Dude, buy a torque wrench and a 17mm socket. Get the factory specs, and double check the tire shop's work. Just take a little control of the situation.

 

Dont know if that was from corporate or a local store but i had them put on tires yesterday and they torqued them to 90# on the 2008.

 

You must have very smooth roads in Paradise Robin. Around here I'd knock the fillings out of my teeth with those pressures.

 

Hubby is convinced 40 psi is good for autocrosses. I'm convinced it's not--entirely too squirrelly and not controllable.

(Of course, that's responsible for my poor times, right?)

 

A typical 1/2" ratchet wrench will have about a 15" long handle. 15" = 1.25' 170 x 1.25 = 212lb/ft

I'd say you might be over torquing the lug nuts just a wee bit.

I am also a fan of the beam type torque wrench. For the home mechanic, that does not have easy access to getting wrenches re-calibrated, it is a far better and easier solution. To make reading it easier I have stuck a piece of a Post-It at 90 lb/ft. Since I mostly use it for my wheels this makes it very easy to read, even in low light.

So far I have been able to change my wheels myself. I am careful to torque them in a cross pattern and bring them up to proper torque evenly.

 

So how come I've had to jump up or down on the wrench to LOOSEN the nuts when I've changed a tire? Someone's not reading the manual.

 

That's to keep the tire from rolling over in a corner to maximize the contact patch. Usually tire sidewalls don't offer much grip or tread life . On the street that much pressure will be very squirrelly and result in the middle of the tire wearing out first because the sides of the tread don't have as much pressure on the road when going straight.

While I'm no expert I used to be one of the mediocrely fast guys many years ago. The key to autocrossing well is knowing what to do where on the course, which I was never very good at and just relied on those with more experience, and looking ahead to know what you're going to do in the next corner well before you get there.

 

WAIT So you flip out in the store over 13 ft/lbs, then you post an update saying they changed their database to 100 ft/lbs (still not correct to YOUR specs) but now you are satisfied with a thumbs up?? C'mon man you flip out over 13 but now that its only 3 its no big deal anymore!?!?!? It's no wonder you have heart health issues, chill out bro!

 

My high school autoshop teacher had nothing good to say about those. Claimed they were wildly inaccurate. He was actually a pretty smart guy. Built some great hot rods, and after a couple years teaching autoshop (he was 21 at the time) he got a very high paying job at Ford. His salary approached what doctors were making at the time.

 

He stated in the original post that he has a torque wrench.

 

The pressures in the manual and the pressures on the doorjamb are different. Mine are 4 psi higher on the doorjamb (38psi).

 

Who uses torque wrenches anyway? 90 or 100lbs... it's all about the same. Getting a little torqued yourself, eh?

 

Lol. I can't count the times I've had to step on the tire wrench to brake a bolt loose after a tire shop visit. A concern is also warping disks.

 

I used to have to do this. In fact, I used to have to go find someone else to do it for me because I didn't weigh enough to get the nuts to move, even with jumping.

Ah, the pain of being a waifish supermodel.

 

Most of the shops around here just tighten them, "what's a torque wrench?" I don't think a wheel is likely to fly off if it's torqued to 90 lbs. I have had lug nuts break off from over-tightening though.

 

Reputable tire dealers have been using torque sticks for years. A torque stick is simply a torsion spring between the socket and the driver that releases excessive torque between blows of the impact driver. The torque sticks are preset to given torque values.

This is what the majority of all automobile manufacturers use to bolt the wheels to new cars at the factory.

As with any tool, you get what you pay for. The good ones are very accurate and will last, literally a lifetime.

I'm not too sure that they make one that's exactly 103 lb/ft though. LOL

 

But I'd be willing to bet that 103 ft-lbs comes out to some nice, even number in a metric measurement...

 

If I did it right, it's 140 Nm.

 

I now carry a torque wrench, extension, and 17 mm socket in my boot. I have had good experience with DT, but have long been aware of their policy of going by their "book." I was recently told by a technician--who had just repaired a tire for free--that he used the figure of 90ft/lbs. as per vcompany policy. I didn't see it as an issue. I just pulled out my torque wrench and reset the bolts to 100 ft/lbs. I check the lug bolts or nuts after anyone has worked on the car.

Not too long ago I had some work done on my car by a local shop that caters to racers. The mechanic put the wheels on and tightened them slightly--just enough to seat the wheels. Somehow he forgot to do the final torquing. As a result I found myself in Tucson--after just completing a two-day autocross school--with loose lug bolts. I guess the lesson is that anyone can err, and it is up to all of us to see to it that our cars are in safe condition. It should not be that way, but it is. If I had never made an error, I would be upset. But I well know that we humans all make mistakes. In the end the biggest mistake is to assume that other's won't make mistakes.

take care,

Joe Stephenson

 

That's the problem I have--the car has a Sport Package, which should have 17" wheels, but I have 16." I would suspect the doorjamb reflects the specs for the car as it left the factory.

 

Waifish, I'm not. Really not. It's just a PITA.

 

Part of the dude's problem with me might have been that I'm not waifish either. I'm 6'5" and weigh 255; I look like a retired NFL lineman --- I don't look like a cardiac patient with arthritis and a handicapped parking permit.
A year ago I was working out with pro football players; now I can hardly walk up a hill. Don't judge books by their covers...

 

6"5" and you fit in the MINI all right? It's amazing what these critters can do, isn't it?