...Do you just hand tighten the lug nuts on the wheels?

Or do you use an air wrench, or what?

 

I hand tighten them in a star pattern. It prevents overtorqueing that would make removal of the wheels oh that much harder come the next season (and even if I did use an impact wrench to remove the wheel, if I get a flat, I'm up the creek for trying to change the wheel on the roadside). It doesn't take that much longer either.

 

I use an electric impact wrench with a 90 ft lbs torque stick ( use Google ). I then use a hand torque wrench to set them to around 105 ft lbs.

 

Ditto. Just got my 8 but I have done it on all other of my cars.

 

See, now I see taking the wheels to the shop to be a pain in the ***. You got to load 'em in the car, drive 'em over, wait while they're done, then take 'em home and unload 'em. In that amount of time, I can do 'em myself and do my laundry at the same time, but each to their own.

 

My husband has an air wrench and compressor, so I let him worry about it. when I did it myself though, I tightened them in a star pattern with the lug wrench. Never had any problems. Clean the studs and lugs everytime to prevent stripping.

 

I change my wheels in my driveway at least 10 times a year (track days) I just use a regular lug wrench and tighten in a star pattern takes no longer than 20 minutes.

 

if you have the equipments (jack, torque wrench, impact wrench if lucky), do it yourself is a lot quicker and more convenient

 

Thanks everybody.

I think I'm going to buy an impact/torque wrench as many have advised.

I agree that hauling everything to the tire shop is a PITA.

 

the key is to use the impact wrench only for loosening and lightly tightening the lugs, torque it down properly with the torque wrench.

 

Alright, what am I missing here? I couldn't change 4 tires in 20 minutes in my dreams. It would probably take me more like an hour. The lugs are the easy part, its the jacking that takes forever....

Hence, I take it to the tire shop....

 

With a Floor jack in the right spot you can jack up two wheels (one side) with one lift. Having winter & track rims I have gotten very good at changing the tires.

 

I don't.......All season Ultra Performance tires all the way. 90% the performance 0% of the hassle.

 

And 360 degrees in the snow.

 

start them by hand, hit them with an impact gun, put the car down and retighten them by hand

 

Swap regularly, used a torque wrench for the first few times, then got the hang of when "enuff is enuff" and just guestimate.

S

 

The tire shop I use stores the tires (with rims) for me, no charge.

 

On the Miata, I do it by hand in the garage at home. Just need a good pneumatic floor jack ($20 at pep boys) and a decent lug wrench (4-bar type, $20 at auto-zone), and you're good to go. Just tighten them until it feels right, and remember to put some fresh anti-sieze on each stud. Takes about 40 minutes total. I could make it faster by jacking 2 wheels at once, but don't want to damage the sills. I tried it once on another car with a bit of 2x4 for support along the sill, and it crushed/snapped and made a nasty dent in the sill (and shared the living **** out of me in the process!)

 

I think when they say two wheels at once, they don't mean sideways, jacking the sill, they mean front/back, under the diff and the front jack point.

S

 

Expo, what kind of floor jack do you use? I jacked the car up over the weekend to swap tranny/diff fluid and I had a heck of a time getting the jack under the car. I ended up having to jack one tire with one jack just so I could get enough clearance to get the other jack under center of the car (cross member or pumpkin) to jack the whole side up.

 

I highly recommend using a torque wrench to tighten the lugs, NOT "tightening them until it feels right". Can you tell the difference between 70 and 100ft-lbs by feel? Even if you put them on tight enough to be safe, you are aren't going to have them even, which will cause many problems, including 'warping' the rotor.

Invest in a quality torque wrench and you won't regret it.

Once you learn how to best jack up your car and have your tools in order, you should be able to swap the tires or rotate them in 15-20 minutes in your garage.

 

I have done it both ways, but not by the sill. There is a secure point under were the middle of the seats would be.

I have a regular 2 1/2 ton jack but I have some scrap sections of 2 x 10 lumber I drive the front wheels on. The extra 1" 1/2 helps with the front end jacking.

 

Kind of depends on what you mean by "hand tighten." I use an impact wrench to change wheels, since I do it almost weekly with track/autocross, and then tighten it to spec using a torque wrench. I can swap tires and brake pads in a half hour without any trouble.

If you make it too tight, you might not be able to get it off later, and if you make it too loose, you will lose a wheel.

 

I'll tell you what I did.

Sears. Companion Series 2-1/4 ton hydraulic floor jack (the blue one), $17. Works like a charm.

Better still, that jack is on sale (or at least it was last weekend) for only $15 . No snob value and it's probably not going to be as long-lived as the twice-as-expensive Craftsman, but for fifteen bucks, how can you possibly go wrong?

I wonder how they could even ship this thing from China for $15, never mind actually MAKE the thing for $15.