Figured out I was wasting time on those torque stick things

For years I swore by torque sticks for lug nuts. Seemed like a no-brainer shortcut. Then I checked 20 wheels on a fleet of Ford Transits with a click-style torque wrench and found 11 were under 80 ft-lbs, some as low as 60. I tossed the sticks that same day. Anybody else ditch a tool after realizing it was just making extra work?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_perry9014d ago

Tossed mine after the same kind of wake up call. Grabbed a buddies digital torque adapter and ran it on fifty plus cars at a used lot I was helping out at. Over half the lugs were way off, some were barely tight enough to hold the wheel on. Realized those sticks are only accurate if you use them perfectly and the air tool has consistent power, which never happens in real life. Switched to just using a torque wrench for every single lug nut and never looked back. Extra few minutes per wheel is worth not having a wheel fall off on the highway.

barbara_butler14d ago

That 'barely tight enough to hold the wheel on' part is what got me... I used to think those torque sticks were good enough for quick work, figured close enough was fine on regular cars. But hearing about over half the lugs being that far off really makes me rethink things. I guess air tools just don't have that consistent power like you said, and the sticks are only as good as the setup. You're right though, taking an extra few minutes is way better than risking a wheel coming loose at highway speeds.