lug-nut torque specs

[Blix666]

what does everybody torque their lugs down to? do you use different specs for rallycross vs. street? steel wheels vs. alloys? just curious.

[I Like It Sideways]

Usually 75-85ft-lb works... but more often than not, I just tighten them to my own liking haha

[Galen]

^^+1 I just tighten them down so that i know my wheels wont fly off! but ya, if i had to guess it would be about 80ft-lb

[Drew84]

I belive steels need less torque than alloys. Mabey 60 ftlbs

[RoadRunner]

I always do 80 ft lb

My wheels haven't fallen off yet...

[MetalNeverDies]

snap-on shop key thingy the mechanics shop i work at said like 75-80ft-lbs

[Team Illuminata]

I'm all over 78. Seems to work.

[martinus]

I thought OFFICIALLY it was something real light like 65 ... I gotta admit seems like its not enogh for me, so I been doing 80 on mine .

[fattie92]

I do 80-85ft lbs.

[JacksonRally]

Call out was 75 for mine (in stock form) I have always done 80 and no problems what so ever.

[BlueRu]

I def. just tighten until I cant without putting my back into it. I would guess it to be near 80.

[kreitz3]

I just tighten mine until I strip a thread and then take it to Big-O tire in Princeton, IN to have them fix it because I'm 250 miles from home and have them strip two more. When I asked them what they torqued them down to they said, oh not much over 100 ft lbs. They fixed them for free because they dumb.

[JacksonRally]

BTW I also put a little anti-seize on the threads. The last thing anyone wants is a stripped out/rusted wheel stud. Though I'm sure we've all been there.

[subyspawn]

80 for me too....

[martinus]

BTW I also put a little anti-seize on the threads. The last thing anyone wants is a stripped out/rusted wheel stud. Though I'm sure we've all been there.

Go easy on that, its just fancy grease ... if you use too much, the lugnuts wont hold torque. ( read : loosen )

[lminette]

Torque? What's that? I'm like most I never actually torque them I just tighten them to m own liking, and haven't had any issues.

[pigpen]

85 ft-lbs. I asked CBRD what they use on their cars, and they said it is a good setting for both the street and track days.

BTW I also put a little anti-seize on the threads. The last thing anyone wants is a stripped out/rusted wheel stud. Though I'm sure we've all been there.

if you use anti-sieze, you should use more torque. and you should always re-check your torque after you drive the first time after putting your wheels on, esp. with anti-sieze.

[rllyrckt]

85 ft/lbs on my torque wrench is what i put mine to, got that from CBRD also, great place. pigpen, did you get those parts from CBRD you needed?

[98obster]

I torque my stock alloys to 75 and steelies to 85-90. I also recheck the alloys after a few hundred miles.

[pigpen]

pigpen, did you get those parts from CBRD you needed?

i just barely caught them. they were locking up and on their way out the door to go look at an Evo...my summer STi wheels now have centering rings.

Caleb thought i needed more mud, and i concurred. :mrgreen:

[rllyrckt]

nice, well im glad to hear that.

[bergdh]

Its not the wheel that determines torque, Subaru recomends 75. If you excede that you run the risk of a wheel off. It pretty dangerous! I cant even begin to express how much you should always check your tourqe and never excede 75!

Over and under tourqe can cause a lug to break once one goes they follow like dominoes!

[pigpen]

does subaru recommend that for all cars? i hadn't been able to find that info before, which is why I asked CBRD what they use.

[bergdh]

On all imprezas im sure, the only change would maybe be on the tribeca.
They imprezas through sti use the same lug stud which is where the specs are determined.

If you are in a race application I would recomend to use a open ended lug nut to ensure that the nut never bottoms out on some grease or otherwise. If its your daily driver use care not to over lube the lug.

If you look in your owners manual it will tell you straight from Subaru.

[pigpen]

If you look in your owners manual it will tell you straight from Subaru.

I promise I tried that in both of my manuals, but I guess I was looking in the wrong place. I'll look again...hints on where that is?

And I never use any grease on my lugs any more, so I shouldn't need open-ended lugs then?

[bergdh]

Im not sure where it is in there but im sure it is. It may even be on the white sticker on the drivers door frame where you can find the recomended psi?

No you shouldnt need a open ended lug nut, I run them anyway though. Get some good all chrome ones though, the stock ones are that way. Some places sell lugs that have a chrome cover on the lug nut that rusts away real quick and can make getting the lugs off a pain!

[pigpen]

cool, thanks. i'll look for my official Legacy specs again. i've been using the lugnuts tire rack sends me, but i'm not sure how deep the chrome goes.

[lminette]

I just tighten them as tight as I can. I've never torqued them and never had an issue!

[409industries]

I've always torqued them to 80 ft/lbs and never had a problem.

A buddy of mine that goes to the track all the time told me to lower the car with the jack until the wheels just touch the ground (so they wont turn) and torque them in that position. Not when they are fully loaded with the weight of the car.

[pigpen]

to me, sliding sideways seems like a good reason to be properly torqued because of the risks involved with losing a wheel. i feel the same way about being properly torqued for an HPDE. I had always hand-tightened my wheels before my first HPDE, but I have a torque wrench now!

[bergdh]

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=25336566

Dont take my word for it ask this guy who bought his wheels from a place that tourqes wheels to " o about 100" lol

[pigpen]

wow...a wheel shop installed his wheels and didn't torque them to spec?!?! that's just awful.

[bergdh]

wow...a wheel shop installed his wheels and didn't torque them to spec?!?! that's just awful.


I really dont know what happened, but what if????

[pigpen]

Found the torque spec in the manual thanks to scoobymods.com. It is in the how to change a flat section, not in the specs or the tires section. According to my 2000 Legacy and my 2005 STi manuals, the torque spec is 58 to 72 ft-lbs...way less than the 85 ft-lbs I was doing! I need to go fix that before my lug threads are stretched!