TORQUE WRENCH Poll

[EErie B6]

yea, i know theres threads on torque wrenches, but i want to know what you guys are using. and making a "Poll" is just fun.

im looking for a torque wrench that will do the job, be decent, and not crazy expensive. im not a business, and cant afford Mac/Matco/SnapOn... but i dont want junk *cough*Harborfreight*cough*. I'd like to stay below the $150 mark.

What do you have?
How has it treated you?
Would you buy it again?
What do you recommend?

anything else you want to add about it?

Thanks.

[quattEUro]

i use a crafstman, and as far as i know it still works good. got it for 40 bucks

[JoshDub]

I have a craftsman a well. Works fine for me.

[seanj130]

craftsman handed down to me from my grandfather. 29years+ running strong.

[Sharkfin]

I got the craftsmen for 80-90 bucks from Sear's, I've changed wheels over 12 times and it's been a lifesaver. Lifetime warranty as well.

Here is it on the Sear's website, it always goes on sale around xmas: http://www.sears.com:80/shc/s/p_1015...2&blockType=G2

[A4_Mike]

I have been using a Kobalt for many years now with zero issues. In fact, I use quite a bit of Kobalt's line up for my tools. All highly recommended considering the price.

[JMRQuattro]

yea, i know theres threads on torque wrenches, but i want to know what you guys are using. and making a "Poll" is just fun.

im looking for a torque wrench that will do the job, be decent, and not crazy expensive. im not a business, and cant afford Mac/Matco/SnapOn... but i dont want junk *cough*Harborfreight*cough*. I'd like to stay below the $150 mark.

What do you have?
How has it treated you?
Would you buy it again?
What do you recommend?

anything else you want to add about it?

Thanks.

Hey! The only toque wrench I have right now was on sale at Harbor Freight for 10 bucks haha. I've used it a couple times on my wheels so far and it works great, it's a clicker type though. For 10 bucks it's practically worth it if it works one time. One of these days here i'm gonna get a new snap-on torque wrench though. I need a nice new one for school.

[RecklessTuning]

Don't get an auto click one. Get the $30 with the gauge on it. They are more accurate. The others are notorious for over torquing.

[Dan[FN]6262]

I don't know what brand my torque wrench is, my grandfather gave it to me.

But knowing my grandfather, I can't imagine it being anything other than craftsman

[jmw241]

I use a craftsman, works great. However I Have used it on cam maps to wheel bolts. However I lf your going to be getting into the motor at all where perfect torque specs are vital, then I would definitly get a clicking type, craftman works.

[akaEsCo01]

I use Craftsman but you really can't go wrong with Craftsmen, Gearwrench or Snap On. That is the majority of the important tools in my box.

[jayiszraw]

snap-on digital ftw.

[Audi Skate Snow]

I have a snap on rachet style. Expensive but I love it. Then I have a craftsman one as well. Digital is awesome!

[Gallep]

Snap on for me as well. Only because I was a tech working on customer cars and making good money when I had to start buying tools. Now, if I was just a weekend wrench warrior-Craftsman is perfect. Harbor freight is good for dead-blow hammers, pry bars, sockets, and any other type of tool made for impacts. Measuring tools…not so much.

[jmw241]

Not a big fan of digital, I dot trust it and it may need to be calibrated over time. Clicky ftw.

[AudiHere04]

I used Matco...its up there right next to Snap-On

[BARRY]

You should see three stack of torque wrenches I have at home. Clicker types, generally get better with cost. Their longevity as well. I've had about two craftsman and two husky clickers and they all died in less than a year of use. baller snap on digitals last quite a few years. Same with thee other high brand digitals as long a4 you send them out for checkup every year.

My suggestion, get a flex bar type torque wrench from a decent brand you trust. When you feel thee need to upgrade to a clicker or digital spend for a quality item that you will baby. Regular flex arm wrenches will only need to replaced if you really damaged it like running it over with your car. They will last years and take the abuse of being dropped many times. The only benefit to using a clicker or digital is for quicker assembly and bling factor. THEY are also super expensive compared to flex types that can and will do the same job.

[EErie B6]

thanks for the replies and experiences shared so far.

The main use of this one is for swapping wheels, and not so much for motor work. I have a beam type for smaller stuff, but for wheels i would prefer a clicker.

Before posting this poll, i did some digging to see what was out there and what would not break the bank. heres basically what i found...
Kobalt is supposed to be good when it works but seems to have a high failure rate. It supposedly carries a lifetime warranty, but from the sounds of it, ill need it. Supposedly they work great when they work...
Husky is supposed to last pretty decent, but is not very accurate down low. 90 calibration warranty, 1 year parts. not sure how i feel about Husky products though. their origin is kind of mysterious.
Craftsman seems to have decent manual models, but theres a lot of complaints about the handles falling off or sliding and giving false readings. several people claim they have a lifetime warranty, but i think its 1 year like most every other craftsman product with moving parts. Sears has seemed kind of shady about replacing craftsman products lately and i have a feeling they will only stand behind it for 1 year if they think they can get away with it. Those of you who have old ones that still work great... makes me wonder if new craftsman is as good as older stuff... or is the quality slipping a bit now a days? some of their stuff looks kinda cheesy anymore.
S-K has been around for quite a while, but i have no idea of their overall quality reputation. all i know is that i have heard people refer to them as "farmers tools" what ever that means, but i dont think its too good. they also have no website right now (seems kind of shady... its 2010 wtf?) so its kind of hard to get info on their products. no clue as to the warranty. Anyone have any experience with them? good? bad? thoughts?
Gearwrench seems to have a nice product from what i can tell and from some of their other products i have seen. I suspect their product is made by KD Tools as they seem to be a lot alike. no idea about warranty.
KD Tools has a decent looking line up of tq wrenches (for the price point) and is the most open in saying/acting like their wrenches have been calibrated to some degree of accuracy. like i said, they seem like a close cousin to Gearwrench. maybe thats just me though. no idea about warranty, but they seem to be rated pretty well.
other as for this category... SnapOn, Matco, Mac... etc. id love to own any one of these, but its just too much cheddar for me to fork out right now. when i decide to pick up smaller wrenches, i just might step up to the plate though.

comments?

[Dan[FN]6262]

a trq wrench for wheels? I use a airgun, setting 3, and take them off with setting 4 lol

[EErie B6]

lmao.

what happens if 4 does not work?

uniformity is the main thing... warp a set of rotors from improper torquing and you will use a torque wrench too... a while back, i had nice smooth brakes then a local tire shop rotated them for me and now it shakes like a mofo. ...in the future, ill just do it myself.

[lookaught]

I've had three Craftsman shit torque wrenches break. They do not have a lifetime warranty, it is one year. But on the other hand, they are $40 on sale.

Needless to say, I still have a craftsman torque wrench. One day I'll buy a snap on or matco, they are rather expensive though.

A snap on 3/8" ratchet is rated to 140 ft/lb of torque and has unbelievable smooth teeth engagement, and uses a two tooth design. Try doing that with a Craftsman. If I can make one recommendation it is to buy quality ratchets, and they buy the shit craftsman tools for sockets, etc. The ratchets make all the difference, and are well worth the few hundred dollars it will cost to own a few.

[Outerfroggy1]

Mastercraft. But you guys prolly never heard of it outside Canada.
You should see the 5 foot long 3/4 inch torque wrench I have at work, 500 foot pounds FTW.

[manhertm]

Try Craigslist for tools, good hand tools, generally don't wearout.

[lookaught]

Try Craigslist for tools, good hand tools, generally don't wearout.

Definitely. For a few grand you can get a great full toolbox off cl.

[diagnosticator]

I use and recommend Stahlwille torque wrenches. Superior feel and accuracy compared to the brands listed in the pole. I have both 3/8" drive and 1/2" drive 1% calibrations with certificates tracable to primary standards. Besides the known repeatable accuracy without deviation from calibration, the Stahlwille torque wrenches hold the certified accuracy for long periods of use and can be re calibrated easily. Made in Germany. If a certain torque wrench has unknown accuracy that can't be traced to a certified standard, then the torque applied is really unknown as well. I only noticed the "shade tree" limitation after I posted this.

[O2VW1.8T]

I have an electic snap-on, works good but somehow it drains the battery... The only thing i torque is wheels, rods and head bolts. Everything else not really have a pretty good feeling:D

[old guy]

The only thing i torque is wheels, rods and head bolts. Everything else not really have a pretty good feeling:D

I know what you mean. I have a collection of Craftsman, Utica and Proto ft-lb and inch-lb torque wrenches that I rarely use except for wheels, rod bolts and head bolts and I never have issues with under or over tightened bolts.

[JMRQuattro]

S-K has been around for quite a while, but i have no idea of their overall quality reputation. all i know is that i have heard people refer to them as "farmers tools" what ever that means, but i dont think its too good. they also have no website right now (seems kind of shady... its 2010 wtf?) so its kind of hard to get info on their products. no clue as to the warranty. Anyone have any experience with them? good? bad? thoughts?

S-K is awesome! I have a bunch of S-K tools that were hand me downs from my grandfather. His whole set was full of mixed brands but they were all good like snap-on, S-K, Cornwell, Proto, etc. Plus he had a good amount of craftsman. So now that i'm getting tools for school i've been collecting some of his old stuff and buying my own. My tools box is now full of all the brands i just listed including some Mac and Matco.

I'm not sure on torque wrenches, since i haven't used an S-K, but their sockets are really nice and have really tight tolerances just like any of the top end made in USA brands. However, i did hear that they were bought out recently, I think by Stanley Works (someone correct me if i'm wrong). So lets hope that quality stays the same. If not, pawn shopping for older S-K would be the best bet.


EDIT: Oh an apparently S-K is one of the brands that the military uses. My uncle was a gas turbine mechanic in the Navy for 8 years and he said a lot of their supplied shop tools were S-K.

Another EDIT: Yes, S-K was bought out by Stanley Works. Stanley purchased S-K's parent company Facom in 2005, which was based out of France, and acquired S-K Tools as a result.

[lookaught]

I use and recommend Stahlwille torque wrenches. Superior feel and accuracy compared to the brands listed in the pole. I have both 3/8" drive and 1/2" drive 1% calibrations with certificates tracable to primary standards. Besides the known repeatable accuracy without deviation from calibration, the Stahlwille torque wrenches hold the certified accuracy for long periods of use and can be re calibrated easily. Made in Germany. If a certain torque wrench has unknown accuracy that can't be traced to a certified standard, then the torque applied is really unknown as well. I only noticed the "shade tree" limitation after I posted this.

Who does the calibration? Buying a snap on seems like a good choice if only because the trucks can recalibrate them, so you can drop off the wrench at a local mechanic and ask him to have the snap on guy test it. Otherwise you'll have to mail it?

[north door]

Read a magazine (Grassroots Motorsports?) that quoted a test of Harbor Freight, Craftsman, and Snap-On clicker-type torque wrenches. They found very little difference in accuracy, especially at first. Snap-On held their calibration longer, I believe was the only real justification for the additional expense.
The recommendation I use from the article was to release the spring tension on the wrench whenever you are done. In other words, torque your wheel bolts at 100 ft/lbs then reset wrench to 25-30. This was the biggest contributor to keeping calibration longer and in spec.

[Hamotee]

Read a magazine (Grassroots Motorsports?) that quoted a test of Harbor Freight, Craftsman, and Snap-On clicker-type torque wrenches. They found very little difference in accuracy, especially at first. Snap-On held their calibration longer, I believe was the only real justification for the additional expense.
The recommendation I use from the article was to release the spring tension on the wrench whenever you are done. In other words, torque your wheel bolts at 100 ft/lbs then reset wrench to 25-30. This was the biggest contributor to keeping calibration longer and in spec.

I read the same article a few months back, it was very interesting. For what its worth,I have a Kobalt and have been very happy with it for several years now.

[EErie B6]

Read a magazine (Grassroots Motorsports?) that quoted a test of Harbor Freight, Craftsman, and Snap-On clicker-type torque wrenches. They found very little difference in accuracy, especially at first. Snap-On held their calibration longer, I believe was the only real justification for the additional expense.
The recommendation I use from the article was to release the spring tension on the wrench whenever you are done. In other words, torque your wheel bolts at 100 ft/lbs then reset wrench to 25-30. This was the biggest contributor to keeping calibration longer and in spec.

i never thought about that, but logically it makes sense. thank you for pointing that out.

I read the same article a few months back, it was very interesting. For what its worth,I have a Kobalt and have been very happy with it for several years now.

i need to swing into Lowes and see it in person, i stopped in and checked out a Husky today and it seemed like a decent piece.



now... to see if i can dig up that article. thanks for the heads up.

[CardFan]

If you do decide to consider a Craftsman, they are almost always 50% off on Black Friday.

[Sharkfin]

I've had Husky tools and they always ended up crapping out on me with either rust or breaking. Just a forewarning.

[drjonez]

Hit a used tool store, buy a GOOD one- Snap-On, Matco or Mac. Then find a local lab and have it calibrated....you should come in around your $150 mark.

[BARRY]

kobalt? lifetime warrenty on their torque clicker wrench? you just sold me.

[EErie B6]

kobalt? lifetime warrenty on their torque clicker wrench? you just sold me.

double check that to be sure, im just going off what i read from searching online. ...but yea, when i read that, i almost jumped in the car to snatch one myself.


as far as quality is concerned, in the sup $150 category KD/Gearwrench who did in fact turn out to be the same company/product, appears to be the most accurate/durable. when it comes to a "new" tool.


Im liking the idea that a few suggested in going with a premium brand used tool and having it recal'd... after all, a new tool becomes "used" almost as soon as you unwrap it.