I'm on their *** about not scratching the wheels and not running the lug nuts up with the rattle gun without a torque stick and using it properly.
Post the tire rotation, I noticed shop technician most likely over torqued all lug nuts to about 110 lbft vs 83 per spec. I guess this could be quite common. I noticed this when I re torque after 50 miles post rotation and I can not feel any bit of move. My digital torque adaptor showed me peak of 110 when I loose that bolt.
Shall I be concerned, loose all and re torque myself to 83 or just leave it as-is. 110 is not too bad vs some horrible stories about 200 lbft put on by impact air tools at some shops.
Thank you.
The breakaway torque will always be higher than the original torque value due to stiction (static friction) between the lug nut and the lug nut seat on the wheel and between the threads... so if this is the reason for your concern, then you have no concern. Accurate re-torquing requires that you SLIGHTLY loosen the lug nut before re-torquing ... this eliminates stiction for an accurate torque value.
As an aside ... NEVER go to a tire shop that uses an air gun to re-install wheels ... a conventional hand operated Torque Wrench must be used. No plug here ... but this is the reason I go to Discount Tire ... they torque using the proper technique ... and also use lug sockets that have an external nylon sleeve to eliminate the potential of damaging the wheel finish. All about the details for shops that care and actually know what they are doing.
Think your dealership is the best tire place ? ... NOT ... for Oil and Tire Service they hire minimum wage workers that just got fired from McDonald's last week and are now working on your car after 30-minutes of "training". For me ... I prefer their learning curve not be imposed on my vehicle.
The breakaway torque will always be higher than the original torque value due to stiction (static friction) between the lug nut and the lug nut seat on the wheel and between the threads... so if this is the reason for your concern, then you have no concern. Accurate re-torquing requires that you SLIGHTLY loosen the lug nut before re-torquing ... this eliminates stiction for an accurate torque value.
As an aside ... NEVER go to a tire shop that uses an air gun to re-install wheels ... a conventional hand operated Torque Wrench must be used. No plug here ... but this is the reason I go to Discount Tire ... they torque using the proper technique ... and also use lug sockets that have an external nylon sleeve to eliminate the potential of damaging the wheel finish. All about the details for shops that care and actually know what they are doing.
Think your dealership is the best tire place ? ... NOT ... for Oil and Tire Service they hire minimum wage workers that just got fired from McDonald's last week and are now working on your car after 30-minutes of "training". For me ... I prefer their learning curve not be imposed on my vehicle.
I thought static friction plays a role too, ie, the torque to loose would be slightly higher than the torque to tighten. but 110 lbft vs 76 lbft is like 50% more (76 is the torque spec used by the shop, it is not 83 somehow as we know here).
And I tested this: I loose one lug nut and torque it to 83 lbft, then I can break it loose around 83 lbft. This is why I thought peak torque of 110 lbft registered on my Quinn digital adaptor is of some concerns to me. I didn't expect to add 40 lbft to break it loose in the first place.
I hope I didn't reason too much here. This is a great place to learn. Thank you!
... stiction increases with time, temperature cycles and load cycles.
I drove 50 miles this morning and I just checked that particular lug nut that i broke loose and re torqued at 83. When I checked again with the 83 setting, I felt a little bit move and then my torque wrench clicked. Ths is exactly what I would expect, a little bit of move and click sound (or buzz if you use digital wrench). Unfortunately it is only the case for that particular one, not rest of 23 lug nuts.
This is a timely thread for me as I just had my 10k service and they rotated the tires (5 tire rotation) by the dealer. I will check torque on lugs. Not too confidence inspiring as I found the jack screw access plastic cover laying on the rear bumper the day after the service.
That's why to only take the tires to the shop, you take them off and put them back yourself. However, you need a large enough vehicle or trailer to haul.
I recently had all the brakes done and the shop hand tightened the front right spacer to the rotor and torqued the wheel to the spacer.
I was running 80mph on the highway and when I slowed down to exit the truck started shaking aggressively, the exit was a loop around so that is when it snapped off. The wheel bounced off of the curb and hit the truck so I have a dent in the front fender. The shop turned it over to their insurance company and I am still waiting for it to be processed.
... now that Sucks ! So this is where fingers start pointing ... was it an installation (torque) issue ? ... was it a spacer design or spacer materials issue ? Some individual insurance policies do not cover "modifications" ... but given they are in the tire business, one would think they have full coverage for any work performed by their shop.
I'm one of those A.hole always re-torqueing my wheels at the shop after the wheels have been removed. And 100% of the time it is never torqued correctly.
12-11-20, 04:17 PM
