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I use a 80 ft. lb. torque stick, and it ends up around 78 lbs. when I check it with torque wrench. The correct value I think is a little lower but not much it should be in owners manual. quote=ericem]Hello my friends, time to do the brake pads. Now i have my fancy micrometer torque wrench and would like to torque my wheel nuts to the correct amount now that have one. So what should each nut be torqued to? Thank you!

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I use a 80 ft. lb. torque stick, and it ends up around 78 lbs. when I check it with torque wrench. The correct value I think is a little lower but not much it should be in owners manual. quote=ericem]Hello my friends, time to do the brake pads. Now i have my fancy micrometer torque wrench and would like to torque my wheel nuts to the correct amount now that have one. So what should each nut be torqued to? Thank you!

 

I wish i could find my owners manual, lost it some time in 1998.

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So why alloys should be torqued less? I always thought it should be other way around, and vaguely remember that subarus are ~65 steel and ~80 alloys..

 

ericem look at Legacy777 web site for a manual for a similar year legacy.

 

whats his website?

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So why alloys should be torqued less? I always thought it should be other way around, and vaguely remember that subarus are ~65 steel and ~80 alloys..

 

Because alloy wheels are softer. This says 67-70 lb-ft, which I haven't had any problems with.

 

80lb-ft is apparantly about the tightest you want because of the strength of the threads. I'll flip through a machinist's handbook at work tomorrow to see if that's true.

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If you throw out the highest and lowest numbers from this thread so far, total all the other numbers and divide, I get approx. 71.6 .

 

I see no reason not to use 70-75 ft/lbs and then just check the torque a few times, especially on new alloys.

 

There is further discussion we could pursue as it relates to lug nut/rim seat profiles, use or not of anti-seize, nut thread engagement, etc. I think there is a page at www.tirerack.com that discusses lug nuts.

 

be careful out there.

 

Carl

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Wow! I found a website that gives recommended torques for lug nuts based on bolt diameter: http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=107

 

I always thought that there was an issue with torquing alloy wheels too tight and causing local fatigue and/or deformation at the point where the wheel meets the nut, but the more I poke around for info, the less I see anyone care about that any more. Maybe with the nuts properly designed to spread the load over a greater part of the wheel, that's no longer a problem.

 

Anyway, Tire Rack says to follow mfr's torque recommendations, but if you don't have those handy, then these torques should suffice.

 

Interesting -- I always learn something here on this Board, although sometimes I have to go off-Board to learn it! ;)

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The most important thing to remember when tightening your lugnuts is to use the same torque on all four (or five, six, whatever) on any given wheel, especially if that wheel uses a disc brake. Uneven torque will cause rotor runout due to the disc itself being slightly cocked from the uneven pressure on the surface of the hub mating surface. Tightening by feel is not good for your rotors; always use a torque wrench. Even if it is a crappy torque wrench that is off by n% it will still get all the nuts to the same torque. That said, Subaru recommends 58-72 ft-lbs for all of their cars except the SVS (90 I think) and the newer STi's with the 5x114.3 (can't remember).

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I have a personal habit of going around 2-3 times only bringing the torque up to spec on the last pass.

Carl

 

Excellent practice! Also be sure to tighten in an opposite/opposite sequence so the pressure is applied as evenly as possible while the wheel is being pulled in.

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The only other thing I can think to mention is, I have a personal habit of going around 2-3 times only bringing the torque up to spec on the last pass. I dunno if it's REQUIRED but I just can't bring myslef to go all the way to 65 on the first nut while the others 4 are loose.

 

Carl

 

 

Ditto!

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