Torque Wrench Recommendations

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Delphinus

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#270218 28-Apr-2020 19:11

I have been meaning to get a torque wrench for maintenance on my motorbike etc. I see supercheapauto have 25% off at the moment, so these are around $100.

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/toledo-toledo-torque-wrench-1-2-drive/540764.html?cgid=SCN01050405

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/toolpro-toolpro-torque-wrench-1-2-drive/565734.html?cgid=SCN01050405

Or am I better getting something more expensive like https://nzsafetyblackwoods.co.nz/en/teng-1-2dr-torque-wrench-l-r-40-210nm-30-150ft-lb-each--02977660 for twice the price?

Or something else? I prefer to buy quality and keep it for a while. But I'm also not a full time mechanic.

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#2472989 28-Apr-2020 19:35

I wasn't too fused and go this a few months back:

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/craftright-4-piece-torque-wrench-set_p0044697

k1w1k1d

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#2472993 28-Apr-2020 19:45

What range of torque settings do you need on a motorbike?

You may be better off with a 3/8" torque wrench?

Delphinus

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#2472998 28-Apr-2020 19:52

Axle nuts, 51 and 98Nm.
Cylinder head screws: 25
Down to 10 in some places.

frankv

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#2473027 28-Apr-2020 20:38

The problem with torque wrenches is that they need recalibrating regularly. And I bet that cheap Chinese ones aren't accurate to start with.

Delphinus

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#2473029 28-Apr-2020 20:39

Do you have a better suggestion on what I can use to torque things up correctly? How do you calibrate torque wrenches?

Jase2985

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#2473041 28-Apr-2020 21:03

Delphinus:

Do you have a better suggestion on what I can use to torque things up correctly? How do you calibrate torque wrenches?

you dont unless you have specialist equipment

you take it somewhere and they do it for you ($)

unless its for an aircraft most decent brand off the shelf ones will be fine and reasonably accurate.

we use norbar at work

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Delphinus

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#2473045 28-Apr-2020 21:07

Jase2985:

unless its for an aircraft most decent brand off the shelf ones will be fine and reasonably accurate.

we use norbar at work

Good to know, thanks. What brands count as "decent"? I'm guessing norbar yes, supercheapauto stuff (Toledo, ToolPRO), not so much?

Ge0rge

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#2473061 28-Apr-2020 22:03

We've got SnapOn ($$$$) and Norbar ($$) at work. They fly through yearly calibration with no adjustment required, some would easily be ten years old.

Couple of the lads have brought Teng ($) for their own kits, and have them calibrated yearly too when the dude comes around. They seem to pass ok without adjustment or offsets required. Couple of different sizes too, N Cm up to over 1000Nm.

Dial111

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#2473085 29-Apr-2020 06:22

No need for a fancy one unless you earn a living with it like a tyre shop, you won’t need to have it recalibrated as often either as I’m guessing your use case will be very little in comparison to a tyre shop who will recalibrate every 6-12 months.

Jase2985

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#2473086 29-Apr-2020 06:36

my biggest learning point was to always out the wrench back to zero when finished. takes the pressure of the working bits

RunningMan

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#2473089 29-Apr-2020 07:13

Jase2985:

my biggest learning point was to always out the wrench back to zero when finished. takes the pressure of the working bits

This. Even the really cheap ones can be OK, as long as they are maintained properly.

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Bung

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#2473090 29-Apr-2020 07:14

Deflecting beam style torque wrenches avoid that problem. Aus prices for Warren & Brown are attractive.

Senecio

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#2473134 29-Apr-2020 09:01

I still think that Kinchrome hand tools represent great value for money for the home workshop. Decent quality at an affordable price.

For your purpose I think a 3/8" drive would be more versatile provided you have socket that fit 3/8".

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/kincrome-3-8-drive-torque-wrench-mtw80f_p0227820

Jase2985

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#2473161 29-Apr-2020 09:46

im just using a Teng Tools 40-200Nm one at home mainly for work on the car.

Mehrts

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#2473182 29-Apr-2020 10:22

A few years ago I bought a Mechpro branded torque wrench from Repco, it's the exact same as that Craftwright unit from Bunnings which was linked a few posts above.

We have torque testers at work, so I took it in one day to see how accurate it was. Well bugger me, for a cheap 1/2" drive torque wrench, it was reading pretty much bang-on throughout its entire range!

If I were you, I'd invest in two torque wrenches. One for low-level stuff, say 5-25NM, then a bigger one say, 25-200NM. Reason for that, is the accuracy tends to drop off at the upper & lower limits of the torque range. By having two torque wrenches, you confidently cover most ranges of automotive torque requirements.

My 2c 😉

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