fbpx
Wikipedia

Lug wrench

A lug wrench, also colloquially known as a tire iron, is the name for a type of socket wrench used to loosen and tighten lug nuts on automobile wheels. In the United Kingdom and Australia, it is commonly known as a wheel brace.

Spider-type lug wrench

Forms edit

Lug wrenches may be L-shaped, or X-shaped. The form commonly found in car trunks is an L-shaped metal rod with a socket wrench on the bent end and a prying tip on the other end. The prying tip is mainly intended to remove hub caps or wheel covers that may be covering a wheel's lug nuts.

Another common type, sometimes called a spider wrench, is made in the shape of a cross with different sized sockets on each of the four ends. Other names are four way wheel wrench, spanner, brace, or cross.

Technique edit

Ideally, the nuts (or bolts) should be tightened with a torque wrench. Lug wrenches are much less expensive because they lack the ability to measure or limit the force used. Installing a wheel with a lug wrench thus requires a bit of rough guessing about proper tightness. Excessive force can strip threads or make the nuts very difficult to remove. Also, uneven torque between the various lug nuts, or excessive torque, can lead to warping of the brake rotor if the car is equipped with disc brakes. For this reason, impact wrenches should properly be used only for removing lug nuts, not for tightening them, although in practice this rule is often ignored for convenience's sake, even by professional mechanics.

When re-fitting a wheel, the nuts (or bolts) should be tightened in a criss-cross pattern (to even out the forces) and initially should only be tightened "finger tight" on all nuts. In this context "finger tight" is tight enough to reach the point where free play is taken up and proper tightening is about to begin, say, the tightening force using the lug wrench/wheel brace like a screwdriver. This should be repeated twice, to ensure the wheel is properly centered and restrained by all nuts (as often the first nut that is tightened will be slightly loose after completing the set for the first time), then the wheel should be lowered to the ground and the criss-cross tightening pattern repeated to modest torque (say few fingers force on the lug wrench/wheel brace arm), and then finally repeated to full hand force.

 
A lug wrench

Rarely, and more often with large trucks and lorries, insufficient force can lead to the nuts coming undone while in use. Because of this, it is best to use a torque wrench or similar tool to finally tighten the wheel lug nuts to the proper torque specification as soon as possible after using a lug wrench to affix a wheel. At the very least, the lug nuts should be checked for tightness after 50–100 km/miles when things have been subject to some vibration and thermal cycling.

This tool also has a secondary usage: it can be used as a tool to remove vehicles that are stuck in snow.

External links edit

  • Appropriate Tightening Sequence: Bolt-Science's example and explanation of using a criss-cross tightening sequence.

wrench, confused, with, tire, iron, wheel, brace, redirects, here, drill, wheel, brace, drill, this, article, does, cite, sources, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sourc. Not to be confused with tire iron Wheel brace redirects here For the drill see Wheel brace drill This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Lug wrench news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message A lug wrench also colloquially known as a tire iron is the name for a type of socket wrench used to loosen and tighten lug nuts on automobile wheels In the United Kingdom and Australia it is commonly known as a wheel brace Spider type lug wrenchForms editLug wrenches may be L shaped or X shaped The form commonly found in car trunks is an L shaped metal rod with a socket wrench on the bent end and a prying tip on the other end The prying tip is mainly intended to remove hub caps or wheel covers that may be covering a wheel s lug nuts Another common type sometimes called a spider wrench is made in the shape of a cross with different sized sockets on each of the four ends Other names are four way wheel wrench spanner brace or cross Technique editThis section possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed April 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Ideally the nuts or bolts should be tightened with a torque wrench Lug wrenches are much less expensive because they lack the ability to measure or limit the force used Installing a wheel with a lug wrench thus requires a bit of rough guessing about proper tightness Excessive force can strip threads or make the nuts very difficult to remove Also uneven torque between the various lug nuts or excessive torque can lead to warping of the brake rotor if the car is equipped with disc brakes For this reason impact wrenches should properly be used only for removing lug nuts not for tightening them although in practice this rule is often ignored for convenience s sake even by professional mechanics When re fitting a wheel the nuts or bolts should be tightened in a criss cross pattern to even out the forces and initially should only be tightened finger tight on all nuts In this context finger tight is tight enough to reach the point where free play is taken up and proper tightening is about to begin say the tightening force using the lug wrench wheel brace like a screwdriver This should be repeated twice to ensure the wheel is properly centered and restrained by all nuts as often the first nut that is tightened will be slightly loose after completing the set for the first time then the wheel should be lowered to the ground and the criss cross tightening pattern repeated to modest torque say few fingers force on the lug wrench wheel brace arm and then finally repeated to full hand force nbsp A lug wrenchRarely and more often with large trucks and lorries insufficient force can lead to the nuts coming undone while in use Because of this it is best to use a torque wrench or similar tool to finally tighten the wheel lug nuts to the proper torque specification as soon as possible after using a lug wrench to affix a wheel At the very least the lug nuts should be checked for tightness after 50 100 km miles when things have been subject to some vibration and thermal cycling This tool also has a secondary usage it can be used as a tool to remove vehicles that are stuck in snow External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lug wrenches Appropriate Tightening Sequence Bolt Science s example and explanation of using a criss cross tightening sequence Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lug wrench amp oldid 1185694491, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.