Re: [DML] Re: Tire torque settings

["Rob Hook" <robhook@xxxx>]

> It depends on how good you are at "feeling" 70 ft-lbs torque. They
> all need to be tight enough, but not too tight, and all kind of the
> same so as not to warp the rotors.

One of my father's old SAE mechanic's books tells of a test (probably done
by a tool manufacturer) where 20 mechanics, each with 10+ years of
experience, were asked to tighten a nut down to about 50 ft-lbs of torque.
None of them were able to get within 25% or something like that with any
regularity. And these were professional mechanics. The moral of the story
is, don't try to "feel" torque settings.

On the other side of the coin, I noticed that the rotors on the front (I
think) of my DeLorean had a type of "tower" coming off the rotor onto which
the lug bolts are mounted. Wouldn't this virtually nullify the chances of
overtightening warping the rotor? Thoughts?

In the end, it's probably better to be safe than sorry and I ALWAYS tighten
my lugs with a torque wrench now. The rotors on my car were warped when I
bought it and I don't want to go through THAT again!

--Rob Hook