torque sticks

[jamesc]

Okay since there are quite a few techs on here myself included, how many of you guys use torque sticks for wheels vs a torque wrench?

also does anyone use torque sticks on there cordless impacts or is that just not worth the risk?

the reason I ask is I use torque sticks all the time with my air impact, and have now purchased a cordless impact... I have tried using it with a torque stick and checking it with a torque wrench and it was good. I just don't know if I should be trusting it 100% of the time, considering a low battery situation.

the cordless I bought is the M18 1/2 drive millwaukee, which has a battery indicator.

 

[koditten]

I've been wondering this myself. I just hope the direction the thread doesn't go the way of the last one. You would get the guys who hate t- sticks and the guys that love 'em.

Me, I've been planning on getting a set of t-sticks for some time and try them out.

I use lots of cordless tools as well. The only thing I could offer is that you will have to learn the tool as it gets low on juice. Just do a quick check with the conventional tourque wrench if you wonder about the torque.

I'm sure others with post soon.

Later

KO

 

[garboui]

Imo they are good to get wheels on quick with a gun w/o over torquing though following up with a torque wrench is 2 minutes of well spent insurance. Many good tire shops will do this out of policy as well.

 

[osborn.ozzy]

I dont understand why people want to use their cordless impacts on something like wheels and then second guess them selves, maybe its buyers remorse?

 

[Fedwrench]

I have used a torquestick with a cordless impact although it's not the norm. It happens when I need to change a wheel and the car might be in a lot or somewhere without air.
As with using a regular impact and shop air, you'd want to run a few comparison tests using a fully charged battery, used and weak battery to see if you can still achieve target torque comparing it to a torque wrench.
There's always liability issues whether you use a torquestick or not, however, last year GM came out with a TSB advising techs not to use torque sticks so once ambulance chasing lawyers get a hold of it, they'll be more 6 o'clock follies on the evening news.

 

[lennoxlennox]

I always use a torque wrench. No second guessing required.

 

[JDS968]

I don't own a cordless 1/2" impact and nobody's going to convince me to buy one, not interested (1/4" impact is a different story, love my Makita). I use my Snap-On deep impact sockets with a torque extension rather than a one-piece torque stick, the sockets just seem to drive lug nuts better. Always run it on my MG725. I use the torque wrench at home where I don't have shop air, and maybe I might use it on my Porsche if I took the wheels off in the shop, because it has aluminum lug nuts instead of steel. But my truck gets the torque stick on the impact when I have it in the shop.

 

[ssentt]

My son has a set and always checks with a torque wrench. He likes'em ands says they are accurate so far.

I'm thinking about getting an extension set.

What brand are you guys using?

 

[Dereklmartin]

Torque sticks are not allowed in the shop I work in. Every wheel has to be torqued by hand, and every torque wrench is calibrated yearly. I used them at my old shop though without any problem, never on a cordless only on air.

 

[d_rock]

I use torque sticks with air on factor wheels. use a regular torque wrench on aftermarket wheels.

 

[jimindm]

A while back I looked at some sold by Snap-on. I read in the instructions that the sticks were based on a impact of 250ft lbs of torque. I, like most people, have my impact at full potential. I would have to turn my impact down to achieve this setting. I am not sure that you could buy an impact that you would not have to regulate down to this setting. Figure in air line size, last time oiled, line pressure, just so many adjustments to do. If I could have a dedicated line and impact, maybe I would buy some. Until then I will use a torque wrench.

 

[Ken81590]

I use torque sticks on my SO CT7850 all the time...

 

[dr.gizmo]

I am paid by flat rate, of course I use torque sticks.

 

[quick86]

I use a torque stick then torque wrench real quick after that for verification ..

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Mowerpan]

At our dealership torque sticks are required for lug nuts. I suppose you could verify with torque wrench but like stated above, the time it requires is too long in a dealership type setting. Torque sticks work just fine.

 

[chriswin3]

We use torque sticks. Are they accurate, I don't know. But it is what the boss and corporate wants so it is what we do. If some Porsche or the likes comes in ill bust out the torque wrench. We get mostly 10+ year old Honda's and Toyota's though so I am more concerned with breaking studs then warping rotors.

 

[lynam]

One more for torque sticks!
We have 12 techs at the shop i work for and we all use them. Even when new guys come to work for the shop that don't use them slowly but surely convert to using them also.
On some cars but very few i will use a torque wrench or on some after market rims but for the most part i use a stick!

 

[dclassical]

I use torque sticks (bought at HF) and finish with a torque wrench. Only working on my own cars, so I have time to do this.

 

[Benji]

I use to use them on steel only and never had a problem with them but when I started at the shop I'm at now they don't allow them at all.

 

[blacK20]

I use torque sticks in the flat rate shop I work at. I hand torque the occasional high dollar car that comes in and all the work I do at home where time is no issue. jimindm is correct in that torque sticks are calibrated for guns in a certain torque range, which pretty well all guns exceed nowadays when hooked up to decent air. Your lugs will be torqued slightly over spec but at least they aren't going to fall off on the road and they're even through all the lugs.

 

[Need4racin]

Why do some shops not allow torque sticks?

 

[Ridge Runner]

I use torque sticks (bought at HF) and finish with a torque wrench. Only working on my own cars, so I have time to do this.

Just out of curiosity, if you've got the time and are already using the torque wrench in the first place, what's the point of using the impact as well?

 

[Tunger]

Working in a dealership on flat rate I use them daily. I do use a torque wrench on anything with aftermarket wheels, lug bolts, and full size trucks and suv's (I broke my 120 and my 135 was stolen years ago.)

 

[Ridge Runner]

Why do some shops not allow torque sticks?

Contention about whether or not they're accurate and reliable. CarMax provided them for us, so everybody used them on all cars. I'm not aware of there ever being any problems. Multiply that by the thousands of cars that CarMax sells across the country, and I'd say they're safe to use.

I don't know the validity of the argument, but some people are also afraid that the torsion of the sticks will tear up your impact over time.

 

[woody 73]

Just curious what brand of torque sticks do you use?

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Why do some shops not allow torque sticks?

Variables in the user, the impact and the fact that torque sticks are known to "wear out" and no longer torque accurately after some amount of usage. This has all been discussed here before. No torque sticks for me.

Charles

 

[Ridge Runner]

Just curious what brand of torque sticks do you use?

I think we used Snap-on, but it may have been Mac.

 

[drew03cmc]

No torque sticks on my impact. The gun (Mac Nitrokitty) does not reset after every impact, and as such, would treat the stick as an extension rather than a torque limiter. I have seen torque sticks torque differently on different impacts. It isn't a means to say yes it is tight and torqued, rather it is saying that it is on.