AutoBanter - View Single Post - Can you teach me more about lug bolts & related tire tools?

**Ralph Mowery**

In article >,
says...
>
> wrote:
>
> > Lacking an actual torque wrench, be sure to use equal pressure on all
> > the nuts. I use a two step process. First, tighten them to just snug
> > using a cross pattern. Then go back and tighten each one as evenly as
> > you can feel to tight, but don't kill them. Hard to decribe but you
> > don't want to stand on the wrench to get them very tight.
>
> The only way I know to "test" (but not "calibrate") a torque wrench is to
> have a double-headed bolt contraption that is long enough for two sockets
> to fit face to face.
>
> Then I would put a torque wrench on each end, and lock one in a vise and
> twist the other where they should both show the same torque.
>
> That only "tests" them.
> I don't know how to calibrate them because both could be wrong.
> And you have to "adjust" them if they are.
>
> Does anyone know how to calibrate a torque wrench at home?

The main thing is to have all nuts tightened the same. With in some
limits, the actual torque is not all that important as long as the wheel
does not come off,or you strip or break the bolt.