Recommendations on torque wrench and lightweight jack

[odoprelude]

Okay, bought my slicks, waiting on my wheels and I figure I need to pick up a torque wrench and a lightweight jack...and being I know nothing about either of these things, I would ask you all for advice... Thanks!

[odoprelude]

Also... another newb question.. where do I find how much to torque the bolts on the wheel? Thanks.. obviously I need a lot of advice...heh.. :lol:

[SeanB]

Craftsman makes one that goes upto 150 ft-lb Link (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=00944595000&vertical=Sears&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes)

Craftsman has a 1.5 ton aluminium jack. Link (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=00950240000&vertical=AUTO&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes)

Torque them to factory spec + 20.

Welcome to the addictive world of R-comps.

[Davis K Powers]

I've been thru 3 jacks recently.... a wal-mart cheapo and heavy craftsman.

the best one so far has been a harbor freight aluminium jack. Its super light and small. around$70

The wal-mart one broke on me (with tire in air) and the craftsman was waaayy too heavy and not low enough for car.

I've also been thru 2 torque wrenches.

Get a good 50-100ft.lbs/ nm torque wrench. I got mine with a guarantee from
Advanced auto parts for around $40. (The sears one was too expensive and only has a 30-day return and guarantee.)

From my experience, different wheels have different tq. specs. Get some feedback from your wheel Mfg.
My Rotas are ~80 and my stock Sti wheels are ~70. And yes, you can over torque al. wheels...be careful.

Sean +1....oh yes...welcome to the world of r-compounds.

[SentraWV]

Torque them to factory spec + 20.

Really? Never heard that before - I've always used factory spec and never nad any problems. Hmm.

[SentraWV]

The wal-mart one broke on me (with tire in air)

Bet that was fun! I've never had any problems with my Wal-Mart jack, except that it wouldn't fit under the Rex with the stock 13 inch wheels after I put H&Rs on it. :lol:

[lilred]

Buddy Pat has a harbor freight one and an aluminum super-low craftsman jack.

Harbor freight has the front two wheels broken off, biggest POS ive seen, no confidence in the lever,

Craftsman aluminum race jack is kinda expensive $200 if I remember right (maybe more), but its awesome, no problems, magnetic (I think) tray, sturdy lever, and low so that’s an added bonus. Lightweight as well.

When I worked at sears in the hardware dept. I sold both jacks and torque wrenches. Torque wrenches I rarely if ever saw any come back for returns my 9 months there. Spend the big bucks if you can, get the higher end ones and you should be fine. Otherwise keep the receipt, go somewhere else or whatever. Cheap is cheap.

I use my factory Honda jack (im a pro at it now) or Pats race jack

[Jason V]

The exact torque spec is not the important factor.. it is that the torque is even on all the lugs... thus the need for the torque wrench... I always use somewhere between 70 and 80 foot pounds.. or factory spec.. factory plus 20 on my MINI would have been 110 foot pounds... WAYYYY too much. I would not go above 90 unless the factory specs it that way..

[odoprelude]

Great! Thanks for all the advice... where do I find the factory specs? Thanks!

[RobbieNelson]

Buddy Pat has a harbor freight one and an aluminum super-low craftsman jack.

Harbor freight has the front two wheels broken off, biggest POS ive seen, no confidence in the lever,

I've had mine for 2 or 3 years now and it works great. I have to bleed air out of it every once in a while.


When I worked at sears in the hardware dept. I sold both jacks and torque wrenches. Torque wrenches I rarely if ever saw any come back for returns my 9 months there.

I had a Craftsman break on me. However, I still use a Craftsman at the moment.

Just telling my experiences.

[MountaineerSTi]

I've also had good experience with the Harbor Freight aluminum jack (in yummy anodized blue and silver). And if it breaks you can replace it again without spending as much as you would for the Craftsman in the first place.

[ShortysTRM]

I just use my spare jack...nothing else seems to mate up with any particular point under my car, the spare jack is always with me, and if you have one with a hex nut on the end, it doesn't take much time to raise it. I bet you could buy another spare jack for pretty cheap. With two, you could raise your car one side (or one end) at a time, instead of one corner at a time. Makes rotating tires easier, obviously. Someone may have a reason not to use the stock one, though..?

Also, my stock lug torque is 90-100, and that's what I tighten it to. My torque wrench is a "Great Neck" brand wrench from Autozone. IIRC, it has a lifetime warranty on it, goes from 30-150 lb.ft., and was only $24.99. I may remember incorrectly, though.