WTF? 26" lug wrench?

[whateg01]

Just a bit of a gripe. I ordered one of these lug wrenches. Nice construction, it seems, but haven't really put it to any kind of test. Where do they get the 26" dimension? I measured less than 16" overall length. Each piece is less than that individually. Together, they are longer than 26". There are several brands online with the same or similar description, but they all appear to be shorter. After getting it and finding that, I went back and looked more closely at the comments and questions and they are all short like that. This doesn't even add up to the logic of "peak horsepower" on an air compressor or shopvac.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015DJ8A40/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[WWheeler]

I keep an old USA Craftsman 1/2" breaker bar with a same length pipe on it and a set of flip-sockets in my roadside kit. I think it takes up roughly the same space stowed away as that does but it extends a lot longer if/when I need it. It'll get a little longer than 26" if need be.

 

[whateg01]

I am adding an extension, so that I can add more leverage. I just want to know why they call it a 26" lugwrench when that doesn't match up to any dimension I can measure on it.

 

[david3921]

Just a bit of a gripe. I ordered one of these lug wrenches. Nice construction, it seems, but haven't really put it to any kind of test. Where do they get the 26" dimension? I measured less than 16" overall length. Each piece is less than that individually. Together, they are longer than 26". There are several brands online with the same or similar description, but they all appear to be shorter. After getting it and finding that, I went back and looked more closely at the comments and questions and they are all short like that. This doesn't even add up to the logic of "peak horsepower" on an air compressor or shopvac.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015DJ8A40/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Someone asked the same question on the link from Amazon. Here's the answer;

Hello Josh,
Thanks for the inquiry about LugStrong. The reason we list this lug wrench as 26" is our unique "power mode" which other lug wrenches do not have. When you use LugStrong in power mode, you are getting the force and torque of a 26" "T" style lug wrench without additional size and bulk of a 26" x 26" "T" wrench. I hope this information is helpful, please let us know if you have any other questions. Thanks!
ANC Global Customer Support

So, yes, it's BS just like peak horsepower.

 

[qqzj]

delete

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I'm with WWHEELER, I chose to carry a breaker bar and flip socket set. My 185lbs on the end of a breaker bar is far more effective than any leverage created by the typical style lug wrench.

 

[whateg01]

Ok. That's nice. I like 4 ways since I can spin them.

 

[Chance]

I put this extendable bar in my car. (Of course I bought it with a 25% off coupon) https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in...58627.html?_br_psugg_q=extendable+breaker+bar

 

[Firebrick43]

common core math

 

[engineer2]

Pretty common for Chinese vendors to exaggerate specs to beat out the competition. There is a dog leash advertised on Amazon as being 6 ft (the length recommended by trainers). It is really 4 feet but if the dog really pulls hard and stretches the elastic all the way out it reaches 68 inches. Returned.

 

[dnschmidt]

Just carry a Milwaukee Mid-Torque in the trunk. That's what I do. When Milwaukee introduced their gen 2 Mid-Torque the first generation went into the trunk. It's lived there ever since. I re-charge the battery every six months and everything is A-OK

 

[Big Bad Dad]

Aaaahhh yes.. The magical unique "Power Mode". You have to say the magic word to expand the tool when using it.

 

[PCustoms]

Aaaahhh yes.. The magical unique "Power Mode". You have to say the magic word to expand the tool when using it.

Maybe it's just cold out?

 

[GirlnAgarage]

"Power mode" sounds like a load of bs.

I keep a Duralast 27" 1/2" breaker bar in the truck in case of roadside flat tire, just grabbed it from Oreills or Autozone or whosoeverthat brand is. At 140ftlbs per lug nut, it works fine, snugged down the lug nuts plenty of times.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Just a bit of a gripe. I ordered one of these lug wrenches. Nice construction, it seems, but haven't really put it to any kind of test. Where do they get the 26" dimension? I measured less than 16" overall length. Each piece is less than that individually. Together, they are longer than 26". There are several brands online with the same or similar description, but they all appear to be shorter. After getting it and finding that, I went back and looked more closely at the comments and questions and they are all short like that. This doesn't even add up to the logic of "peak horsepower" on an air compressor or shopvac.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015DJ8A40/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Look at the third picture in the description. I guess that must be “power mode“ lol

Maybe when it’s in the L-shaped configuration, it’s one side would be as long as if it were an actual 26 inch 4 way.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Power Mode:

 

[mogandave]

I carry a cellphone and money in case I get a flat.

 

[Old Man Roger]

I carry a cellphone and money in case I get a flat.

Man card forfeit

 

[redwrench60]

What a load of ****.

Sounds like the made up ******** “nut busting torque” ratings from impact wrench manufacturers.

 

[whateg01]

I carry a cellphone and money in case I get a flat.

Good for you! I waited almost 2 hours for AAA to bring me a gallon of gas one time. I sure as **** am not waiting for somebody to come change a tire when I can do so in a few minutes. And if there's inclement weather, which does happen here, one could be waiting much longer for the emergency calls to be taken care of before they get to you. No thanks.

 

[mrpizza]

I keep a breaker bar and the right size lug socket in each vehicle. Harbor freight bars are cheap enough to have one for each.

 

[qqzj]

I just keep a pipe the trunk. Every car comes with a tool, just a bit shorter.

 

[CJM8515]

having done towing and roadside work for a living for many moons-I carried a cordless impact for most things. when it wouldnt take stuff off I would use a breaker bar and a pipe. those lug wrenches are worthless really

 

[mogandave]

Good for you! I waited almost 2 hours for AAA to bring me a gallon of gas one time. I sure as **** am not waiting for somebody to come change a tire when I can do so in a few minutes. And if there's inclement weather, which does happen here, one could be waiting much longer for the emergency calls to be taken care of before they get to you. No thanks.

AAA? You get what you pay for.

I had my first flat in ten years about six months ago. My wife called the shop I bought my last tires and two batteries from, and they said they’d send someone to change it.

I went ahead and started because I thought it would take forever, but I did not even have the spare down when two guys show up on a motorcycle. They got it done in about ten minutes. No charge.

Turns out I get “free” roadside service with the tires I bought….

In any event, the thread is about lug wrenches. The cars I have owned all came with everything I need to change a tire on the side of the road.

 

[whateg01]

... Every car comes with a tool, just a bit shorter.

... The cars I have owned all came with everything I need to change a tire on the side of the road.

I guess some of y'all have never bought a used car.

 

[mogandave]

I guess some of y'all have never bought a used car.

Y’all would be wrong in your thinking. I’ve bought at least twenty used cars, and every one of them came with a spare tire and the tools to change it.

They may have been gone by the time i got got the car, but they came with it, the brackets and whatnot were still there!

I have bought cars that were missing a spare and tools, but they weren’t missing for more than a couple days.

It amazes me the number of knuckleheads driving around with no spare and no money. Then they act like they’re being robbed when they have a flat and need to be towed…

 

[qqzj]

I guess some of y'all have never bought a used car.

If I get a used car without OEM tools, I'll try to get them from junkyard.

 

[fatfillup]

The problem with using what is supplied with the car are the knuckleheads that over torqued the lugs at the tire shop and supplied tools aren't good enough to loosen the lugs.

Also Mogandave, your location says Bangkok. If that is where you had your experience, it would definitely be different then here in the states. I do like the service you got

 

[mogandave]

The problem with using what is supplied with the car are the knuckleheads that over torqued the lugs at the tire shop and supplied tools aren't good enough to loosen the lugs.

Also Mogandave, your location says Bangkok. If that is where you had your experience, it would definitely be different than here in the states. I do like the service you got

I’ve mostly driven company cars in Thailand, and they were all bought new.

I did own a lot of used cars and drove them all over the country in the over forty years I lived in the US. I never drove around without a spare.

The service here is generally great, but nice cars are much more expensive here than in the US.

I need to go in for a service Wednesday, I do miss having a company car!

 

[Paco Pena]

I use a 24 inch breaker bar with the appropriate socket. If that won't remove the lug nut it's WAY OVER TIGHT. I've helped out co workers whose lugs were so over torqued I had to stand on the end of the breaker bar, hang onto the roof rack and bounce. I weigh 175 lbs. Good luck to my 130 lb female coworker at the side of the road.

Paco

Paco

 

[whateg01]

I'm not using a breaker bar on the side of the road. I don't want to buy half a dozen impacts and maintain them for vehicle use. I like the 4-way because it's easy, compact, and I can spin it, which speeds the process of changing a tire. I keep a short length of pipe in the bag with the trolley jack and 4-way for times when I need more leverage, though maybe the "power mode" eliminates the need! (I'm kidding. It doesn't.)

I don't know how it is where y'all live, but it seems like about 3/4 of people driving here won't move over and some shoulders aren't much over 8 feet wide with a jersey barrier on the other side. I don't like being exposed like that any longer than I have to be. In fact, I've been known to put 2 or 3 lug nuts back on just snug to be able to move to an exit ramp or someplace where I can get farther off the roadway. It's even more fun when you have a 102" wide trailer to change a tire on.

 

[fatfillup]

I hear ya on tight shoulders, not fun.

I drive a lot and can't tell you the last time I had a flat but 10 ply tires likely help

4 way certainly quicker but I wouldn't poo poo a breaker and car specific socket. HF is cheap and certainly good enough for flat tire use.

 

[Chance]

The problem with using what is supplied with the car are the knuckleheads that over torqued the lugs at the tire shop and supplied tools aren't good enough to loosen the lugs.

Also Mogandave, your location says Bangkok. If that is where you had your experience, it would definitely be different then here in the states. I do like the service you got

+1 Had this happen so now I carry the breaker bar in the car.

 

[Old Man Roger]

I like a 4 way for the same reason, spinning is so much faster and easier.

 

[dscheidt]

I like a 4 way for the same reason, spinning is so much faster and easier.

I used to race our new lube techs in tire rotation, often after they complained about hte quality of the tools provided. I'd do one side, they'd do the other. They got whatever air gun they wanted, I used a four way. I always won, and I didn't even turn down the air pressure.

 

[Old Man Roger]

I doubt I could beat my impact gun with a 4 way..lol

 

[mailpup]

The problem with using what is supplied with the car are the knuckleheads that over torqued the lugs at the tire shop and supplied tools aren't good enough to loosen the lugs.

Although I carry a breaker bar and socket and I understand what you are saying. To avoid that situation I recommend checking the torque of the lug nuts or lug bolts when you get home. I loosen and retorque lug nuts anytime a shop touches them such as when I buy tires.

 

[qdvuu]

The problem with using what is supplied with the car are the knuckleheads that over torqued the lugs at the tire shop and supplied tools aren't good enough to loosen the lugs.

I've found the tire shops to be careless about torqueing, so I just retorque the lugs myself. It takes me a grand total of a couple minutes and if and when I need to do a roadside tire change I know things will go smoothly.

 

[haveissues]

Can't say I've had enough flats in my lifetime to worry about what wrench to carry. Where the hell do some of you drive lol?

 

[whateg01]

Can't say I've had enough flats in my lifetime to worry about what wrench to carry. Where the hell do some of you drive lol?

People around here like to leave stuff loose on their trailer, like bungee cords, which will stick in a tire and then flail around whapping the underside of the wheelwell as it comes around until you stop. I don't have many flats nowadays, but as a kid growing up in the country, I changed many flats. I don't know how often, but I used to pretend I was a pit crew and see how fast I could change a tire from the time I skidded to a stop until the hatch was closed on my 77 plymouth arrow. I know between all the vehicles in the family, we had at least 1 flat each week. We also fixed our own tires.