Torque Wrench

[fastrider]

Hi all,

Anyone give any recommendations as to a quality Torque wrench.

I am currently thinking of buying Halfords own (Ride Recommended a few years back), but don't know whether
to buy one for general use or two to cover all uses.

Halfords 8 - 60Nm (50 GBP); 40 - 200Nm (50 GBP); 60 - 300Nm (60 GBP).

I am thinking of 8-60 and 60-300NM to cover all torque ranges, but in reality would the 40-200Nm one do
all that is required for the bike?

For those that have/do their own conversions (forks/swingarm), and servicing what do you use or
have to offer in way of real world advice.

Also, does it "really" matter about getting every nut/bolt torqued precisely instead of using
the seat o' yer pants..."hhuurrmmfff thats nice and tight, shouldn't move now" option.

[Gio]

I've got a Snap on one it covers 6nm to 350nm I paid £130 for it.

I've yet to see any use on any bike I've had below 12 and above 200.

But mine is used on cars as well.

HTH

[paddyz1]

Go for the 8-60Nm. That will cover everything except the wheel nuts. You could always stick another 1/4 or 1/2 a turn to reach the 80nm that wheels require

[Gio]

Go for the 8-60Nm. That will cover everything except the wheel nuts. You could always stick another 1/4 or 1/2 a turn to reach the 80nm that wheels require

I'd not buy one if it was down to guesswork, waste of money.

[paddyz1]

I have three but past workplaces supplied me with two of them. The one I use 90% of the time on any bike is the 5Nm to 30Nm.
I have a 40Nm to 150Nm witch only gets used on the wheels and enginemounts, and I have a large torque wrench which only gets used on the car(and that is very rare) I can't remember the setting on that one because the last time it got used was on my last car and that was 4 years ago.

I ALWAYS return it to zero when I am finised

[Firestarter]

I ALWAYS return it to zero when I am finised

Why? Something to do with unloading springs? Never have, and am just wondering if I should.

[Falco9]

I ALWAYS return it to zero when I am finised

Why? Something to do with unloading springs? Never have, and am just wondering if I should.

Yup, you should always return the a torque wrench to zero after use, apparently it's to relieve the tension on the inner spring and to ensure the wrench stays calibrated (so they tell me!)
F9

[Kwackerz]

What F9 says!

We had two at work. one was reset to zero religiously after use, t'other wasnt.

Come recalibration time, the 'preset' one (set to Bedford wheelnut torque) was U/S and had to be replaced.

[Fausto]

I have 2.

One is the Ride recommended 0-60 Nm Halfords one. I can recommend this highly. It covers most stuff on the bike and is easy to use. Of course it's long term accuracy will only be evident when I get it recalibrated. I too always return it to zero - it said so in the book and I always obey the rules

Other one is a cheapo 30-200 (I think) just to cover the big numbers on cars etc.Came from Machine Mart and has been ok so far.

[fastrider]

OK chaps, thanks for the input much appreciated.

I am thinking of the Halfords 8-60Nm as recommended by the great Fausto and Paddyz1 and poss Machine Mart 28-210Nm.

But Gio has muddied things slightly with his Snap-On 6-350Nm .
I take it this came with a 1/2in to 3/8ths converter to allow smaller socket sets to be used?

cheers

[Gio]

OK chaps, thanks for the input much appreciated.

I am thinking of the Halfords 8-60Nm as recommended by the great Fausto and Paddyz1 and poss Machine Mart 28-210Nm.

But Gio has muddied things slightly with his Snap-On 6-350Nm .
I take it this came with a 1/2in to 3/8ths converter to allow smaller socket sets to be used?

cheers

1/2, 3/8 and 1/4 converters, I've only ever used the 3/8 but my son who's a trained mechanic has used all of them. BTW I bought it 6 years ago, dunno what they are now.

[Fausto]

One consideration here is the sheer physical size of the things.

The aforementioned Halfords item is quite compact and fits into most tight spots ok.

The Machine Mart thing is about 2 feet long and pretty heavy and unwieldy so won't fit in a few bike places PLUS I wouldn't want to slip with it and drop it onto my tank

Also I find the 3/8 drive Halfords is just the right size for bike work. 1/2 is better on the car.

And finally - I read somewhere that you need to try to avoid torque settings close to the limits on your wrench. So bear that in mind especially for some of the smaller torque requirements.

[fastrider]

Thanks lads,

Have looked at the Snap-On stuff and very expensive now (150+)
Teng have a couple that I may look more closely at sometime.

After looking through the Haynes manual and the good advice given here, I am going to buy the Halfords 08-60Nm for 50 GBP.
.... (well the strife of my life will be, as a v-late B-day present. Couldn't make my mind up on what I wanted, now sorted )

This will cover just about all "normal" jobs done on the bike, and I will eventually buy a higher rating wrench as and when.....

Good health all and thanks.

[Okamoto]

I wouldn't buy anything..... apart from Norbar or Britool.....I used to work in a calibration lab and had to spend hours calibrating torque wrenches!!!

The two brands mentioned above are the most reliable/accurate and stay in spec longer .and parts are available if needed, they will last a lifetime if used correctly.

It is true that you have to unwind the wrench after use to keep the tension off the spring.

Also if you buy a wrench MAKE SURE IT COMES WITH A CALIBRATION CERTIFICATE ....(I have found loads of new wrenches out of tollerance) ...otherwise it is a waste of money and you may as well just use a socket set.

No certificate and it probably means it's not good enough to have one.