Torque Spec for Lugnuts

doug · Post by **doug** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 5:10 pm

Hi all. I have a shop manual and noticed that I see two different torque specifications listed for the lugnuts and was wondering which one was correct. Please note, I am not looking at the nM and ft/lbs and finding the difference...it is in the ft/lbs in each instance. In the section itself, they state 50-70 ft/lbs a couple of times, but at the end of the section, under torque specs, I see 75-100 ft/lbs.
Any help finding the correct specs will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Doug

Maurice S · Post by **Maurice S** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 5:29 pm

75-80'll do it...and NEVER let a shop do the front ones unless the guy is personally known to you, instant disc warp and brake shimmy.

Post by **anglin** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 5:37 pm

I've always used 75 lb ft as the torque value. If you get near that 100 lb ft mark you may end up with a necked down wheel stud. This has happened to folks in the past.

Post by **Ed Lijewski** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 6:08 pm

I remember checking this for the Scorpio in its Service Manual: 55-75 ft. lbs. is what it said.

YMMV

doug · Post by **doug** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:32 am

Thank you for your replies....looks like 75 lbs/ft will work great. I just purchased new rims (nothing special, just your avg painted 5 spoke...I didnt even upgrade the size as cost was a big factor) and tires and wanted to make sure these were torqued properly.

And I would also like to say how much I appreciate this forum and all of the other Merkur websites out there, as they have been a big help keeping this car on the road!!

Doug

MerkXRTurbo · Post by **MerkXRTurbo** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 9:54 am

Like Anglin, I have always used 75 as the rule of thumb, too.

dedwards · Post by **dedwards** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 7:23 pm

I've always used mid-range of the torque spec when tightening lug nuts. 87-88 ft-lbs. I've never had any issues with studs or warped discs (other than the normal wear that occurs due to poor disc design on the XR's).

Like others, when having new tires installed and/or re-balancing being done, I use a name shop (Discount Tire in GVL, SC) and insist that a manual torque wrench is used rather than a torque limiter.

Post by **Ed Lijewski** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 8:10 pm

Merkur Xr4Ti Service Manual, Section 11-17, Wheels and Tires, page 5: ""Wheel Lug Nut Torque: 70 - 100 N-m (55 - 70 lbs. ft.).

There's absolutely no/no reason to apply more torque to wheel lug nuts than that above for typical, normal operation. And, Ford led the industry in identifying excessive lug nug torque (interpret that however you want) as the major cause of warped rotors.

YMMV

doug · Post by **doug** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 12:34 pm

DPDISXR4Ti wrote:Assuming you got after-market wheels, did you also get new lug-nuts? The factory lug-nuts should only be used with the factory wheels.

New lugnuts were included in on the package. They were one of the main reasons of going with a new rim....I have had so many problems with the factory lugs seizing up on the studs or the washers on the lugnuts rusting to the wheel that it was due time I tried to remedy this problem. I used to let the car sit for long periods (now daily driver), so I wouldnt have to change a tire or such, resulting in the above.

The rims are 14"x6", 38mm offset, which if my understanding is correct, in essence, placing the rim farther out from the hub, by 2mm. The lower the offset, the farther out they stick...correct?

xrian · Post by **xrian** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 4:21 pm

There must be some discrepency regarding wheel offset.
I have a pair of Speedline/Ford 16x7 rally wheels that have a 25.5 mm offset stamped on them. These will not go on the car unless I use a spacer to shift them out. The whell hits the strutt in the front before it is fully on. It hits the inner portion of the rear wheel tub before it is fully on.
I have sets of 32, 35, and 37mm offset wheels that work fine.

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 4:29 pm

xrian wrote:There must be some discrepency regarding wheel offset.
I have a pair of Speedline/Ford 16x7 rally wheels that have a 25.5 mm offset stamped on them. These will not go on the car unless I use a spacer to shift them out.

I wonder if that's a back-space measurement rather than offset? I'm not even sure if I'm figuring this right without checking, but I think a 25.5mm back-space would be equivalent to a 63.4mm offset on a 7" wheel. That would certainly be consistent with a spacer requirement.

Ray · Post by **Ray** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 6:06 pm

that has to be backspace instead of off set.

25.5mm o/s will throw the wheel 11.5 mm further out than oem (oem is 37mm)

my 52.5mm focus ZTW wheels on my merk now require spacers. (13mm, hubcentric)

torque spec on the lug nuts change if you swap the oem studs for ARPs?

i torque mine down to 92ft/lbs, because that's what i use on the fofo. if that's too much, i'll retorque em next time i swap wheels, or pull the wheels off to 75.