Quote Originally Posted by Finly Owner View Post
DON"T use rattle guns doing up wheel nuts! Using rattle guns can strip threads on wheel nuts and studs. Most people incorrectly use rattle guns, You should brake your wheel nuts loose with rattle gun and finish pulling them of by hand, asto, not over spin the thread of the nuts on the end of the studs. Same as when putting them back on, wind wheel nuts on by hand, ensuring you feel it has the correct threading(not cross threaded) and wind them all the way by hand then finish tightening by rattlegun to desired tension. DON"T be tempted to keep rattling, thinking your doing a better tight job, because you are actually damaging the fine thread in your wheel nut.

If you can't under your wheel nut using a hand brace, you have actually over tighten your wheel nuts and stretched the threads.

Wheels studs and nuts have a fine thread and are design that way to enable sufficent tension to be placed on them to hold wheels on sufficiently, without being strong man.

I know some wheel shop personel will argue with me on this, but have they been lectured by an automotive engineer on the forces of wheels, stresses, forces, and tensions put to wheels, rims, tyres, nuts and threads? To put some facts to this, think of this:

A truck registered to carry 20 tonne needs no more tension on its wheel nuts and studs than a boat trailer needs on its ones. The difference is the size of the studs and nuts. I have put wheels on a HG holden and travelled the simpson desert, and not lost a wheel, and we even used anti sieze on the studs! So if they were going come undone, they would of on that trip, considering I personally hand tightened all 20 nuts after applying the anti seize.

All mynuts on all my vehicles, inc alloys on past vehicles have always been hand tightened evenly ie tighten 1st nut, 3rd nut, 5th, 2nd nut and 4th nut and recheck each one.

End of lesson

Tim
Hmmm ... I hear ya mate, but sort of sounds to me to be at the 'overly dramatic' end of the argument ... not out to start anything, but like us all I've had multiple cars that have traveled multiple terrains, and whilst I am a bit of a 'tighten by hand' guy anyway, I also have used a rattle gun on countless occasions (personally) as well as having wheel rotations/balances done countless times by retailers who use rattle guns ... my understanding (and happy to be wrong), is that over torquing of the nut is far less likely to cause stretching of the thread and more likely to cause metal fatigue over an extended time, and it is in fact this that causes fractures/failure of the studs ... most rattle guns don't place as much strain on the nuts as big units like me in most cases, and hence are a safer option (especially for DIY individuals who use the good ole Super Cheap Auto air compressor etc) than hanging off the end of a breaker bar and socket ...

Or am I completely misguided???