Torque sticks

I would say you may have partially frozen/stuck calipers.

We need to get project farm to do some testing on the accuracy of torque sticks

My torque sticks are in the back of the drawer. I have a new small Milwaukee 1/2 drive that on number 2 goes to 150 (3 is 450) so it’s the perfect raptor gun.
I still check the lug torque tho just to be safe


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I use a 140ft lb torque stick to run the lugs down then bring em up to 150 with a torque wrench. Using the torque stick I know I can run em down and not over tighten and you only need a 1/4-1/2 turn on the torque wrench to be set.

I do not have any torque sticks. Have never used them. I do not see the need for them for personal use. By the time a person puts them on a tool, uses them, then takes the time to change them out, on an air tool, breaker bar, rachet, socket, and so on, it's more un-needed steps. More seldom used tools to have. I'll stay with simplicity...a calibrated torque wrench that gets tested and certified on a regular basis.

EricM said:

Over torqueing lug nuts doesn't ruin the rotors whatsoever. Maybe 30 years ago, but lugs haven't been anchored into the rotor for decades. All you are doing now is squeezing the hat tighter between the wheel and hub face, which does exactly nothing to the rotor.

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Precise machining attempts to overcome a issue but proper torque is still needed. Metal is malleable and beyond a certain point it will not return to prior shape when pressure or force is removed. The distortion spreads through it with time, heating and cooling accelerating the deformation. And as I pointed earlier that will spread to adjoining surfaces such as the hub which likely requires another precise surface for bearings. The wheel also. The requirements of space travel to overcome possible issues is too expensive for a earth bound wheel. Especially when using a torque wrench overcomes those issues.
Some of the reasons the ASME would not accept torque sticks had to do with the wide variations of the air impact gun. Their testing with a wide variety of guns showed a whopping 50% variation. There was variation sometimes with a single gun. It might be satisfactory with a high torque stick but fail with a low torque stick or vice versa. The problems arise because of various designs in the guns such as different degree of turn per stroke, the length of stroke, and even air pressure variations. None of that combination of issues has the redundant warnings of error used on an assembly line mostly precision electronic built into the tool itself and associated console of monitoring.
This is what Ford says about their brake rotors.

• Precise chamfered bolt hole locations and diameters help prevent distortion when tightening lug nuts during installation

It is presumed that proper torque is used and that it is even. One aspect of the engineering is mating surfaces. Would you mate the head to the block with that tool and then expect longevity,

Jakenbake said:

We need to get project farm to do some testing on the accuracy of torque sticks

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So you think they have better capabilities then the entire testing lab of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers? A few years ago their results were public. To get a copy of that you would now have to pay for the publication containing it which is why I have not posted those results.

dkfc13 said:

My thoughts regarding torque sticks:

1. Not all are the same, they are a number of manufactures who make them.
2. Most of the kits I've seen don't have a 150 ft.lb stick. Our lug nut requirement is 150 not 140.
3. They can't prevent under tightening unfortunately. I have had good success with them preventing over tightening.
4. A torque wrench can be just as inaccurate. Especially when it bounces around in our trucks. When was the last time you had your torque wrench calibrated?
5. A torque stick will only be a good as the the air system powering it. Many impact wrenches require a significant amount of airflow to achieve their rated torque value. That rated torque value is reduced significantly when that airflow isn't achieved. Just because your impact wrench is rated to 250 ft.lb + doesn't mean it will do the job.
6. Max torque and nominal ( sustainable) torque can be very different. You need much more available torque than the stick you are using.


So how do you determine if you equipment works? By testing.


Unfortunately, most torque wrench companies do not provide you a range of torque data to allow you to correlate the right information to your airflow and pressure. You also need expensive equipment to check pressure drop in your airlines.

My suggestion would be to calibrate and test whatever system you are using.


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TWO points. #3, they can be equally bad at overtightening which happens when using an impact gun with a relatively large degree per stroke. That stick will not make a click or other signal that you have reached the proper torque. Think of it as the torque wrench and as you go through a stroke you ignore the click and keep going. And once you put that dent from to much pressure how do you remove it? Depending upon the resiliency of the metal one over torque will be damage undone without replacing. How much damage and cost are worth it?
#4, a torque wrench is a calibrated instrument and should be treated as such. Many come in a protective case that IS TO BE USED!

E_Net_Rider said:

TWO points. #3, they can be equally bad at overtightening which happens when using an impact gun with a relatively large degree per stroke. That stick will not make a click or other signal that you have reached the proper torque. Think of it as the torque wrench and as you go through a stroke you ignore the click and keep going. And once you put that dent from to much pressure how do you remove it? Depending upon the resiliency of the metal one over torque will be damage undone without replacing. How much damage and cost are worth it?
#4, a torque wrench is a calibrated instrument and should be treated as such. Many come in a protective case that IS TO BE USED!

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Torque sticks need to be calibrated to the specific gun it’s going to be used on. (Says this on the instructions) so even though the stick my be 150ft lbs, your gun may only get it to 130 or even beyond 150. Once you get them right, they are pretty accurate and the best thing is you are never going to over torque. Best use scenario is to have a setup that gets you to 5 or 10 short and bring it to spec with a torque wrench


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E_Net_Rider said:

So you think they have better capabilities then the entire testing lab of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers? A few years ago their results were public. To get a copy of that you would now have to pay for the publication containing it which is why I have not posted those results.

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No, but I can’t watch a video of them testing when I have time to kill. Are you familiar with his channel on YouTube? He usually does a pretty good job of testing and reporting his results. Case in point that the Amazon basics batteries were a better bang for the buck when compared to either the expensive batteries or the super cheap ones. But his channel is for entertainment purposes.


Now if you would like to get into a discussion if items necessary for design/examination should be free vs paid, I wouldn’t mind to have that conversation. But it would probably be more appropriate over a PM.