[CYL]

Should I buy a torque wrench or a digital torque adaptor?
I feel like buying an adaptor will be more flexible since I can put it on any ratchet with an appropriate ratchet adaptor.
Like this one:
https://www.kincrome.com.au/digital-...daptor-1-2-dve

Anyone using digital torque adaptor? How's it compared to torque wrench?

[Scotty89]

Minimum torque setting it does is 40nm which is useless.

Most of the items you need a torque wrench for are 20 - 40nm.

[DR-JEKL]

I've got a digital wrench

http://www.acdelco-tools.com/index.p...product_id=130



Love using it, it displays the torque as you tension the bolt/nut and flashes a red light and beeps like a car reversing sensor as you get close to your target torque.

By memory it was about $150 (back when the AUD was 1:1 with the USD)

Having said that I went to use it recently when working on the daily beater, and the bloody batteries were flat. I was covered in grease/grime car was on jack stands behind the bmw in the shed and the wife was out shopping... So I walked 15 mins to the servo for some batteries

[bmwheath]

What Scotty said... but
Buy it anyway, you can never have to many specialty tools in your box ; )

[vtl]

My thoughts:

Don't try and get a one size fits all tool

Get 3 torque wrenches: 1/4in 3/8in and 1/2in

All METRIC, you don't want to be stuffing around with conversion charts when you've got half your car on your garage floor.

Get the click type, digital is great but if you use a torque wrench once every few months its not worth it.

The 3 torque wrenches will cover all the torque values on the car (except the 450Nm hub nuts). Theres a few advantages to having 3 seperate wrenches:

- A lot of smaller bolts are in tight spaces where a big wrench wont fit
- Won't need to stick on a ton of adapters (which introduces slop and reduces accuracy)
- More accurate so you're not using the torque wrench near its max or minimum torque ranges.

It's not like these are that expensive either, a full set of torque wrenches + various socket adapters off eBay will cost you less than $150

[Digitalism]

Originally Posted by vtl

My thoughts:

Don't try and get a one size fits all tool

Get 3 torque wrenches: 1/4in 3/8in and 1/2in

All METRIC, you don't want to be stuffing around with conversion charts when you've got half your car on your garage floor.

Get the click type, digital is great but if you use a torque wrench once every few months its not worth it.

The 3 torque wrenches will cover all the torque values on the car (except the 450Nm hub nuts). Theres a few advantages to having 3 seperate wrenches:

- A lot of smaller bolts are in tight spaces where a big wrench wont fit
- Won't need to stick on a ton of adapters (which introduces slop and reduces accuracy)
- More accurate so you're not using the torque wrench near its max or minimum torque ranges.

It's not like these are that expensive either, a full set of torque wrenches + various socket adapters off eBay will cost you less than $150

I would be interested to know where you can get a full set of torque wrenches on eBay for less than $150.

Any particular brands you recommend.

[vtl]

Originally Posted by Digitalism

I would be interested to know where you can get a full set of torque wrenches on eBay for less than $150.

Any particular brands you recommend.

Yeah sure they're not top brands but the build quality is good they get the job done:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-4-2-24N...AAAOSw7hRWO8ul
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-PC-Adju...IAAOSw9N1VseJV

I own the two above wrenches and they work fine.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Rolson-3-...AAAMXQyFFTkto0
I own this 3/8 wrench and its good but the graduations are in pound feet which is a hassle. 3/8 is actually hard to find torque wrenches in newton meters. I would happily pay more for a tool that reads in newton meters.

I am not 100% sure if this one has NM graduations on the handle
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Draper-54...AAAOSw9mFWLvP4

$35.00+ $44.99 + $64.95 = 144.94

And they already come with the socket adapters

[twenza]

I have the ALDI torque wrench for home...the way I saw it I don't use it daily so it should be fine./.end of the day if it stops working..it cost me $25

[Digitalism]

Originally Posted by vtl

Yeah sure they're not top brands but the build quality is good they get the job done:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-4-2-24N...AAAOSw7hRWO8ul
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-PC-Adju...IAAOSw9N1VseJV

I own the two above wrenches and they work fine.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Rolson-3-...AAAMXQyFFTkto0
I own this 3/8 wrench and its good but the graduations are in pound feet which is a hassle. 3/8 is actually hard to find torque wrenches in newton meters. I would happily pay more for a tool that reads in newton meters.

I am not 100% sure if this one has NM graduations on the handle
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Draper-54...AAAOSw9mFWLvP4

$35.00+ $44.99 + $64.95 = 144.94

And they already come with the socket adapters

Awesome, thanks for that.

I've always been sceptical of quality of non-big name brands.

[iliketurtl3s]

I got one because vtl taught me about the importance of one. Thanks vtl.

[CYL]

Thanks vtl !
those 2 that you have owned, are they really accurate? have you tested them by a digital torque by any chance?
I also read that for the "click" type, in order to maintain the spring's strength, do not set the torque back to zero when not in use, is it true?

Originally Posted by vtl

Yeah sure they're not top brands but the build quality is good they get the job done:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-4-2-24N...AAAOSw7hRWO8ul
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-PC-Adju...IAAOSw9N1VseJV

I own the two above wrenches and they work fine.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Rolson-3-...AAAMXQyFFTkto0
I own this 3/8 wrench and its good but the graduations are in pound feet which is a hassle. 3/8 is actually hard to find torque wrenches in newton meters. I would happily pay more for a tool that reads in newton meters.

I am not 100% sure if this one has NM graduations on the handle
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Draper-54...AAAOSw9mFWLvP4

$35.00+ $44.99 + $64.95 = 144.94

And they already come with the socket adapters

[CYL]

Originally Posted by iliketurtl3s

I got one because vtl taught me about the importance of one. Thanks vtl.

you got a digital torque adaptor? or a torque wrench?
if it is the former, may I ask how would you rate it?
is it good enough to be used on our car? or is it too bulky?
thanks.

[vtl]

Originally Posted by CYL

Thanks vtl !
those 2 that you have owned, are they really accurate? have you tested them by a digital torque by any chance?
I also read that for the "click" type, in order to maintain the spring's strength, do not set the torque back to zero when not in use, is it true?

Haven't tested them with a digital gauge, I might pick one up to readjust them as I've had them for a few years now.

For the click type wrench, you must unwind the torque wrench back to its minimum setting when you are finished using it. This is so you don't leave the spring compressed and mess with the calibration.

I wouldn't worry too much about the accuracy. For a lot of fasteners, the main thing is that its tightened up evenly (e.g. to avoid stressing gaskets unevenly and avoiding leaks.)

[DR-JEKL]

I've done some bench testing trials at work and the cheap torque wrenches were not repeatable.

Some were so bad that the amount of variation made it a waste of time..

We use Norbar branded torquing equipment, and calibrate at the start and the end of the shift.

Not that any of the aforementioned info is of much relevance to this thread, as whilst its easy to state some cheap wrenches are not accurate/repeatable not all of them are...

[RJ_]

Originally Posted by vtl

Haven't tested them with a digital gauge, I might pick one up to readjust them as I've had them for a few years now.

For the click type wrench, you must unwind the torque wrench back to its minimum setting when you are finished using it. This is so you don't leave the spring compressed and mess with the calibration.

I wouldn't worry too much about the accuracy. For a lot of fasteners, the main thing is that its tightened up evenly (e.g. to avoid stressing gaskets unevenly and avoiding leaks.)

Agree with everything you've said in this thread.

Remember, torque settings are guidelines, not an exact science. Common sense will go a long way.
If you're threading into a soft metal like aluminum, copper, brass, even plastic, take it easy so you don't damage the threads. Iron and mild steels, you have rust that will add friction, think about chasing threads or removing rust. If you have a stainless that is starting to gall, add some oil or dry lube.
Aluminum fasteners- be careful to approach the torque value and keep the threads spinning so you don't overshoot and yield the head of the screw.
There's as much art and feel to it as engineering and physics.

[CYL]

Thanks all.
I am thinking to get
1 x 3/8 kincrome torque range: 6.8-108.5 Nm
1 x 1/2 kincrome torque range: 13.6-203.5 Nm
I think these cover all the range on our car already?

or should I get the 1/4 instead of the 3/8?
1/4 kincrome torque range: 2-24 Nm

I heard that Warren & Brown is a good brand and the deflecting beam type is even better, but consider I will only be using them once a few months, I think the kincrome is good enough.
2 kincrome above cost around $180 on ebay, won't have 3 torque wrench but quite a big brand (I assume the quality is assured).

[vtl]

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

I've done some bench testing trials at work and the cheap torque wrenches were not repeatable.

Some were so bad that the amount of variation made it a waste of time..

We use Norbar branded torquing equipment, and calibrate at the start and the end of the shift.

Not that any of the aforementioned info is of much relevance to this thread, as whilst its easy to state some cheap wrenches are not accurate/repeatable not all of them are...

Very interesting, hopefully they were not the ones I linked haha. How much variation did you see? Have you by any chance tested any of the cheaper digital torque adapters?

Whenever I am using the torque wrenches on my wheel nuts the amount of resistance I feel is pretty even across the 5 bolts. Not sure how accurate it would be though, would be interesting to verify with a strain-gauge type digital torque wrench.

[BMOmega]

The Aldi torque wrench is decent for the price, if you can wait for the next sale, it's pretty similar to the kincrome one i have.

I have 1 x http://www.bunnings.com.au/kincrome-...rench_p6116683
and 3 x of the aldi, one in each car and the kincrome for the garage.

[Scotty89]

Originally Posted by twenza

I have the ALDI torque wrench for home...the way I saw it I don't use it daily so it should be fine./.end of the day if it stops working..it cost me $25

I got this too, for $20 it's been great.

I didn't see myself using it much, but it turns out I use it a lot and it's been the best $20 I ever spent.

[DR-JEKL]

Originally Posted by vtl

Very interesting, hopefully they were not the ones I linked haha. How much variation did you see? Have you by any chance tested any of the cheaper digital torque adapters?

Whenever I am using the torque wrenches on my wheel nuts the amount of resistance I feel is pretty even across the 5 bolts. Not sure how accurate it would be though, would be interesting to verify with a strain-gauge type digital torque wrench.

No I'm talking industrial size wrenches, no 1/4 3/8 etc and we went and bought some cheap wrenches from bunnings as we had issues with the wrenches going walkabouts... So we thought we would buy some cheap wrenches and give the guys their own wrenches.

But since I work for a large manufacturer who has strict QA requirements all measuring equipment must be calibrated (the big $ items come with a manufacturers calibration certificate that's valid for 12 months then we send them out for external calibration) and the cheap wrenches didnt come with any form of calibration so we bought a few as a trial and as I mentioned above there were large variations in the repeatability of the torquing. It may have been manufacturing variances as some of the wrenches were too bad, but we scrapped that idea as if we have a component come loose in service we could be liable...

As for the values I honestly cannot recall the variances but it was something like say 5-8% whereas it should be within 2% repeatablity.

[Mayuri Krab]

And here I'm just tightening the wheel nuts of my car with a old metal bar that I took from my r33's tyre change bag...

[CYL]

I saw that those kincrome torque wrench also has a +/- 4% variances...but the digital torque adaptor is much lesser, +/- 1% only.

Originally Posted by DR-JEKL

No I'm talking industrial size wrenches, no 1/4 3/8 etc and we went and bought some cheap wrenches from bunnings as we had issues with the wrenches going walkabouts... So we thought we would buy some cheap wrenches and give the guys their own wrenches.

But since I work for a large manufacturer who has strict QA requirements all measuring equipment must be calibrated (the big $ items come with a manufacturers calibration certificate that's valid for 12 months then we send them out for external calibration) and the cheap wrenches didnt come with any form of calibration so we bought a few as a trial and as I mentioned above there were large variations in the repeatability of the torquing. It may have been manufacturing variances as some of the wrenches were too bad, but we scrapped that idea as if we have a component come loose in service we could be liable...

As for the values I honestly cannot recall the variances but it was something like say 5-8% whereas it should be within 2% repeatablity.