proper lug nut torque
 

OK, this should be an easy one for you gearheads.

What's the proper torque for a lug nut on an 86 Carrera? Thanks in advance.

P.S. I have forged alloy Fuchs and alloy lug nuts.

Its either 94 or 96 lbs/ft

Thanks, but are you sure that's for the alloy nuts and not the steel ones?

yeah, 94 lb/ft.

94 lbs/foot is correct.

I just talk with Tony Callas about this, he likes to torque at 85lbs. If Tony says 85, I torque at 85.

Bentley manual says 94 or 96 lbs I think.

now, call me ignorant, but i've been driving cars and replacing tires for 10 years on sjitloads of different cars, and never , ever needed a torque wrench to tighten my nuts.

what am i missing here?

What's the best oil to use?

What are the best tires?

Is K&N really that good?

Is 93 octane ok?

Does the cool collar really work?

Flame away...

With a recommended torque of 94 lbs/ft, if you use the "armstrong"
method, you will very easily strip alloy lugnuts.
I'm also in the 85 lbs/ft camp, by the way. No hint of a loose one yet.

I think what Richard is trying to say is....use the SEARCH function!

130NM, with a light coating of copper grease, as per the instructions on a set of lugs from the factory.
Why would anyone use something else than the torque recomended by the guys who designed and built the whole lot is beyond me.
OK, the horse is dead.

130 Nm is approx 96 ft lb.

Practically speaking, is there a meaningful difference between 94 and 96 ft lb?

Yup, I did that and what I found is that there is no consensus on this. Most of the posts give a lb-ft in the range of 90-96, but there is TONS of disagreement all over the place. "I use 85". "94 will strip the nuts". "94 is for steel lug nuts, not for alloy". "My brother the Porsche mechanic says no more than 75". "I use 94 on the track but only 87 for the street" , etc., etc., etc.

I'm in the same boat as svandamme - in 20 years of removing and replacing wheels on cars, I have never used a torque wrench. Just "nice and tight" has always worked fine, never had a problem. Is it really that important???

Yep....and when you tighten those alloy lug nuts, use a dab of never seeze on the rounded face of them so they don't "gall" into the wheel. Do another search, you'll find a pic posted by an unfortunate who had a nut break. When you torque, "stagger" the torque...torque every other nut. But...all that said, it is your car, so do as you please.

"Is it really that important???"

Well, yes. Torque is used to produce tension on the most important bolts on the car. Nuts may loosen if you use the wrong torque..... if 2 or 3 do so, then you and many others could be dead.

If the engine fails, you're only out $5,000 to $$20,000.

Absolutely correct!
converted that is 95.88 ft-lbs

The front alloy hub on a Porsche looks pretty stout to me and I have no doubts about the rear hub. That having been said, not all cars are as well engineered. So, the best bet is to tighten all nuts to the same torque, whatever your pleasure as far as ft/lbs might be. Uneven torque can cause some distortion which can show up in the brakes (disc).

Now it you can tighten w/o a torque wrench and by accurate, which I'm sure you can, good. But for most, a torque wrench is handy to get it right.

BTW, while on the subject of torque, I had to spring for some tires for the daily ride (pickup) this week. I drove the truck straight home and proceeded to see just what they had done as far as tightening the nuts. I loosend each and retorqued my steel nuts to factory GM alloys. I don't have a beam type of wrench to read the torque coming off, just a clicker kind. My guess is that they ranged from 130 to 80 on the same wheel by feel. Just typical work for the skinheads that do this job these days. I don't even complain anymore, I just go home and redo whatever I have to have done.

"My guess is that they ranged from 130 to 80 on the same wheel by feel. "

I wonder if that's a result of using an impact wrench? I assume that's what they used?