In the past couple of years I've "used up" two torque wrenches, a Craftsman from Sears (no, they're not guaranteed forever, only the hand tools like box wrenches and sockets are), and a Husky from Home Depot.

Each cost about $75.

My torque wrenches get regular heavy use at the track and when changing from street to track tires at home. I'd like one that would last a little longer than a year or two.

Do you have any suggestions? Thanks.

 

Been having my Harbor Freight 20$ torque wrench for more then a few years, although I do not use it that much I use it at least monthly to re torque my wheels. I have a buddy who is an engineer at boeing said he got his re-calibrated and they said it was not off, but they did tweak it a little.

 

Snap-On TechWrench model number tech3fr250. Sometimes the trucks have them on sale for 50% off.

 

John Coffey is right, Snap On. I've bought two of them that were used but in new condition for a huge discount. We have one 3/8" drive and one 1/2" drive. Craftsman wrenches are ok but they just dont have the quality of Snap on.

 

Do you leave them set to 0 ft-lbs when not in use? Leaving it set to a non-zero torque stretches and weakens the spring rendering them inaccurate or failure.

I've been using a Craftsman regularly for the last four years with no problems. Similar conditions, constantly swapping between street and autocross wheels.

 

+1111

its a must to set them to Zero when not in use. also its important not to use them for anything else other then torquing bolts. using a torque wrench as a breaker bar is not good either.

i bought an el-cheapo two years ago and she is still kicking.

 

[Johnny Carson]

I did not know that!

[/Johnny Carson]
Well, I kinda knew that, but did it anyway.

So maybe if I stop abusing my tools they'll last longer, and I won't have to invest in a $360 Snap-On wrench. (And destroy it!)

Thanks for the tips, guys.

BTW, do you keep your torque wrenches in their plastic cases when you're not using them?

 

I use the harbor freight one too, its the beater for me. As long as all 5 lugs are torqued within 5 pounds of what i want and they are all torqued the same, I'm happy.

 

Yes.

Before I got the Snap-On digital torque wrench I thought that too. Now, since the display holds the actual torque number for a few seconds after you pull the wrench off the nut/bolt, I've learned that technique is far more important then the accuracy of the wrench.

You need to slowly approach the torque setting and stop the instant it clicks (or beeps or buzzes). Its incredibly easy to go 20% over the wrench setting and the double click I see hundreds of guys do when torquing their wheels adds at least 25 ft. lbs. on a 80 lb. setting. I know, I've walked over with my Snap-On wrench and showed people how foolish that practice is.

 

Yeah, but is the mfr's specified torque value intended to be a minimum, a maximum, or the center of an acceptable range? Over-torquing can cause cracking and ultimately damage the wheels, but the risk of under-torquing is much more immediate and serious. (Believe me, I know!) So clearly, 20% over is much preferable to 20% under.

Further, the specs are set with the knowledge that not all real-world torque wrenches are 100% accurate, and not all real-world mechanics use perfect torquing technique. Hell, in the real world, 90% of wheels are mounted with an air gun and never torqued to a calibrated value.

Obviously, there's nothing wrong with torquing your wheels spot-on to 80 lbs, but I don't think it's a major problem to be a little over that, especially for cars that are tracked. AFAIK, the only harm that can come directly from over-torquing is damage to the wheels, and in the long term us track rats have to consider wheels as consumables anyway.

My two cents.

 

+1

 

So how do I find a Snap-On truck?