Need your input on impact guns IR vs AirCat

[akacoke]

i just started a job at dealership as lube tech. i do a lot of tire rotation thru the day. needed a light weight gun with some torque to break loose lug nuts. 1/2 or 3/8" both work. looking to spend $100-170 because this is only a temp job.

the only 2 things i look at is weight and trigger control. i need trigger control the most because sometimes its very easy to not get the lug nut on right and strip it if its something like a harborfreight earthquake gun


ive been borrowing guns from guys around the shop. i like the matco 1/2" gun. lots of trigger control and light weight but it keeps spinning for quiet awhile after i let off the trigger. maybe his gun is broken. im definitely not considering snap on mg725. its a very heavy gun and a lot of vibration and shock while operating 9 times out of 10 scratches the **** out of the lug nut holes.


thanks in advance

 

[reptilezs]

the only gun with the anvil brake is snapon. the older matco gun is the same as the ir 2135 or 2115 ti

 

[akacoke]

withou anvil brake doesnt bother me much, i just need a gun can be easily feathered when putting on lug nuts. im looking at Nitrocat 1375-XL, i cant find any review on trigger control

 

[xj31]

I don't understand how it's the impact's fault if you are stripping lugs and scratching rims. Anyways, I would say whatever gun you get, I would get something with a composite housing because it will be lightweight. Maybe a used IR 2135Ti

 

[akacoke]

im not here to argue. stripping lug nuts is not impacts fault, scratching rims while taking lugs off is. i dont know you, if you used the harbofreigh gun they provided me, you will understand. the moment you touch the trigger is at full speed. if the lug nut is not angled right the nut will seize and mess up the threads. im not talking about starting the lugs by hand and impact it, no one does that at dealships because its too slow.

with a gun you can feather, you would stop as soon as something not right then start over. its been a month i havnt manage to strip lugs yet. thats why im borrowing guns from coworkers.

 

[rayh91]

Pick up a 2135QTImax off eBay. Should be less than $150.

Wait what? You don't hand start them? We look for quicker ways to do things but everyone hand starts them at the dealer I work at. You would get your *** chewed out if you didn't.

 

[ADSR]

Take a look at the new proto guns. Most comfortable and best balanced gun you can buy IMO.

http://www.protoindustrial.com/en/i...9293-119649eeef91_Proto®-Air-Impact-Wrenches/

 

[75ford]

im not talking about starting the lugs by hand and impact it, no one does that at dealships because its too slow.

just saying but this is one of many reasons i will never let a dealer work on my car, i worked at a Canadian tire shop for a while, one dude did lug nuts with just the impact, car tire came off on its drive home, that guy was fired a week later, anyways, i got to use a co workers Ir and i liked it alot

 

[firebox40dash5]

I'd fire your *** on the spot if I saw you start lugs with the gun. Jesus. The minute per car you save will be more than eclipsed by the number of times you have to rip the brakes off to replace studs, not to mention the cost of those studs and nuts. I charged a Firestone store $400 to replace every stud and nut on a customer's car... they crossed almost every one, and I think 12 or so out of 20 had broken while she was driving. Smart minute saved there, between that, losing a customer for life, and the however many people she told about it.

Anyway... I have a 2135, same gun as the Matco, I really like it. Spendy new, but I've bought 2 now for $100-150. Never had an Aircat, and don't know anyone currently using one, but I've heard mixed reviews.

Also, torque sticks, and lug sockets. I've got a set of Blue Point slim flip sockets, 17x19, 19x21, and 21x22. They fit in almost any lug hole easily, and I don't have to swap sockets if I eyeball 19 vs 21 or 21 vs 22 wrong... or the occasional car with a mix of sizes.

 

[xj31]

I'm not trying to bust your balls. I would suggest starting the nuts by hand, I know what goes on in dealerships,{that's what I do} so I know you won't. But seriously, It's faster to do it right than do it twice. Buzzing them on with the gun takes practice.It's what I do, most guys I work with still start them by hand And you're right, a gun with an on/off switch for a trigger is not what you want. the reason I don't start them by hand is'nt really for speed, although it is faster. I started doing it becasue I saw guys start them by hand and forget to tighten them. Customer leaves, wheel comes off. Mine are either tight or off. I'd rather have the wheel come off when I'm driving.

 

[akacoke]

we get mostly new/newer cars from pretty much one manufacturer only, most the lugnuts have a bevel in it its very safe to be just impacted on with a good gun. most the older car lugs is straigh thread front the tip, those 100% guaranteed strip if one uses a gun on it.

as a lube tech, if i work too slow i get my *** chewed, if they see me not starting the the lugs by hand i get my *** chewed, at the end what matters is how many hours i flag even im hourly. they want to own me for the money they pay me. an 8 hour day expect me to flag 7 or more hours doing nothing but oil changes and tire rotoations, on top of that i gotta crush oil filters, clean shop take out tires. we are talking 20 lift shop with 10 mechanics, im the only hourly for now. they look at my time and i gotta do chores around the shop thats a dealership in my area.

i like the reviews on the IR 2315ti, im trying to buy a new gun with warranty. so its out of budget.

how is the trigger control on Aircat impacts in general ?

 

[Kracin]

lol. starting lug with an impact. you aren't in a nascar pit.

i remember the last time i ever let a shop touch my lugnuts, i had to walk in the shop area twice to get the manager and let him know his kid was going to crossthread some expensive hardened studs because he kept trying to start with with his gun and failing, at least he wasn't going full on.


a lot of people have been where you are, and i guarantee the ones that are making it easy right now are the ones who did things right. not quick and easy. you are a new guy and are going to catch ****, but don't let your own work suffer because you want to be so fast that you need to save 30 seconds of starting lugs one or two threads by hand before running them on. it's so simple and quick to start a lug by hand while its in the socket that it sounds like you are just making excuses. literally 2 seconds while its on the socket and you've turned it enough to start it and make sure it won't crossthread. and if you blame a tool for crossthreading, then you aren't doing it right, because sockets and impact don't crossthread, people do.

 

[akacoke]

again, im not here to argue. i never said that crossthreading is on the tools. and by running lugs straight on you can save at least 2 mins per car, the important thing its a lot less work, not because im lazy, because there is a lot of more work waiting for me, i need to save all the strength. for the ones who dont do it, you'd never understand why people do it. like i said i dont just run the lugs on for all cars, only the lugs with bevel cut into it.

what i or every tech that dont start lugs by hand do is pickup the gun with one hand, get all lugs on the other hand. put one lug in the socket, push wheel tightly in position on the hub with the hand full of lugs. run them in one by one.

if id start them by hand, id pick up 1 lug and take off the socket from the gun, push the wheel in position on the hub thread it in. then pickup the gun put the socket back on the gun hold the wheel in position again, run that lug on. pick up the rest of the lugs, sometimes only part of them because if the lugs are big you wouldnt be able to thread it with the hand full of lugs while holding the gun with the other hand

its like a lot of things, some people like to do it by the book and swear by it. sometimes there is a way around it. as long as the way its handled not messing up anything IMO is not wrong.

 

[Jas29]

Im not a pro but I usually grab all the nuts and screw them all on a little and grab the impact and tighten them down.

I dont think I have ever seen some one do it your way. Why would u tighten 1 fully before even putting the other lugs on

 

[woody 73]

I don't want to bust any balls either, HF sells a set of impacts with a plastic coated jacket on the outside of their lug nut set which will keep any scratches from happening in the first place.

Again I do not own the air cat or the proto and most of my air tools are cp; but I do own a few IR air tools and they are top notch at getting the job done at hand.

 

[sloppy]

Im not a pro but I usually grab all the nuts and screw them all on a little and grab the impact and tighten them down.

I dont think I have ever seen some one do it your way. Why would u tighten 1 fully before even putting the other lugs on

So he can Warp the rotor..

 

[MattPersman]

Cool nascar style lug nut install for a temp low $ lube and tire tech position. If it takes you even 5 mins more, who cares, the time you have to have a real tech come over and install a new stud because your mistake you will be glad you took extra time and spun them on by hand first. It's really not worth it but do what you want cause you already got all the answers and experience.

 

[akacoke]

boy, people are good at judging. i might be a new lube tech, but i have my share of tearing down and rebuilding cars in my garage, its pointless to defend myself l here. you do what you do, i do what i do. if i **** up, i own it i dont need anybody to come install stud for me. forgive me if im being rude, im here to ask about trigger control on impact guns, so please let it be

 

[akacoke]

Im not a pro but I usually grab all the nuts and screw them all on a little and grab the impact and tighten them down.

I dont think I have ever seen some one do it your way. Why would u tighten 1 fully before even putting the other lugs on

if you cant figure out why people do it our way, you will most likely never figure out why and what happens when you tighten the wheel down

So he can Warp the rotor..

trolls be trolling

 

[thefoobag]

this is funny, for the op's question aircat is a beast and has great trigger control. cant go wrong. ive seen it out torque the matco on some headbolts that wouldn't come out. Also, with my time at a dealer we would ream the new guys for starting lugs with the gun. all it takes is 2-3 times for a journeyman to do some lug studs to get a replacement lube tech. doing it right saves money/time/headaches in the long haul. once you toss the tire up there its like 5 seconds to hand start for a rotation how much time are you really saving?

 

[Kracin]

this is funny, for the op's question aircat is a beast and has great trigger control. cant go wrong. ive seen it out torque the matco on some headbolts that wouldn't come out. Also, with my time at a dealer we would ream the new guys for starting lugs with the gun. all it takes is 2-3 times for a journeyman to do some lug studs to get a replacement lube tech. doing it right saves money/time/headaches in the long haul. once you toss the tire up there its like 5 seconds to hand start for a rotation how much time are you really saving?

you can't argue with a full cup. anything you put in just spills over the top.

 

[motofool33]

i understand starting the lugs with the airgun if the trigger control is good enough that it barely moves the nut, with expereince you can tell if its going on right by the blows of the impact.

the other method i used asa tire tech was to put the nut in the socket and hand spin the socket until the nut started, one handed and then run em down. saves on the carpel tunnel a bit.

now its pretty easy to screw it up if you dont have the knowledge to do it right, But on the other hand some people are probably thinking hes putting a lug nut in the socket pointing it at the stud and just holding the gun wide open.

i have an aircat and love it.

 

[BAM its mitch]

I'm sure the guy who cross threaded one of my lugs knew what he was doing too. I even got told it wasn't possible because the impact guns they use limit torque in the forward direction. Lost any future business from me. I bet they saved a couple minutes though.

Sent from my SM-G900V

 

[akacoke]

so i got my nitrocat 1375XL mini impact days ago, ive been using it for the pass 4 days. absolutely love it. the thing is so light and stable doesnt have any vibration and shock, its so easy on the wrist. its amazing how much power this thing packs, it feels like all the bolts were under torqued. they all come off with only one zap. no struggle. only 2 drawbacks is trigger is not as easy to control as matco/IR 2135ti. reverse/forward switch is sort of awkward to switch with one hand.

 

[stikman56]

im not here to argue. stripping lug nuts is not impacts fault, scratching rims while taking lugs off is. i dont know you, if you used the harbofreigh gun they provided me, you will understand. the moment you touch the trigger is at full speed. if the lug nut is not angled right the nut will seize and mess up the threads. im not talking about starting the lugs by hand and impact it, no one does that at dealships because its too slow.

with a gun you can feather, you would stop as soon as something not right then start over. its been a month i havnt manage to strip lugs yet. thats why im borrowing guns from coworkers.

I find the Aircat's to have much better trigger control than the 2135ti series wrenches. Another gun I would strongly consider)weighs the same as 2135timax) is the Cornwell CAT4150, AKA Napa 6-1123. Very nice to use, I found mine to be stronger than the 2135 by a touch.

 

[stikman56]

boy, people are good at judging. i might be a new lube tech, but i have my share of tearing down and rebuilding cars in my garage, its pointless to defend myself l here. you do what you do, i do what i do. if i **** up, i own it i dont need anybody to come install stud for me. forgive me if im being rude, im here to ask about trigger control on impact guns, so please let it be

I've found trigger control on my Nitrocat's to be the best yet for me. I've used. tested, repaired so many over the last 6 years or so, it would be my choice for that.

 

[97tbird]

Ive got a Mac aw612q (i forget what aircat? model it is) and love it. One of these days I will buy the 3/8dr one.

I have no issue with the IR guns tho but some of them feel kind of cheap and some are really loud.