Thin wall socket set

[elcom]

I am thinking of getting a thin wall socket set, non-impact (chrome) - 3/8 highest priority, but might be interested in 1/4 and 1/2 as well.
I find that there are some situations (e.g., spark plugs on an MV Agusta F4) that require thin walled sockets.
It seems that Snap On (bless their hearts ), sometimes works when other brands (e.g., GearWrench, Craftsman) does not.\

I looked on the forum and there are lots of threads regarding thin walled impact sockets and grinding sockets to make the walls thinner.
There are also some comparison of various socket types (impact, chrome) and their wall thickness.

Is there a thin walled socket set that you recommend?
This would be a "specialty set" for use in tight places, not necessarily for general use and I don't need to use an impact with this set.

Thanks!

 

[Skellyii]

If these are just for spark plugs, just do a Google search for your vehicle(s). I work on a lot of european cars, and a lot of them require thin walled sockets for the spark plugs.

No sense buying a complete set of sockets just for a few spark plugs...oh wait. This is GJ, you need to buy TWO sets!

 

[Dave455]

Well, the best known thin wall / compact sockets are the KoKen Z Series.

There are sets of sockets available in 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch square drive, and they offer spark plug sockets in the Z Series too, with about the thinnest walls available.

I use the regular KoKen spark plug sockets though, and I’ve never encountered a situation where they won’t fit, but there could be one out there!

 

[Steve_P]

I don't know of any truly thin-walled general use chrome sockets. Because they will break and then the GJ owners will want a new warranty replacement every day.

I have Koken Zeals, and I'm not going to measure them to compare, but they're not significantly thinner than my others- because there's not much more to give on the OD. Yeah, maybe the 17MM is 0.5MM smaller in OD, but.... I've never had the OD matter. Where they shine, IMO, is the length. Of course, with the Astro Nanos, it's no longer as big of a deal anymore.

 

[KnurledNut]

Old school Snap-on seemed thinner than their modern equivalents.
But sometimes you gotta even modify them to make it work.
Here’s one I necked down:

 

[elcom]

The task that brought this to my attention is replacing spark plugs in an MV Agusta F4. I could not get a GearWrench sparkplug tool/socket set to fit. However, the Snap On spark plug socket fit. I did not measure that OD (and am not at home, so cannot measure now), but the small difference was critical. I could not have changed the spark plugs with the GearWrench (otherwise very nice) set.

That got me thinking about other situations where thin walled sockets would be critical.

I also have a set of GearWrench passthrough sockets - they are advertised as being a "thin wall design".

I just thought that others have run into similar situations and have a favorite or "go to" set that allowed them to reach a fastener that otherwise would have been out of reach.

 

[john.k]

Thats what grinders are for.

 

[AEAdam]

The task that brought this to my attention is replacing spark plugs in an MV Agusta F4. I could not get a GearWrench sparkplug tool/socket set to fit. However, the Snap On spark plug socket fit. I did not measure that OD (and am not at home, so cannot measure now), but the small difference was critical. I could not have changed the spark plugs with the GearWrench (otherwise very nice) set.

That got me thinking about other situations where thin walled sockets would be critical.

I also have a set of GearWrench passthrough sockets - they are advertised as being a "thin wall design".

I just thought that others have run into similar situations and have a favorite or "go to" set that allowed them to reach a fastener that otherwise would have been out of reach.

In general, socket manufacturers are aware that independent testing and specifically socket strength testing can affect sales. Asian manufacturers (Koken excepted) struggle to procure the best quality steel and/or struggle to process it to achieve the highest strength (or choose not to for cost reasons). To survive testing, they make their tools a little bit bigger. Gone are the days when Asian manufacturers think they can succeed with lowest possible prices alone. Many are now legit competitors. But they are generally achieving strength thru thickness, not heat treat.

I think you will find, in general, US and especially Snap On tools tend to be on the thinner end of the spectrum. German tools are often pretty thin as well. The German tools often under perform on the strength tests, so people here may feel they aren't good quality. We don't always associate size with strength. When you look at the strength test data, it's very important to look at Rc hardness and strength/thickness type data. Don't just look at total strength. Example: Wright Grip wrenches often win the wrench strength tests, but they are also significantly thicker. Snap on probably wins the strength/thickness competition, but I wouldn't discount European brands.

To answer your question - if you need tools on the thinner side, simply choose Snap On. Avoid Chinese and be skeptical of Taiwan made. If Snap On isn't thin enough, something is wrong. If you don't want to pay for Snap On, buy used Snap On. If you don't want to do that, then you really need to ignore the conventional wisdom here and look at the test results from the Torque Test Channel for example. The GJ tool slant is lowest price/best value, not thinnest or highest performing.

 

[bwringer]

The task that brought this to my attention is replacing spark plugs in an MV Agusta F4. I could not get a GearWrench sparkplug tool/socket set to fit. However, the Snap On spark plug socket fit. I did not measure that OD (and am not at home, so cannot measure now), but the small difference was critical. I could not have changed the spark plugs with the GearWrench (otherwise very nice) set.

I've run into this with more mundane motorcycles, and sometimes the horrible sheet metal spark plug socket that comes with the bike tool kit is the only thing that will reach some plugs.

And to partially answer the question, there are spark plug sockets and sets available for motorcycles that are very thin wall and longer reach designed for this situation.

For example:

Pro Spark Plug Socket™ - Motion Pro

Motion Pro - High quality cables, tools and controls for motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and personal watercraft.

www.motionpro.com

Spark Plug Socket 18mm - Motion Pro

Motion Pro - High quality cables, tools and controls for motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and personal watercraft.

www.motionpro.com

The same goes for some cars; a standard socket or even a standard spark plug socket sometimes won't fit.

For general usage, you obviously don't want walls this thin.

 

[PhantomEB]

This is why I am good friends with the machinist at work…..

Hey Mikey…
WTH you want done now…..
oh nothing much, just this….

sometimes it’s a takes the drawing or part and says get to it when I get to it……
or he smiles and says this is gonna be fun!

usually have it back by end of the day.

 

[richfinn]

The task that brought this to my attention is replacing spark plugs in an MV Agusta F4. I could not get a GearWrench sparkplug tool/socket set to fit. However, the Snap On spark plug socket fit. I did not measure that OD (and am not at home, so cannot measure now), but the small difference was critical. I could not have changed the spark plugs with the GearWrench (otherwise very nice) set.

That got me thinking about other situations where thin walled sockets would be critical.

I also have a set of GearWrench passthrough sockets - they are advertised as being a "thin wall design".

I just thought that others have run into similar situations and have a favorite or "go to" set that allowed them to reach a fastener that otherwise would have been out of reach.

I loaned a Ko-ken Plug socket to a colleague recently who was struggling with whatever he had on a Japanese bike.

 

[AEAdam]

Well, the best known thin wall / compact sockets are the KoKen Z Series.

There are sets of sockets available in 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch square drive, and they offer spark plug sockets in the Z Series too, with about the thinnest walls available.

I use the regular KoKen spark plug sockets though, and I’ve never encountered a situation where they won’t fit, but there could be one out there!

Some data. I used Tekton only because I could find the data easily.

socket size (mm)	Koken Zeal	Snap On Flank Drive	Stahlwille	Hazet	Tekton	GearWrench
8	11.5	11.6	11.7	11.8	11.9	11.9
10	14.0	14.3	14.3	14.4	14.5	14.5
13	17.8	18.0	18.0	18.4	17.8	17.7
17	22.5	22.7	23	23.3	23.4	23.3
19	24.8	25.1	25.2	25.8	25.4	typo?

NOTES:

1. In terms of clearance, the difference in diameters is 2X the difference in clearance. These differences are all pretty small. .1mm = approx .004" or the thickness of a sheet of paper or a hair.
2. The Tekton 13 and 14mm sockets seem to be outliers in that they are particularly thin. The other sizes are all a few tenths of a mm bigger than Snap On.
3. Is the GW 13mm really smaller than the Koken Zeal? Some of the data from the GearWrench catalog looked wrong. 18 and 19mm sockets had the same dimensions and no other sockets were like that. Might need verifying.

 

[Dave455]

Some data. I used Tekton only because I could find the data easily.

socket dia (mm)	Koken Zeal	Snap On Flank Drive	Tekton	Stahlwille
8	11.5	11.6	11.9	11.7
10	14	14.3	14.5	14.3
13	17.8	18	17.8	18
17	22.5	22.7	23.4	23
19	24.8	25.1	25.4	25.2

Edit: Added Stahlwile
NOTES:

1. In terms of clearance, the difference in diameters is 2X the difference in clearance. These differences are all pretty small. .1mm = approx .004" or the thickness of a sheet of paper or a hair.
2. The Tekton 13 and 14mm sockets seem to be outliers in that they are particularly thin. The other sizes are all a few tenths of a mm bigger than Snap On.
3. I suspect there are brands like Gearwrench or Kobalt that are significantly larger walled.

Although I didn’t have the numbers to hand, that is pretty much my experience.

The KoKen Z series are not hugely thinner than the next nearest, and the gains they offer are very small compared to say Snap On, but the reduction they offer is about the best that’s attainable.

The O.P. did mention spark plug sockets though, and the Z Series waisted design are, I believe, about the slimmest out there.

I have Z series sockets in 3/8 drive shallow, but for all other limited clearance requirements I’m generally reaching for Snap On too.

 

[elcom]

Very helpful data. Thanks!

 

[mjdarg]

I got a Koken zeal 14mm 12pt spark plug recently for my wife’s 2018 530i. The magnet is the perfect strength and the spark plugs ‘snap’ in nicely. It’s Uber thin and you don’t need a strong spark plug socket since the torques are much lower than normal for fasteners of the same size. It’s a really nice piece and much cheaper than a SO equivalent. I just wish I got to use it more haha.

 

[Wamsutta]

MAC makes a very thin walled chrome socket; but you have to get their USA version, not their Taiwan version.

 

[john.k]

If I need a thinwall socket ,grinder or lathe is the answer

 

[BIGTOY44]

In general, socket manufacturers are aware that independent testing and specifically socket strength testing can affect sales. Asian manufacturers (Koken excepted) struggle to procure the best quality steel and/or struggle to process it to achieve the highest strength (or choose not to for cost reasons). To survive testing, they make their tools a little bit bigger. Gone are the days when Asian manufacturers think they can succeed with lowest possible prices alone. Many are now legit competitors. But they are generally achieving strength thru thickness, not heat treat.

I think you will find, in general, US and especially Snap On tools tend to be on the thinner end of the spectrum. German tools are often pretty thin as well. The German tools often under perform on the strength tests, so people here may feel they aren't good quality. We don't always associate size with strength. When you look at the strength test data, it's very important to look at Rc hardness and strength/thickness type data. Don't just look at total strength. Example: Wright Grip wrenches often win the wrench strength tests, but they are also significantly thicker. Snap on probably wins the strength/thickness competition, but I wouldn't discount European brands.

To answer your question - if you need tools on the thinner side, simply choose Snap On. Avoid Chinese and be skeptical of Taiwan made. If Snap On isn't thin enough, something is wrong. If you don't want to pay for Snap On, buy used Snap On. If you don't want to do that, then you really need to ignore the conventional wisdom here and look at the test results from the Torque Test Channel for example. The GJ tool slant is lowest price/best value, not thinnest or highest performing.

That's the biggest load of ******** I have read.

 

[AEAdam]

That's the biggest load of ******** I have read.

Nice thing about this thread is, I’ve provided the data. You guys can look it over, measure your own tools, and draw your own conclusions.

PS: just found the Gearwrench catalog and added that to my chart. Like to find Icon. Would probably be good if someone who owned GW sockets to just do a quick sanity check with digi-cals. The catalog appeared to have a few typos.

 

[joel63]

I loaned a Ko-ken Plug socket to a colleague recently who was struggling with whatever he had on a Japanese bike.

He did return it to you promptly when he was finished with it? And thanked you profusely, right?

 

[richfinn]

He did return it to you promptly when he was finished with it? And thanked you profusely, right?

Nah, I told him to hang on to it as it was one I don't need