WTF is up with these gorillas?

[SilberUrS6]

Who in the hell puts on those lug nuts so stinkin' tight? WHY, I ask you?

So, I'm pulling the wheels to verify size and manufacture (they are indeed replicas, so I will not feel bad about painting them) - lo and behold, the lug nuts are on with well over 100 lb-ft of torque (by my calibrated hand). One of the front rotors has a 0.2mm runout warp to it, probably due to gorilla-grip wrenching, and none of the lugs has even a trace of lubricant.

OK, so they are replicas, and not worth much on a per each basis, but come on - show a little love, please.

OK, rant over.

[andyt11]

I have the same gripe. Lug nuts should be torqued with a torque wrench. Not fired on there by a monkey with an impact gun.

[M.D. Holloway]

should be 90ft-lb no?

[Arne2]

I worked in tires and wheels from the mid-70s through '98. The outfit I worked for was way ahead of the curve in that even way back at the beginning we were required to use a torque wrench for the final tightening on every car. Even so, in the heat of the the job it is way too easy to over-tighten. That's why to this day I either bring my tires/wheels into shops off the car, or I stand and watch the tech after "casually" mentioning that I know how important it is to torque wheels correctly.

[pegasus9]

This is why I am so particular about who touches the Porsche, even the tires.
Too many hacks out there.

[Barrpete]

That's why I don't let anyone else install my wheels. When it time for new tires I take the wheels off and take them in. I think most shops give the wheel removal/install task to the unskilled minimum wage labor.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by LubeMaster77

should be 90ft-lb no?

94 lb-ft lubricated threads and seat, IIRC.

Rotors aren't that expensive, but I hate it when someone else's inattention causes me to spend money.

[Flat Six]

Originally Posted by Barrpete

That's why I don't let anyone else install my wheels. When it time for new tires I take the wheels off and take them in. I think most shops give the wheel removal/install task to the unskilled minimum wage labor.

+1

Also eliminates the chance some doofus will crush your oil lines / AC lines / tub seams with a poorly-placed jack.

[intakexhaust]

+1 to all comments. Maybe I'm a little over the top but I actually keep a spare torque wrench in the car.

These 'gorilla's also remind of the grease 'monkeys' at the quick Lubes. I hear it all the time by others having pulled threads on oil pans or cross threaded plugs. Then the shop has the ape smell to charge for some stupid fix quick valve drain.

[Oh Haha]

Originally Posted by Barrpete

That's why I don't let anyone else install my wheels. When it time for new tires I take the wheels off and take them in. I think most shops give the wheel removal/install task to the unskilled minimum wage labor.

+1 even for my daily drivers. I use a shop that has a great reputation around for installing lots of aftermarket wheels but still....

[3stewartS]

I couldn't agree more! I've been a professional technician for more than 20 years and my first job at the local Porsche/Audi dealership I got the opportunity to work as the "lube tech". The service manager told me this, " Two things will get you fired, one is not using fender covers and the other is not torquing a lug nut! You get one warning and this is it". Strong words, but... It has been a lesson that has stuck with me all these years!

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by 3stewartS

I couldn't agree more! I've been a professional technician for more than 20 years and my first job at the local Porsche/Audi dealership I got the opportunity to work as the "lube tech". The service manager told me this, " Two things will get you fired, one is not using fender covers and the other is not torquing a lug nut! You get one warning and this is it". Strong words, but... It has been a lesson that has stuck with me all these years!

I think I like that service manager. A LOT.

I once met a service manager at Sunset Porsche/Audi in Portland, OR. I was a snot-nosed kid with a POS Jetta that had a cruise control failure. I walked in and told him my story - "I'm poor, this car is making me mad, and is there anything you can do to help me out?"

He went into the back, and came back out with a plastic bushing. He said, "This is the part that fails in that system. Replace this part, and your cruise will work. When you get ready to buy a newer car, come back and see us." Well, let me tell you - I have never forgotten the kindness that guy showed me, and when it came time to source the Porsche parts for the big brakes on my S6, I went straight to Sunset. Over the years, I have spent a LOT of Audi parts money there. He may not have sold me a car, but he sure helped keep 5 different Audis on the road.

I wish he would have been around whenever the ham-fisted doofus who last put the wheels on my Carrera was using the impact wrench instead of the torque wrench. :/

[Joe Bob]

Just had my tires changed out....the sign on the wall said 'Loose nuts and/or oil plug'.....yer history.

[RWebb]

you have to think about this in the way a simple mind thinks: "some torque good - more torque better"

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by Barrpete

That's why I don't let anyone else install my wheels. When it time for new tires I take the wheels off and take them in. I think most shops give the wheel removal/install task to the unskilled minimum wage labor.

+1
I stopped taking in my cars to get tires mounted 10 years ago. It is never done right. I let them do the truck but there will always be a number of nuts torqued over 100ft/lbs.

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

+1 to all comments. Maybe I'm a little over the top but I actually keep a spare torque wrench in the car.
. . .

+2
The normal storage location for my main torque wrench is right in front of the spare tire. If I am at home then it is in the garage.

[shrtshck]

If I know the wheels have been removed the first thing I do when the car is home from the shop is break the lug nuts loose and retorque. As noted earlier unevenly torqued nuts will cause rotor warpage. Most times they are fine but every now and then I find a flyer.
It is a shame it has to be done, but seems to be the state these days. Also check that the oil filler cap has been put back on, took a photo of that one.

[DRACO A5OG]

I am a big PITA at any garage even for my Lexus and 190e. I make them torque to spec only.

Shoot I even bring my own torque wrench just to make sure. OCD is a horrible desease

[stlrj]

Even Costco uses a torque wrench for the final torque.

[targajoe]

And this is what happens when the tire shop doesn't tighten them enough! About a year ago I got new tires mounted on my beater Subaru at a local tire shop. Coming around the last curve towards my house on the way home the lug nuts let loose and the wheel let go. Luckily I was going only about 15 MPH at the time but the wheel still shot across the street and slammed into a cable box, just missing folks on the sidewalk.

It may not look like it from the photo but it caused $2,100 in damage. To their credit the tire shop admitted their mistake and paid for everything but this could have been a very bad incident.

From now on I am going to take my torque wrench with me and check everything in the parking lot before I leave. Can't trust anyone but myself apparently.

Joe

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by targajoe

And this is what happens when the tire shop doesn't tighten them enough!

Holy crap. Glad nobody got hurt.