Torque wrench necessary for putting on wheels?
 

Just wondering what common practice is on this forum. Hand tighten or torque wrench?

hand tighten while in the air (with a tire iron) and then torque wrench on the floor

+1

People get by without torque wrenches every day. If you use common sense when tightening your lug nuts you'll be fine. If you want to have peace of mind when you drive though, invest in a torque wrench.

Well, I've tightened hundreds, maybe thousands, of lug nuts in my 73 years, never used a torque wrench and never had a wheel fall off.

Using a "cross" type lug wrench, cross rotating the tightening down of the DRY lug nuts, with the last tightening being two squeaks, worked for me up through the age of 60. After 60, it was two squeaks and a grunt.

(disclaimer - works for DRY lug nuts only)

If you wish to put that anti-seize stuff on the studs, it might be best to use a torque wrench.


humfrz

Ask to borrow a buddies torque wrench one time.
Torque your wheels with both the TR and you own personal breaker bar, star wrench , etc.
You will be able to feel what is right after that.

The TQ wrench is the right thing to do. You might be successful hand tightening... might being the operative word. Remember the bigger risk is almost always being too tight and breaking something. (Although too loose can be bad too)

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You can get a torque wrench and a socket and it's not all that expensive. If you under-torque, obviously that's bad. But over-torquing can stretch threads and if you REALLY over-do it, warp your rotors.

That said, people tighten lugnuts using the German torque spec everyday and do fine.

Can you recommend a decent affordable torque wrench? I see that there are some popular ones on Amazon in the $40-60 range but I'm unsure if those would do the trick.

Something like this would work if you just using it occasionally.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-hal...rench-239.html

I use this one, watch for sales:
https://m.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-1-2-in...Wrench/3381202

Warp your rotors? Putting lug nuts on by hand? That is hilarious!

https://66.media.tumblr.com/5a9d1bb5...kahjo1_500.gif

Where I work we make 4 million rotors a year. Every year we get about 6 warranty returns for heat warping (why not 4 or 8 I will never understand) we have never once received a cold warped rotor back.

Note the REALLY part. It has happened. Not having seen a pic of the OP, he may be a huge body builder, I don't know.

Still tightening a flat surface against a flat surface. You will snap a lug bolt before you will warp a rotor. People may think they warped one tightening it but it is just not realistic. Unless of course you are using some flimsy ass bargain basement ones I guess.