I was curious as to just how much they had overcranked. Torque wrenches are quite unreliable at loosening because the nut does not turn smoothly. In this case I did not continue past the setting on the wrench but increased the setting in increments of 20 ft-lbs so the wrench was at no time forced beyond its setting. Perfectly safe when done this way, the wrench does not know the difference otherwise it could not be used for left hand thread tightening.

 

Not to argue, but the wrench does know the difference when the nut breaks loose.
Standard training and practice is to never use a torque wrench to loosen.

 

Yes, there is a risk of damage to the wrench, particularly the click type with the spring and toggle inside. The bending beam type is pretty sturdy however.

 

We will agree to disagree on that one, that's fine. Millions of mile to backup what I'm saying, never had a lug nut back off in my life. Also, no one would ever use thread locker either...

 

Yeah, I wasn't criticizing, just countering with what the book says. People can use both points to make their own decision.

 

I understand and didn't take it that way.

Honestly on the race cars with ARP hardware it's not an issue but with the corporate world those studs went to a cheaper grade of steel in the past decade (can you say they saved about $5, ka-ching) and binding is a huge issue. I've personally snapped off at least a half dozen studs that just seized with the nut coming half way off. Now, we chase all new or aftermarket lugs first before installation and then hit the studs with a tad of antiseize. Never had an issue anymore on factory studs.

 

I've never had a problem, either. I think the key for me has been regular tire rotation. It keeps the nuts from seizing, just by being removed and cleaned periodically.

 

I had my wheels and tires instsalled at Discount Tire - their air wrench is set to 80 Ft lbs then they use torque wrench for final torque.

 

I asked the guy at the tire shop if he was going to use a torque wrench when he reinstalled my wheels. He said he would.
He ran the nuts down with a gun he said was set low. Then used the torque wrench. I mentioned I noticed the nuts didn't move before the torque wrench clicked. He said "Yeah, so?"

 

The factory service manual calls for the lug nuts to be dry torqued to:
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Lug Nut 1/2 X 20 with 60° Cone
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]92-132 ft/lbs
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

The owners manual says 95 ft/lbs.