mammoth713

whats the "right way" to change a tire as far as torquing the lug nuts..?

is there a certain method more to it than tightening lug nuts that are across from eachother to spread the force out...

i've heard you torque them to a certain point, lower the car, and then torque them to another?

what is the right way to do it?

Gordo78

iTrader: (3)

Star pattern on a 5 lug. Just hand snug them in the air, lower it, and then torque in a star pattern.

justin455

This is one of those thing when there is only one way to do it, and this is it.

mammoth713

cool thanks!

yeah i knew the star pattern... but i didnt know why you'd do it snug in the air and then tight once you lower it...

so the tire doesnt spin i'm guessing?

Gordo78

iTrader: (3)

I just tighten them with a 4 way til they grab and spin the wheel, then move across the pattern to the next one til it does the same. After all are snug drop er down and torque em!

kain01

I've always heard you tighten it on the ground to keep from over tightening it. Once the car starts to roll a bit while tightening the nut you stop. You can over torque a lug nut pretty quickly. Least that's what mechanic's have told me, I'm not one myself though.

justin455

yeah, the rolling trick works, but a torque wrench is a damn fine investment.

02CamaroSSLE

iTrader: (5)

100ftlbs or pretty much as tight as you can get them with a breaker bar or 4 way... just dont force it too much, cause you will break a stud, but you will feel it about to break...

millersta

iTrader: (2)

i always liked the sayin "tight is tight, to tight is broke" basically i tighten my lugs as much as i can in the star pattern ive done this probally over 100 time and maybe broke 2-3 lugs id rather them bee tight than loose and come off while driving.

94TRANS

iTrader: (39)

iv always just hand tightend them in the air and then torque to 100ftlbs once on the ground...

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

Snugging the lugs with the tire off the ground is actually very important if your wheels aren't "hub-centric". This allows the wheels to "center-up" on the studs, so you don't get the wheels tightened slightly off center, and get vibration while driving.

Hub-centric wheels will "center-up" the wheel on the center hub of the axle, so while it's still a good idea to snugs the lugs in the air, it isn't quite as critical. For what it's worth, I always snug the lugs in the air, and then torque them after getting the tire on the ground.

kain01

True, but I'm probably not going to have it available when I get a flat on the side of the road.