Torx Plus vs Ribe

[EDRJR]

So I've been sniping cheap tools on Temu and EBay for the last couple of years because I am 71 years old. My daughter has expressed an interest in keeping my tools when I am gone, so I've been looking for the newer stuff since she has a '21 Rav 4 and my wife has a 2018 Crosstrek. I told my daughter I am getting the cheapest ones I can find so she can at least determine the right type and size she may need and to buy a good one if the Chinesium fails to get it done. Yesterday I got a Ribe set from EBay. Looking at them, it really resembles a Torx Plus. I figured I'd measure a few and see if they are interchangeable. These are all crude quick measurements, so if they are off a bit, please forgive me. The Torx Pus 60 is 0.520 inches OD, 0.409" minor D, and the spline width is around 0.118. The Ribe 13 is 0.505", 0.363" and 0.103. These are the two most visually similar and they are different enough that after a quick look at the next 2 sizes down, it's not worth wasting time checking any others.
If anyone has info on Polydrive vs Ribe, I'd love to know more about them, also.

 

[Buckgnarly]

They are not, but if you buying cheap tools all bets are off as to what you are actually getting.

 

[Outlier]

The only fasteners I have ever come across in an automotive setting that were Ribe or Polydrive are head bolts. Torx Plus I have seen on truck beds, seat backs, seat frames, and suspension parts. To say that it's all stuff that is very vehicle specific.

A good, inexpensive set of Torx Plus sockets aside, I personally wouldn't invest in any Ribe or Polydrive sockets unless they were for the specific vehicle I owned.

Also, I have wasted money on a lot of stupid stuff in my life. If we are talking less than $50 here, I don't see the harm in it if it gives the warm and fuzzies.

 

[dnschmidt]

If she has a RAV 5 neither of those are worth a damn. However, what she would need if she ever needs to do a head job is a unique to Toyota Double Hex in 10mm. Many people think the right tool is a XZN (triple square) but the Japanese don't use those whereas the Germans are in love with them. The difference between the two are the angles of the points. Double Hex = 60 degrees and Triple Square = 90 degrees. Nothing short of torture describes the pain of stripping the heads on one of these head bolts. The only thing I can think of being worse is breaking a tap in a blind hole.

 

[BTL-A4]

I had a Ribe bit for a Porsche 914 I used to own (I think it was for the brake calipers). It also used triple square bits on the rear axles. Too many people would use a Torx because they didn't have a triple square bit and would strip out the bolts. It's hard to tell the difference between them, so see if you can confirm what the fastener is before using the wrong tool. You could check a forum for that specific make and model.

 

[vwpieces]

Porsche, Mercedes and I think some VW calipers used the Ribe bolts to hold the caliper halves together. I have rebuilt a few sets of these calipers from the mid 60 to late 70's cars and needed those bits.
Never needed them anywhere else.