What tools are required to torque a wheel?

To torque a wheel, one should have a jack and a torque wrench. Though not efficient, a lug wrench can also be used to torque a wheel. If properly torqued, a vehicle has minimal risks of brake damage, stud distortion and eventual wheel loss.

Torque refers to the amount of force needed to tighten a wheel lug nut. To torque a wheel means to tighten a wheel lug nuts by applying specific amount of force. Various vehicles have different torque value requirements. Mostly, torque is measured in pound-feet. For instance, if a person applies 200 pounds of force to a 1-foot long wrench, the torque is 200 pound-feet.

A torque wrench is necessary for proper torqueing because an individual can manually set it to apply specific torque amount. Torqueing involves raising the vehicle with a jack so the tires don't exert any pressure on the ground, setting the torque wrench to half the required torque and tightening all the wheel lug nuts with a torque wrench. To complete the process, one should lower the vehicle and tighten the nuts to the specified torque. In emergency situations where a torque wrench is not available, a lug wrench can be used instead of a torque wrench. However, a lug wrench does not limit the amount of force applied to the lug nuts, and may lead to either undertightening or overtightening of the nuts.