Torque Wrench Suggestions

KWLC250

KWLC250

Member
Feb 23, 2025
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Key West, FL
Vehicles
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser
Looking for recommendations on a torque wrench for swapping out the wheels. I've got a mounted and balanced set of Method 703's and Toyo AT3's on the way and no dedicated tire shop within a 2 hours drive. Figured I could handle the swap with an extra pair of hands. It's been about 20 years since I've had a car that I built out, and the same goes for tools. When I was younger, I simply walked into Lowes and grabbed a click style torque wrench off the shelf and didn't give things like accuracy and tolerance much thought. Set it and forget it.

I'm leaning towards this 1/2" Gearwrench 30-250 ftlbs click style wrench. The stated accuracy is +/- 3% and its seems to deliver that based on Youtube testing. And it seems like it will fit in the factory tool kit compartment to keep in the car incase I need to use the spare.

Is +/-3% accuracy sufficient? Or is it important to have something more accurate?

Only reason I'm giving it a second thought, is if the lugs are not all tightened evenly (say 94lbs for some and 100lbs for others) will that cause or add to wheel vibration?

May opt to take it to a shop or the dealer to do the swap if they're likely to use a more precise torque wrench. Figured I'd be more thoughtful and not just toss the hub rings or use an impact gun to remove and tighten the lugs. I've used a local mobile tire repair shop before (no dedicated/national chain tire shops within 2 hours drive), and I doubt they're using a $600 Snap-on torque wrench or even bothered to check what the manufacturer suggested torque specs were (not to mention that they managed to chip up the paint on the rims pretty badly).
 
KWLC250 said:
Looking for recommendations on a torque wrench for swapping out the wheels. I've got a mounted and balanced set of Method 703's and Toyo AT3's on the way and no dedicated tire shop within a 2 hours drive. Figured I could handle the swap with an extra pair of hands. It's been about 20 years since I've had a car that I built out, and the same goes for tools. When I was younger, I simply walked into Lowes and grabbed a click style torque wrench off the shelf and didn't give things like accuracy and tolerance much thought. Set it and forget it.

I'm leaning towards this 1/2" Gearwrench 30-250 ftlbs click style wrench. The stated accuracy is +/- 3% and its seems to deliver that based on Youtube testing. And it seems like it will fit in the factory tool kit compartment to keep in the car incase I need to use the spare.

Is +/-3% accuracy sufficient? Or is it important to have something more accurate?

Only reason I'm giving it a second thought, is if the lugs are not all tightened evenly (say 94lbs for some and 100lbs for others) will that cause or add to wheel vibration?

May opt to take it to a shop or the dealer to do the swap if they're likely to use a more precise torque wrench. Figured I'd be more thoughtful and not just toss the hub rings or use an impact gun to remove and tighten the lugs. I've used a local mobile tire repair shop before (no dedicated/national chain tire shops within 2 hours drive), and I doubt they're using a $600 Snap-on torque wrench or even bothered to check what the manufacturer suggested torque specs were (not to mention that they managed to chip up the paint on the rims pretty badly).
Click to expand...
I have the GearWrench 120XP and use it for my wheels. The 120 XP refers to the number of teeth on the ratcheting mechanism and means you swing the handle through a smaller arc (3 degrees) before reversing directions and tightening a nut. For me, it was worth the extra $ and it is so much smoother than my standard Craftsman wrenches. Most ratchets have between 36 & 72 teeth. More teeth equals a smaller swing angle and improves your ability to work in tight spaces. The quality of GearWrench is excellent.

Having said that, I think the digital Craftsman would also be a nice tool to have in my shop.
 
Last edited:
The Torque Test Channel has done a lot of great work testing torque wrenches, impact drives, and a lot more. Here's a great video that's worth watching about Torque Wrenches:

 
uraniumrich said:
The Torque Test Channel has done a lot of great work testing torque wrenches, impact drives, and a lot more. Here's a great video that's worth watching about Torque Wrenches:

Click to expand...

I watched a bunch of these videos last night and ones from Tools Tested YouTube Channel. They tested the Craftsman and GearWrench with good results. They seemed to get the best results from Harbor Freight's Icon Split Beam. I'd never considered a split beam until watching this video, I like the flex head.




Area 51 said:
Get a nice Proto.
Click to expand...

Proto looks nice for sure, and has tighter accuracy. Not sure I'll be needing it that often to justify the price. If I need more accuracy I may just opt to have a shop do it. But it seems like +/-4% is the standard and just fine for swapping wheels.
 
^^^ That extension, myth #4 was interesting and helpful.

I have a mid-1990's Craftsman clicker that works just peachy for tire rotation/reconfirming my local tire shop didn't over Ugga Ugga them.

This is another quick and dirty Project Farm to give a view on price point accuracy.
 
The Harbor Freight Icon 1/2” drive is amazingly good. I picked one up on the road. It’s a good copy of a Snap-on which I own as well, and way more reasonably priced. It’s also certified for left hand torque, which is fairly rare. Item 64064 $139.99
 
IMO precise torque values aren't super critical with lug nuts, consistency is more important. You want all of your lug nuts on a wheel to have the same torque value, it's not super important if you're +/- a few pound feet out from the recommended spec.

Most shops don't hand torque lug nuts and use torque sticks on impacts to get a good enough value. If you're using any decent quality torque wrench you're likely coming out better than most shops.

Personally I use a Canadian Tire Maximum torque wrench, these go on sale frequently and is likely a Gearwrench white labelled product.
 
jpto said:
IMO precise torque values aren't super critical with lug nuts, consistency is more important. You want all of your lug nuts on a wheel to have the same torque value, it's not super important if you're +/- a few pound feet out from the recommended spec.

Most shops don't hand torque lug nuts and use torque sticks on impacts to get a good enough value. If you're using any decent quality torque wrench you're likely coming out better than most shops.

Personally I use a Canadian Tire Maximum torque wrench, these go on sale frequently and is likely a Gearwrench white labelled product.
Click to expand...
The only place, locally, I have ever seen break out a TQ wrench is Discount Tire. I stared in awe the first time I went there lol.
 
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