theinfamous

what do you guys use to loosen the lug nuts? impact tools? tire iron? also, when tightening the lug nuts how do you set it to the correct torque? do i need to buy a torque wrench?

MSD

I use liquid wrench to loosen them up, then just use a tire iron. To put them back, I haven't had a problem putting them back on, and I just tighten them in a star pattern until I can't turn them any more wiht the tire iron.

theguyondacouch

yake them of with the 4 way tire iron, damnit can't remember the name, but any way, you know their tight enough when they start to squeak.

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theinfamous

i heard that if you have your lug nuts too tight....they can cause your rotors to warp?

Ashton

4 way lug wrench....... when tightening spin the nuts snug with the wheel off the ground then lower the car just enough to put a little weight on the wheel...... then tighten in a star pattern until each lug is tight, then give each one a little extra. Hard to explain..... you gotta have a feel for it.

axolotls

Hey. Nowadays you are supposed to rotate tires on the same side for newer cars (don't ask me how new) but it was explained to me by a few of auto-mechanic buddies who work in dealer shops.

So keep that in mind and call up one of the dealers in your area. They will be happy to tell you how they should be rotated.

Something to do with the bias of the tires.

On my old ass car (1978), I always rotated in a criss-cross pattern (front to opposite back and vice versa).

FastShark85

I'd like to hear how over-tight lug nuts can warp rotors....doubt it's true.

shakran

overtight lug nuts won't warp them, but unevenly tightened lug nuts will. if one nut is at 80lb/ft, another is at 70, another is at 50, and the 4th is at 100, then you have radically different pressures on different areas of the rotor, which when the rotor gets hot will cause it to warp. This is why anyone who puts tires on themselves should own a torque wrench. They're only $20 or so.

Ashton

Thats for tires that have directional tread.....

http://www.kumhousa.com/Care/TireRotation.asp

RoadRage

I tighten lugnut #1 (the one highest around ground level) until there's resistance, then #3, then #5, then #2, then #4. Then I apply about the torque to each lugnut in the same order. I don't use a torque wrench, but I've never warped a rotor either.

It's one of those things that easier to show in real life than to explain in words.

Many (but not all) tires with directional thread say so on the tire, often an arrow with the word "rotate" in it.

On front-wheel drive vehicles, make sure to swap back on front, so as to even the wear on the tires. If you swap front left for back left and front right for back right, you only have to jack the car up twice, so it's easier if you keep the tires on the same lateral side anyway.

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Sion

"Many (but not all) tires with directional thread say so on the tire, often an arrow with the word "rotate" in it."


ALL tires with directional tread are so marked. Every one. If you run across one that isnt, dont use it, its made by fools.

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briana

I agree with the majority of the folks, get a tire iron and use star pattern when tightening and complete in a couple steps to ensure equal torque if you are not going to spend the $'s on a torque wrench

bad30th

You guys who just sorta tighten it till its tight... that is not only bad for your wheels, its unsafe. And lazy.

Improperly torqued lug nuts are definitely at a higher risk of coming off or stripping, and then you'll really be sorry. Also, if you over-torque your lug nuts too much, you have a very good change of tweaking or warping your wheels. Yes, your wheels, most of which are made of aluminum these days.

Seriously....spend the $20 for a torque wrench, or even just take your car to ANY tire shop and ask them to check your all your lug nuts for proper torque...they'll do it for free!!

Manufacturers dont specify torques just for fun. Just think if your engine was assembled by some guy whose philosophy was "I just sorta gots me a feel for the torque on these Head bolts, heh heh heh." You would not be driving. lol

Dibbler

OK, here's the deal. Radial tires need to be rotated so that the tires continue to turn in their original direction. In otherwords, rotate the left rear to the left front, the right rear to the right front. Obviously, you move the front ones to the back on the same side. The reason is that the steel belts in the tires will settle into a certain position after time. If you rotate the tire any other way, you will significanty reduce the tire life.

Also, newer, lighter cars have much thinner rotors on them and they will warp if you over tighten the lug nuts. I've made this mistake on a Toyota Celica before. I could get away with turning the rotors once before they would need to be replaced due to their thinness. So, use a torqe wrench if you're driving a small to mid size car. If it's a truck or something heavy duty, don't worry about it too much.

Sion

common misconception #1.
way back when radial tires were first developed (late 60s), there was some truth to this. however in the over thirty intervening years since, tire technology has advanced way beyond such limitations. the simple fact is that with todays tires, the ONLY reason to keep a tire on the same side of the car with respect to rotation is IF (and ONLY if) the tire is directional. of course, even with directional tires, you could swap side IF you wanted to go through the trouble of dismounting the tires from the wheels and remounting them so that when movting them to the other side of the vehicle the correct rotational direction is maintained. most people consider this too much hassle, though.

common misconception #2:

while it is possible (in theory) for a rotor to warp due to UNEVEN lug torquing, it is simply not the case that overtightening of lug nuts/bolts will result in warped brake rotors. you are about 1000 times more likely to damage/snap the lugs than you are to warp the rotors. the (far and away) most common reason for rotors to warp is HEAT. the simple fact that they are made very thin in the first place, in order to keep vehicle weight down, results in rotors that cannot dissipate heat well. warped rotors are a not uncommon side effect. also, bear in mind that because of how thin they are to begin with, it is unlikely that these rotors will be able to be resurfaced more than once, even without any warpage occurring. rotors today (particularly on fwd vehicles) are becoming a disposable item, much like a bic lighter. use em, abuse em, replace em.

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shakran

"the (far and away) most common reason for rotors to warp is HEAT"

well, sort of. It's actually the uneven temperatures or uneven pressures across the rotor that does it. If you heat the rotor evenly and then let it cool evenly, it will never warp. Rotors warp for 2 main reasons.

1) people don't torque the lugs evenly which creates more stress on one part of the rotor than another. When the rotor gets heated up, the metal tends to conform to those stresses which warps them.

2) people brake hard and then sit at a stop light for 2 minutes with their foot on the brake. The part of the rotor that's under the pad will cool much more slowly than the part of the rotor that's not under the pad. The uneven temperatures will cause the rotor to warp. That's why it's a good idea to leave enough time to stop without braking hard, and it's a good idea to, when possible, be off the brakes at stoplights.

slant eyes

i was one of you who didn't feel i needed a torque wrench. i just tightened until i felt it was tight enough, or like my dad used to tell me, 'when it feels like you're picking up 80 lbs of something'

that is until i tightened some lug nuts tight enough to strip the nuts them self. lug nuts at the dealer are like 6 bucks a piece. then i ripped off the whole lug. spent the rest of that morning bangin out the old lug and replacing it with the new lug. plus another 6 dollars on the nut too. so after (1) 3 dollar lug, and at least (5) 6 dollar lug nuts, i decided to get a nice torque wrench. paid 60 dollars for a craftsmen. i was not about to pay 200+ for a snap on. and i got to tell you, that was the best 60 bucks i spent as i commonly rotate the tires of the 5 cars we have, change brakes, and other miscellaneous things that require taking the tire off.

and if you do get a torque wrench, remember to loosen (for a lack of better terms) the wrench after every use. if not, you loosen the springs inside by leaving them at the 80 lb mark. it's suggested that you take it down to at least the 20 lb mark.

one more thing, that torque wrench is for tightening, not loosening nuts.

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Peryn

"common misconception #1.
way back when radial tires were first developed (late 60s), there was some truth to this. however in the over thirty intervening years since, tire technology has advanced way beyond such limitations. the simple fact is that with todays tires, the ONLY reason to keep a tire on the same side of the car with respect to rotation is IF (and ONLY if) the tire is directional. of course, even with directional tires, you could swap side IF you wanted to go through the trouble of dismounting the tires from the wheels and remounting them so that when movting them to the other side of the vehicle the correct rotational direction is maintained. most people consider this too much hassle, though."


Well, almost completely true. The part about radials being able to go across the car is true. The part about directionals is only mostly true. The ONLY reason directional tires shouldn't be use the other direction is for traction. It has nothing to do with the belts or ply. In almost all cases you only lose a little bit of traction (which could reduce tire life) but other than that no real damage. I've heard that in places that have a winter (and even this wierd thing called snow) you get better traction through the snow with them rotating the wrong way. That might not be correct though... im still not sure what this winter thing is.

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rodgerd

It's having them unbalanced that causes the problem. You need the same amount of pressure on all the nuts.

Personally, I approximate by using the trye iron that comes with my cars and measure the number of turns I'm making. It hasn't cause me any problems in 15 years of driving.

rodgerd

It should be in the manual for your car; my 1994 Toyota Trueno has a criss-cross pattern with the spare included. The rotating on the same side would make tyre roatation a waste of time.

Hard8s

Everything you needed to know about tire safety.
http://www.tiresafety.com/index.htm
and you can even have it remind you to check your air pressure. Which IS the greatest reason for decreased tire life.

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NukingFuts

I'm anal and use a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts. As far as rotating them, it really depends on the tires are unidirectional or not, and if they are the same size in the front and back. Just make sure to check first.

felix

I use a directional low profile tyre on my car and have been told it is best to rotate them front to rear every 5000km. I alway do my wheel nuts up by hand. They need to be tight, but not so tight that your hear creaking sounds as you do tighten them. I really hate having to undo wheel nuts the have been overtightened with a rattle gun, especially at 3AM in the morining.