Flank drive vs. Flank drive plus

[D9H 90V]

Just curious whats the differance between the two? Why is there regular flank drives and then flank drive plus?

 

[00S4Boy]

Just curious whats the differance between the two? Why is there regular flank drives and then flank drive plus?

Flank drive is the design of box end/sockets with recessed corners to apply pressure onto the flats of fasteners instead of the corners to prevent rounding.

Flank drive plus is the design of open end wrenches where they have teeth positioned to bite into the fastener to achieve greater torque before slipping.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Flank drive plus involves the open end of the wrench. The flank drive is how the boxed end (ring end in Europe) is made by engaging the sides of the fastener instead of the corners and the "plus" has "gripping" edges milled into the flats on the open end that help to "grip" the sides of the fastener similar to the flank drive. They will mar a nut or bolt more than a std open end but have their uses at times.

 

[D9H 90V]

Thanks for the quick replys, which wrench would be the all around better wrench for mechanic work?

 

[00S4Boy]

Thanks for the quick replys, which wrench would be the all around better wrench for mechanic work?

A lot of people swear by flank drive plus. I can't give an honest opinion on reg vs plus, open ended wrenching is something i avoid, for the most part when I'm using an open end it's to turn a tie rod during an alignment, and for the most part the tolerances on the flank drive plus wrenches seem to tight for tie rods, you can get them to work but it seems to take more effort then it should.

 

[Stick Figure]

I skipped the plus on my SAE set because of the high number of aluminum AN fittings i do. I didn't want the "teeth" to mar the fitting. Now if you are doing repair work in an area with any amount of corrosion or rust possible, i would say get the plus if you can.

 

[Flash21]

I skipped the plus on my SAE set because of the high number of aluminum AN fittings i do. I didn't want the "teeth" to mar the fitting. Now if you are doing repair work in an area with any amount of corrosion or rust possible, i would say get the plus if you can.

Yup, pretty much how I feel on the issue.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

To add one extra thing to Stick figures post, remember Ebay, CL, and used on the truck. I have only needed the flank plus once, but there are some common sizes, that I wouldn't mind finding them, if the price is right (individuals, not a set).

 

[Wrenchette]

I hope this will help as well. Both are 3/8s (that I've never used but still got dirty.)

 

[rayzor32]

If I could only have 1 set of wrenches I would NOT go with the flank drive plus. They have their uses and they are awesome especially for alignments, but they mark up the fastener and then they get stuck on the nut once they dig into and you go over that spot again. I have a 12pt set in standard and metric and i have the regular open end in 6pt, if I could only have 1 set id get regular open end flank drive 12 pt and get the "plus" end in 20, 21 and 22.

 

[mrholeshot]

I don't like the flank drive plus.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

They might have their uses but I have regular old flank drive wrenches without the "plus". I have found very few places that I couldn't break a fastener loose with what I have.

 

[isr2kba]

I believe flank drive plus wrenches are great if you work on slightly corroded, tight clearance stuff, e.g. marine. They don't make all the difference, but save time in measurable quantities by offering a solid grip with an open ended configuration.

So where the general rule of thumb might be to break the fastener loose with the box end and then use the open end to speed it out, you can cheat a lot more with the flank drive plus. Instead of six quarter turns with the box end, you might get away with one. The more torque you put on the flank drive plus end, the more marred the fastener is likely to be.

You would not use or want flank drive plus on any application where high quality appearance is paramount, absent a replacement budget. Examples of this might be consumer exposed hardware or motorcycles.

 

[mrholeshot]

I've seen some rough looking bolts scared up by those things. I did to much custom work to make it look like it was assembled with Vise Grips

 

[isr2kba]

Here is a 3/8 plated grade 8 fastener which I cranked on with way more force than anyone should expect with any open end - flank drive, non flank drive, flank drive plus, flank drive super turbo. Dangerous comes to mind.

It wasn't scientific, but let's just say I had a buddy stand behind me to catch me in case the open end slipped off and I went backwards.

The 9/16 flank drive plus wrench did not slip off. The two pictures illustrate the damage done to the fastener. The damaged edges are 180 degrees apart.

I will not repeat the test with a non flank drive 2 open end, as I already know the results.

My opinions:

Does flank drive 2 work as advertised? YES
Does flank drive 2 damage fasteners? YES
Is flank drive 2 functionally comparable to vise grips? No se. I don't use vise grips on hex fasteners.

 

[Quik208]

I personally like the flank drive plus.

 

[blt2go]

i love my flank drive plus set. that said it has been duely noted above that they have a specific use and are not all that handy for everyday wrenching. when you need to get to a fastener that can't be reached with box end and you know it's gonna be a mother, flank plus is great.

 

[D9H 90V]

Thanks for all the replys, I dont own any SO wrenches but I am about to buy a SAE and metric set and I have decided to go with the flank drives, mainly because I will be working on some things that I dont need to add traction marks to , thanks again

 

[SC-AW11]

Revive! no sense in starting a new thread, just add to good existing info.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a set of wrenches but not sure which ones
1 of these 3 sets:
FD 10-19 $161 student discount
FD 10-22 $231
FD+ 10-19 $178

What do you guys think. What is the better for daily wrenching? So far Im leaning toward the reg FD 10-22 set, add a 24 for my toyota's camshaft, and Id be set for combos for a lil while. But a teacher told me he liked the FD+ for stuff like 02 sensors and I think he said EGRs as well.
FD+ been out a while now, what are your long term results? If you have both, which is your go-to set?

 

[KinzeMech]

"Flank drive plus" is actually different on the open end. I've never tried it, but from what I've read, I wouldn't have a use for it. I wonder how well they would do when you cannot get the wrench square onto the fastener. I also don't care for an open end that mars fasteners like that.

"Flank drive" is just a marketing buzzword describing the way everybody makes their box ends. Look at a snap on wrench, a craftsman, and a harbor freight. Their box ends all contact the hex on it's flank. The only difference is Snap-On is the only one who can use the term "flank drive" do to patent/copyright/or trademark rights.

If you find sockets/wrenches that don't grab the fastener in the middle of the flat, you're probably dealing with antique tools.

 

[e30bradley]

Revive! no sense in starting a new thread, just add to good existing info.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a set of wrenches but not sure which ones
1 of these 3 sets:
FD 10-19 $161 student discount
FD 10-22 $231
FD+ 10-19 $178

What do you guys think. What is the better for daily wrenching? So far Im leaning toward the reg FD 10-22 set, add a 24 for my toyota's camshaft, and Id be set for combos for a lil while. But a teacher told me he liked the FD+ for stuff like 02 sensors and I think he said EGRs as well.
FD+ been out a while now, what are your long term results? If you have both, which is your go-to set?

dont post your student discount prices.. It gets people really jealous
I like FD+

 

[Nanashi]

One nice thing about flank drive plus, if the wrench is slightly to large you can still get a really good torque on that bold before it slips. The FD+ open end does leave marks if you torque down really hard so I wouldn't use that on a nice show bolt. I love my FD+ and feel a lot more confident that the wrench won't slip with them. And the FD+ end does fit nice and snug as it should, I think some people have a hard time believing that.

 

[Wakefield]

One thing that would be interesting: a comparison between different types of enhanced wrench open ends such as Flank Drive Plus,Wright Grip and the SuperCombo open end.

 

[wornoutoldman]

I'd go with the standard FD 10-22+24 unless you work flatrate in the rustbelt or are not concerned with fastener appearance after repair. Maybe buy individual FD+ when you discover a repetitive repair that needs the extra grip.

 

[jmm]

I vote against FD+, but if I worked on vehicles (especially up north) maybe I'd have a set. I work on machines that are relatively well taken care of. Rarely need to get on any mucked up bolts at a weird angles, so I don't have to worry about getting an extra-sure grip with the open end.

 

[DTB]

I've got a set of Flank drive plus wrenches I use mostly all the time.I don't work on stuff for appearances so there are few bolts I'm concerned about damaging.I do have a set of older Craftsman Professionals with the smooth open end for when some other situation might arise I shouldn't use the Snap-on wrenches.

 

[Fedwrench]

If you can buy individual wrenches, I'd say buy regular flank drive 10-19 and add flank drive plus in 21 and 22 mm. aside from 21 & 22, my 13mm fd+ gets used often. It all depends on what you work on.

 

[Farmall450]

They might have their uses but I have regular old flank drive wrenches without the "plus". I have found very few places that I couldn't break a fastener loose with what I have.

Same.

 

[Skin]

One thing that would be interesting: a comparison between different types of enhanced wrench open ends such as Flank Drive Plus,Wright Grip and the SuperCombo open end.

Try posts 1 & 29 of this thread

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182862


In my experience you'll be using the box end 95% of the time anyway so the type of open end is really kind of moot. The rarer instances where you need to use an open end you probably wont care about cosmetic damage and more about the open end not slipping. When a regular open end slips it messes the fastener up anyway.

Regular open end-Little to no noticeable scarring left, will round the corners if you put your weight into it.

FD+- One light tooth mark left during normal use. Significant bite marks left if you put your weight into it but no rounded corners. So its a trade off.

Matco Opti-Torque Pro, and I very much suspect Williams Super Combos, are a fantastic middle ground where they don't want to round and leave very little cosmetic damage no matter what you're doing.

 

[methomas70]

Go to hell you stupid trol.......

Oops.
Sorry.
Wrong thread.
Carry on.