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 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 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.

My usual ROT (rule of thumb) is 80 ft-lb for alloy wheels, 100 for steel. That is close to mfr recommended torques for many cars, I think.

Haynes manual says 72 ft. lbs. for my 1997 Legacy wagon, I think yours would be close, I still like 80 ft. lbs.

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.

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?

whats his website?

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru

 

80-100lbs was what I always thought. I just put them on as tight as I can get them. I figure that's around 80-100lbs per nut.

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.

I used 65'/lbs on SSR alloys the day I went to the track with my WRX and checked 'em twice during the day. They never budged.

 

Carl

So for metal rims what torque?

58-72 lb-ft. according to Subaru. I always err on the high side and torque mine to 72. This is for all Subarus except the SVX and some of the newer STI's I believe, wether steel or alloy.

Subaru's have crazy low wheel torque, i think the EA-82's were close to 52 foot pounds. if you over torque them, they tend to warp the rotors.

I go for 95 Newton Meters.

 

What's that in your money? 73ft/lbs ?

on my 96 legacy, the FSM states 65 +/-7 fl/lbs

 

 

it seems low, but it works

 

matt

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

Clean, dry conical surfaces. Anti-seize on the threads.

 

Torque, drive around 200 miles, re-torque, sorted.

 

 

I set my wrench a little lower like, 94Nm instead of 95Nm when I re-torque as this avoids over tightening.

why does this seem so difficult? Isnt there a known amount of torque for each bolt? before all i did was make each bolt tight as i could, so. Maybe i should just do that lol.

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!

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).

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

After I hand tighten them I'm usually within less than a full turn of spec, which I think is probably more than adequate.

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.

I spin them on with a ratchet and then torque to specs. I leave the torque wrench out and set up and retorque after a day's driving. Then I put the wrench away and forget the wheels till next time.

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!