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Torque Wrenches are 50% off until Friday at Canadian Tire

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I've done plenty of seasonal tire changes, but I've always tightened the lugnuts too much

I used to as well. I always thought you should tighten as much as humanly possible, and was quite surprised to see the difference when I got my first torque wrench years ago. It is also quite amazing to see what a poor job most shops do in this regard... even if I specify "hand torquing" on my service order. The first thing I do when I get home after any service where the wheels are touched is to back the lug nuts off and hand torque myself. One time a shop had put the nuts on so tightly I couldn't even loosen them with my breaker bar. I took it back to the tire shop and raised hell. I think they even broke (and replaced) a stud in the process of properly setting the torque.
 
I have been satisfied with my Mastercraft tools - have a reasonable amount I've bought in passing through Canada over the years. I don't suppose there's a chance I can get an Albertan to pick one up and hold it for me for 6 weeks until we head south now, is there???? :) :) We'll be heading through both Edmonton & Calgary, etc., and that's a superb price.

MNX: about how long is the one you mention? At least 20", I hope. The to-350 ft-lb. one I use for my trucks is close to 30" long - need that leverage....

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I can't believe that these people are selling devices that are miscalibrated so badly. And people are buying them! ;)

That's the good kind of miscalibration! And at least it isn't "about 50%" off ;)

On edit - BUT: Is it + 50%, or - 50%? Only your wheel lugs will know for sure...........

On a serious note: If you ever watch a grease jockey using a pneumatic wrench to tighten your tires' lugnuts, demand he stop, refuse to pay, or at the very least, don't leave the garage parking lot until you loosen the nuts and torque-tighten them yourself. It's a marvelous way to destroy an aluminum rim, as well as snapping lugs.
 
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Picked one of these up earlier in the week. We have the "Maximum" version at work. This one seems very similar for a lot less money (1/3)

As per usual with CTC, they had none on the shelf, so had to wait 15 minutes for the poor kid to retrieve one from the back....but at least I got one. Many a time you have to still wait the 15 minutes but walk out empty-handed.
 
Thought I would resurrect this thread since the Mastercraft Maximum 1/2 inch drive torque wrench (20-250 lbs) is back on sale for one week, starting today. Sale price is $60, regular is around $180. A great deal !

It is sold as a combo with a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar.

Had my wife run to the store to pick up a set. Funny thing is I had looked online yesterday while at work to see if it was on sale (it was not), and just happened to glance at the paper flyer in the evening. :scared:
 
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On a related note, is anyone using any kind of anti-sieze on the lug threads at tire change time? I have always heard you shouldn't, but when I swapped the tires on my wife's car, I snapped off five (5) lugs removing the summer tires. They were not over-torqued or anything like that. The bolt just seems to have rusted to the nut, and when I applied pressure with my breaker bar, it just snapped. One (1) broke on me last year, too.

As I did a little Googling on this, there seems to be those in favor of a little grease or anti-seize on the threads.

No problem with the lugs and nuts on my Model S, but as I think about using something on my wife's car, I'm wondering about the Tesla too.
 
I think if you rotate your tires often, there really is no need to add anything to the lug nuts/threads. Also, I dropped by Canadian Tire the other day and seems the sale is over. I went to one store and it was still on sale but they were sold out. Went to a different store the next day and sale was over.