Owner's manual?

 

hand tight (I mean with a wrench), just use the proper torquing sequence...

 

Owner's manual?

I don't recall seeing it in the oener's manual.

 

hand tight (I mean with a wrench), just use the proper torquing sequence...

You should use a torque wrench.

 

i think its 92, but wait for conformation[]

 

at the shop the torque chart says that for all focus the torque is 80 ft lbs, and thats what ive been torqing mine too

 

i checked a haynes manual and it says 94 lbs ft for the lugs

 

You should use a torque wrench.

You don't need to use a torque wrench (have you checked the prices on these lately?), you will not have a problem if you use the supplied wrench and hand tighten. This isn't a commercial truck with a GVWR of 18000 kg. There's a reason why they don't clearly indicate a specified torque...cause you don't need to worry about it. Shops might have a guide, but that is for legality issues....product of a sue me society.

 

I recently picked up a Great Neck click type torque wrench for $19.99, so they're not that expensive. The idea of using a torque wrench on lug nuts isn't really to hit a specific torque as much as to keep them equal.

 

94 lb-ft. And the money spent on a torque wrench is more than worth it.[]
Here's a related post from the SVTOA forums.

I bring up the torque wrench, because without one, there's no way to insure even tightening of all the lugs.
This can lead to wheel bearing wear, vibrations, warped rotors, broken wheel studs.......[]

 

So how do the torque wrench users here do it?

I set the wrench to 10 lbs less than spec, torque, then set it to spec, and torque again.

 

you don't have to torque lower then raise the torque setting. Just set it at spec, torque the lugs, then if its an aluminum wheel, torque all the lugs again in a star pattern. you don't have to torque twice on steel wheels but for aluminum its recommended because the aluminum gives...

 

I set the wrench to 10 lbs less than spec, torque, then set it to spec, and torque again.
You got it.[thumb]
As long as they are torqued in a "cross pattern" like the manual shows, and done evenly, you're set.
Though, I don't think it's absolutely necessary to torque them in steps like you would a head gasket.

With that said, I suppose I do do them in steps to some degree.
I use my air impact set at 80 ft lbs while the wheel is still in the air.
This insures the wheel is properly seated against the rotor.
Once I lower it to the ground, I pull out the torque wrench and go over them again at the proper setting.

 

You don't need to use a torque wrench (have you checked the prices on these lately?), you will not have a problem if you use the supplied wrench and hand tighten. This isn't a commercial truck with a GVWR of 18000 kg. There's a reason why they don't clearly indicate a specified torque...cause you don't need to worry about it. Shops might have a guide, but that is for legality issues....product of a sue me society.

You would be laughed out of any self respecting paddock at the track.

 

I set the wrench to 10 lbs less than spec, torque, then set it to spec, and torque again.
You got it.[thumb]
As long as they are torqued in a "cross pattern" like the manual shows, and done evenly, you're set.
Though, I don't think it's absolutely necessary to torque them in steps like you would a head gasket.

With that said, I suppose I do do them in steps to some degree.
I use my air impact set at 80 ft lbs while the wheel is still in the air.
This insures the wheel is properly seated against the rotor.
Once I lower it to the ground, I pull out the torque wrench and go over them again at the proper setting.

I torque them by hand in the cross pattern until pretty damn tight and then use the torque wrench to finish it off.. I quit using a rattle gun years ago as they always eventually knock the chrome off nuts (the car, not mine). I always remove and reinstall by hand or an air ratchet. A little slower but worth it in the long run.

 

You would be laughed out of any self respecting paddock at the track.

Not to mention your brake man will love you. The biggest cause of warped rotors, IMHO, is improper torque at the wheelnut.

 

I quit using a rattle gun years ago as they always eventually knock the chrome off nuts (the car, not mine).

Chrome nutz.....BLING![]

 

Chrome nutz.....BLING![]

SVT comes stock with chrome bling nuts, i like them

 

You would be laughed out of any self respecting paddock at the track.

I usually deal with torque wrenches from commercial vehicles...truck tractors etc....they are really expensive, I didn't know torque wrenches for a car were cheap...there's honestly no need for them.

 

Stop spreading your shit.

 

its also a good idea after you torque them down to drive it around the block and then re-check the torque, to make sure the wheel did not shift any

 

^^^^What he said^^^^
In addition, that's why I mentioned to tighten the wheels (not ALL the way, but snug) while they're still in the air.
Once the weight of the car is on them, the chances of them shifting at all are greatly reduced.
Then, use the torque wrench once all the wheels are on the ground.

 

One of these is perfectly adequate for wheels and it doesn't cost much:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...D=cchhadcmijlfkekcehgcemgdffmdflh.0&vertical=TOOL&pid=00944642000&bidsite=CRAFT

You don't need anything exotic for wheels although If you work on anything seriously I'd get a clicker.

 

This is an interesting topic seeing as that I just rotated my tires myself today and did NOT use a torque wrench on the lug nuts. Using the supplied wrench in the trunk I tightened the nuts until I could feel resistance to moving further, being careful not to push hard or "yank" on the handle and exert too much force. Took the car for a spin around the block, rechecked the tightness, and everything seems okay (for now anyway ). If you're not heavy-handed or ridiculously careless there isn't always a NEED for an everyday car to have the nuts torqued down to perfection. Notice I left the opening, though by saying "there isn't *always* a need?"

Sometimes there is, I know for example that the brakes on the Mk. I MR2 are VERY sensitive to uneven and/or over-torquing of the lug nuts. EXTREMELY common for them to have warped brake rotors, over and over again, if the nuts are too tight or tightened unevenly, in concert with the fact that the brakes on early MR2's were undersized and got worked hard and thus got very HOT. Man did I go through a lot of brake services on that car.

I dunno, as far as the Focus, I'm not real worried... I'll keep on eye on how the brakes feel (pulsing, uneven grabbing) and how the wheels feel in terms of balance but I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

 

This is an interesting topic seeing as that I just rotated my tires myself today and did NOT use a torque wrench on the lug nuts. Using the supplied wrench in the trunk I tightened the nuts until I could feel resistance to moving further, being careful not to push hard or "yank" on the handle and exert too much force. Took the car for a spin around the block, rechecked the tightness, and everything seems okay (for now anyway ). If you're not heavy-handed or ridiculously careless there isn't always a NEED for an everyday car to have the nuts torqued down to perfection. Notice I left the opening, though by saying "there isn't *always* a need?"

Sometimes there is, I know for example that the brakes on the Mk. I MR2 are VERY sensitive to uneven and/or over-torquing of the lug nuts. EXTREMELY common for them to have warped brake rotors, over and over again, if the nuts are too tight or tightened unevenly, in concert with the fact that the brakes on early MR2's were undersized and got worked hard and thus got very HOT. Man did I go through a lot of brake services on that car.

I dunno, as far as the Focus, I'm not real worried... I'll keep on eye on how the brakes feel (pulsing, uneven grabbing) and how the wheels feel in terms of balance but I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

I was actually in the same boat...no torquing my lug nuts, and the last time i rotated, i used a really old "protractor looking" wrench that we had, it seemed like it was decently accurate, but not very well, atleast they are all equal or close to it now. If you buy a wrench, don't buy that style, get a clicking type.

 

You can get cheeseball clicking type torque wrenches at Harbor Freight for cheap. Sure it might be off a couple ft-lb here or there, but the point is that you will do all your lugs the same.

I have AL wheels and AL lugs, I torque to 80 ft-lb and drive 50 miles and torque again.