Proper Torque for wheel nuts

My local tire chain can, and does, and gets it wrong every time, like it's in their corporate database that way. Then I have to show them right in the manual where it says 76 ft lb.

 

We some used vehicles in the family that didn't come with any manuals but I've found this website where you can easily lookup torques for tires...pretty handy....

Wheel Torque Specs | Lug Nut Torque | Discount Tire

 

Go ahead and put a Prius in on that website and see if the answer's correct.

 

Costcos around here use torque wrenchs and have for at least twenty years. I find them quite accommodating to their free rotations and balances. In large part Michelins and Costco help me get 80k-100k miles out of every Prius tire I have used. So much so, I swap new car off brand tires immediately.

Most simply use air tools and don’t torque. When using small tire shops for things like TPMS I simply loosen and torque at home.

. Not sure there is a huge difference between Discount’s 80 ft lbs and the manual’s 76. I do know random air tools often cinch them to 100-125 ft lbs, often varying between lugs, which can lead to problems changing a tire with the factory lug wrench. It can also cause warped rotors on some cars.

 

They really should have lug nut torque readily available, not just buried in the owners manual. Again, sticker in drivers door jamb is the go-to place for crucial info.

 

Yeah, the guys here definitely use torque wrenches, look up the wrong torque on their computer, and tighten the nuts to that.

Is it a huge difference? Probably not. Would their computer be just as capable of delivering the right answer if the wrong one hadn't been put into it? Probably.

 

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the difference between an alloy vs steel rim. You can over tighten a steel rim with very few consequences, other than snapping a stud. You can damage/warp an alloy rim if you over tighten it.

 

Shoot, way too many folks I know don't even know how to change a flat tire much less know about torquing lug nuts/bolts! For fun, I watch the YouTube channel "Just Rolled In" and see some of the hilarious (and sad) things mechanics see.

"customer declined all repairs"

 

Door jamb torque spec would be good for tire shop personnel too.

speaking of which: the last two times I’ve been to Costco tire shops, it’s been for directional snow tires, and both times they’ve managed to screw it up, orientation when mounting the tires.

 

LOL, if you're using the tire iron that comes with the car with bare hands or even light gloves, there's no way you're going to over torque. Your hands will scream in pain first.

 

Yep those pesky arrows on the directional tires! I did an oil change and tire rotation for my son-in-law and he failed to mention that he'd replaced a couple of the tires and, after rotating, I noticed the arrows on one....crap....had to redo it! Now I just rotate the front tires with the back on the same side when doing a rotation so I don't have to worry about it. (No more "X" rotations)

 

I never did cross side rotation. Too much trouble with just one floor jack.

 

The way Costco handed them to me, it was impossible to install them on a car correctly. One time it was 3 one way one the other, and recently all 4 the same. (You’ve gotta have two tires with their outside face directional arrow pointing clockwise, and two counterclockwise.)

I’m getting cagey: pull off the nice plastic they’ve wrapped them in, and a’yup. Then back to the tire shop entrance and get them to fix it, which means pulling tires off, remounting and rebalancing.

 

I know this thread is pretty ancient but I just did oil changes and wheel rotations on two Gen 3s today (gf 2010 and mom's 2015 prius'). I regularly service the gf car so I know what it's like to remove a 27 ft-lb oil drain bolt, an 18ish ft-lb oil filter cap, and 80ft-lb lugs. Mom's 2015 usually goes to the dealer (it has 13k miles on it, and it's 8 years old, she'e more of a walker than a driver obviously). The drain bolt and the lugs were so overtightened on the 2015 I could hardly believe it. I use an old wrench that's maybe 22" long to get the lugs loose and I was straining my wrist to get the lugs off. I can also say confidently the oil drain bolt was way more than 27 ft-lbs. I guess you could say things were "snug", for a silverback gorilla.

I used my 25-250 ft-lb wrench to tighten the lugs to 80 ft-lbs, and a much smaller wrench to tighten the oil drain plug to 27 ft-lbs. Strangely at 27 ft-lbs when I remove the drain bolts to change the oil again (every 5k) the bolts come off almost a little too easily, but I stick with it. It could be the bolt gaskets (some amazon junk, only thing I could source at the time). Anyways, you get a good feel for what 28 ft-lbs is and the dealer was cranking everything so tight on my mom's car, I think I'll change it for her from now on.

The point of my thread being that dealerships and dealership mechanics are probably as unique as snowflakes. If I ever have the time (and I usually do) I do anything I can do myself so I know it's not done by someone who might be having a really bad day. I'll be paying for that bad day for a long time if/when then nearly strip, strain, or cross thread something.

 

If you have plastic or nylon drain plug washers - throw them out as they are complete garbage.

I have had problems with torque retention or having some distort the gasket and partly push out.

At this point I only use aluminum or copper washers.

Hope the threads in the pan aren't damaged.

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