tremek
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xsPBNiowYoE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Habor Freight vs Snap On Torque wrench calibration check
- Thread starter tremek
- Start date
jerseykat1
Well-known member
Now this is an area where you would definitely want to spend good coin. Especially if your an engine builder.
Lefty 29
Active member
"You get what you pay for"
kctyphoon
Banned
To think that millions of cars are driving on the road everyday that have NEVER been repaired with use of a torque wrench on every bolt and nut that's been removed - I don't know what's keeping the sky from falling down on us as we speak...
Dont trust the results!!!
Someone told me Snap On has sent out these torque machines with secret coding imbedded that reads when a Snap On vs other mfg is hooked up and will give erroneous results for the other manufacturer!!!
Someone told me Snap On has sent out these torque machines with secret coding imbedded that reads when a Snap On vs other mfg is hooked up and will give erroneous results for the other manufacturer!!!
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Sorry throwing the BS flag on this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Did the same guy tell you those free HF multi meters were good too.
Only problem with that conspiracy theory is that the guy in the video said they have tested many other brands including Craftsman that were accurate.
Was your friend wearing his tinfoil hat?
mrjaw14
Well-known member
I wonder how accurate the HF digital torque meter is, and if that could be clamped in a vice to test calibration?
ScottsGT
Well-known member
Wait! What?? I thought Garage Journal said the the HF torque wrench was GTG? Video is obviously faked. GJ is never wrong.
JAKE-THE-TOOL-MAN
Well-known member
Don't worry, some of us got the sarcasm....
knobby
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platform389
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...or anything critical to life like suspension or brake components.
Of course you'll be called a "torque Nazi" for your trouble.
nieuport17
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I know snap on torque wrench is good, but I wish the video spent a little more time testing that than HF torque wrench.
crucible
Well-known member
So what I saw was a test for 50 f/p. The SO first went for about 49 each time on the calibrator-obviously a good tool.
However, the HF (which they said was brand new) did 48 first, then 58/59, then after backing it down and ramping it back up to 50, did 48 twice.
I really don't think that's a blanket condemnation of the HF at all. And since they said it was a new device, I'd love to see some additional iterations of it as well to help gauge either way (nothing was said of the SO wrench's age).
However, the HF (which they said was brand new) did 48 first, then 58/59, then after backing it down and ramping it back up to 50, did 48 twice.
I really don't think that's a blanket condemnation of the HF at all. And since they said it was a new device, I'd love to see some additional iterations of it as well to help gauge either way (nothing was said of the SO wrench's age).
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Lol... Perfect example of people getting ramped up over a HF/SO discussion, the VW Parody went right over there heads.
Nice...
MattVette89
Well-known member
Murphy4570
Well-known member
....Owned by Snap-On.
I have a CDI 1/4" torque wrench. Not terribly impressed. Went out of calibration, cracked a cast valvecover cause of that. Sat in the bottom of my toolbox ever since.
smittyjones
Well-known member
Sweet the VW switch
Or Hyundai/Kia, they had a class action suit for posting internal MPG ratings on their window stickers.
GTA Matt
Well-known member
They had it set to 40 for the 2nd tests when it was clicking off on 48
I would be willing to bet $1000 they are reading the HF setting incorrectly. The lines are really close together, I always need to count off the number of turns. It's VERY easy to be off by 10, unless you count starting from 0. They set it way too fast.
I bet $1000 it was actually set to 60 and not 50, when it was reading 60
and it was actually set to 50 and not 40, when it was reading 50.
I bet $1000 it was actually set to 60 and not 50, when it was reading 60
and it was actually set to 50 and not 40, when it was reading 50.
bmwpowere36m3
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Their technique is also, so-so... such jerky motions with the wrench. Wasn't there a Hot Rod Mag article about the 1/2" HF torque wrench testing as good as their CMan, SO, etc... maybe was a fluke.
I'd actually be more interested in the accuracy of the digital meter... then you could check your clickers.
I'd actually be more interested in the accuracy of the digital meter... then you could check your clickers.
can't say brand x is always spot on, or brand y is always off, talking with people who spot check every day and calibrate every 6 months, even some snap on's fail, out of the box and to fail calibrate at all....
that said, it was a hf special that snapped 3 bolts on me, the click was bolt heads....not the torque wrench click, threw that sucker in a ditch and never used one again.
like my PI's just fine.
that said, it was a hf special that snapped 3 bolts on me, the click was bolt heads....not the torque wrench click, threw that sucker in a ditch and never used one again.
like my PI's just fine.
drewvdw
Well-known member
I went to school there for a year...funny one of their videos pops up on here.
So **** is indeed ****. 
Neighbor guy bought a HF torque wrench to rebuild the engine on his tractor. First one didn't even work, so he drove 20 miles to return it and the HF lady just said "go back and get another and we'll swap it out for you". No apology, nothing. He just got his money back instead and bought a $30 one at Tractor Supply.
Neighbor guy bought a HF torque wrench to rebuild the engine on his tractor. First one didn't even work, so he drove 20 miles to return it and the HF lady just said "go back and get another and we'll swap it out for you". No apology, nothing. He just got his money back instead and bought a $30 one at Tractor Supply.
Seems like a great school with informed instructors who give a ****.
He went on to say that they had tested a bunch of different Macs, Snap-On, Craftsman, Matco, etc. and most were spot on/the same. So that means the meter itself ought to be pretty accurate.
Had the Snap On tester for a month. Tested many HF units they are all over the place in error. Sometimes less sometimes more, the digital tester I have an other example of junk.
Many older craftsman tested well.
Hawk
Well-known member
Only problem with that conspiracy theory is that the guy in the video said they have tested many other brands including Craftsman that were accurate.
Was your friend wearing his tinfoil hat?
Hey Ryan
WE REALY need a like button. lol It is a dayum good thing I am not driving tonight.
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
Our race team owner quit buying HF torque wrenches because they were constantly breaking. The Husky didn't hold up much better. We now have Snap On. I have two Cornwell and a Proto and they work great, but I take care of them.
drewvdw
Well-known member
The instructors there really were top notch. When I was there, they were always willing to come in early/stay late for about any reason. And if you were doing something interesting to your car, (i.e. turbo swap) they'd all be there helping out/shooting the ****.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
I have used five HF torque wrenches in this manner: I have a torque calibrator and I set them to specific values that GM commonly uses and I never change them. This determined value is almost never what the calibration of the wrench says it's suppose to be on the handle, but, I don't care. Once you've found, for example 37 foot-lb's is a common value, and set it to that value using the calibrator they are quite consistent. I have five of them and I set each for a common GM value which is never changed. I retest them from time to time to make sure they haven't changed (about every three months) and if they have (and they do very slightly) I reset them. This way I never have to reset a torque wrench and just grab the appropriate one. For $50 I've got five preset torque wrenches that I have labeled with their correct torque settings. So they are certainly not accurate with respect to what they claim to be but they are consistent and for the way that I'm using them that works.
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bmwpowere36m3
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The question is over what range and how long will it stay in calibration. As someone mentioned, it might a quick/cheap way to verify that your torque wrench is in the ball-park.... however the device used to check another should be at least 4x as accurate as what your checking.
So typical torque wrenches are specified +/- 4% of 20-100% scale. That means the "master"/calibration tool should be +/- 1%.
Banshee365
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Too bad the battery lasts about 5 minutes and it's toast.