Is it possible to warp your rotors by over-torquing your lugs?
- Thread starter Purebred
- Start date
nickthegenius
Active Member
Yes. I haven't seen too much about it on here, but when I was into the LS1 F-bodies, that was a very common problem with those cars. Luckily, niether one of mine ever had that happen.
Most of the cases I remember people posting was when they would take it in somewhere for tires or a tire rotation and they would install the lugnuts with an airgun.
Most of the cases I remember people posting was when they would take it in somewhere for tires or a tire rotation and they would install the lugnuts with an airgun.
ya a kid in my auto class last summer did it. he had a ugly ass 99+ v6 with a body kit and roush wheels and brakes. $7k on the car and only put on a CAI, but thats another story. anyway, we were discussing torquing things down properly and he said something to the effect of "well i use a airgun that stops at the proper setting" later in lab we discovered he put his directional tyres on backwards, and warped one of his roush rotors. use a torque wrench to be super accurate or at least a torque stick. i always use a click type torque wrench mostly because im super anal about stuff like that.
damacman
Member
You bet, it is also possible to get your girlfriend pregnant if you kiss her while she is wearing a bikini.
Marine One
New Member
BullittAndy said:
I disagree. I experienced classic symptoms of rotor warpage after having tires balanced on my 95 GT a few years back. The problem wasn't there before the balancing and was there immediately afterward. I took the car back to the shop and the owner swore up and down it couldn't have happened there, how careful all of his mechanics were, etc. The next day I pulled the rotors myself and had them turned. The guy who turned them said each one was out some. When I reinstalled the rotors the problem was completely gone. I don't understand why technicians don't take the extra few minutes to use a torque wrench and properly tighten lug nuts. I carry mine in my trunk just for lugnuts.
FallenPhoenix
New Member
merc123 said:I'm gonna callon it warping. Think about it, where are you putting all the pressure? The center of the rotor. How can you warp a rotor if you push evenly on all 5 sides of the center?
If they just tightened them one at a time in a circle and didn't snug them down then go back to tighten them in a star pattern couldn't it do that?
the wheels dont even meet against the "braking part" of the rotor...they meet against the part of the rotor that goes over the hub assembly.....i use the torques sticks because it is company policy but i fully believe it is BS! and if you bolt the wheel lug nuts down in a criss cross pattern it evenly distributes the torque
StngStr
Member
Modular2v said:
This guy hit it on the head. The lugs are on the raised section of the rotor that goes on the hub. If anything warped, it would be that section, not the braking surface.
I'm saying
on brake warping from over tightening lug nuts. Stop driving through water puddles when your brakes are hot as hell. That's how they get warped.Ford includes a bold print warning in their shop manual to the effect that tightening the lugs in other than a star pattern may warp the rotors. It's not the amount of torque; it is how it is applied and distributed. Merc123 and Modular2V have it right. If you tighten evenly and in stages, even too high a torque value is not going to warp anything.
It's the same principle that guides how you tighten cylinder head bolts, valve cover bolts, etc.
It's the same principle that guides how you tighten cylinder head bolts, valve cover bolts, etc.
I could be wrong as I am a weekend Mech, but distortion in rotors is usually caused by rapid heating and cooling, such as heavy breaking and then cooling the rotors in a puddle of water. However I never heard of actually distorting rotors by over tightening the bolts??? And anyone who is tightening bolts in a circular pattern, should ask someone that knows that this is something that should never be done. You should always tighten in a star pattern or random pattern but not circular...
Thats my two cents..
Thats my two cents..
Skud
Member
merc123 said:When we overtorque on the race car it pulls the studs out
My ex-boss had that happen on his 99 F-150. The shop overtightened the lugs and his rear driver-side wheel fell off going 70 on the highway. The studs were pulled right out of the hub.
Riley
crew_dawg16
New Member
Whenever I put wheels back onto my car I never use a torque wrench. Sometimes I use a 4-way lug wrench, or if I am at the shop, I use an impact wrench. Never had a problem with warping rotors. Its all in the pattern, baby.
Riding your brakes will warp them from constant over-heating of the rotor. So will driving real hard around town and romping on your brakes repeatedly.
If any of you watch NASCAR, sometimes they have the little camera in the wheel well that shows the brakes, this is especially cool on night races when you can see just how hot the rotors get. Granted, we are not doing 180 mph, but it is a good example of what your brakes go through under heavy braking.
Riding your brakes will warp them from constant over-heating of the rotor. So will driving real hard around town and romping on your brakes repeatedly.
If any of you watch NASCAR, sometimes they have the little camera in the wheel well that shows the brakes, this is especially cool on night races when you can see just how hot the rotors get. Granted, we are not doing 180 mph, but it is a good example of what your brakes go through under heavy braking.
I never used a torque wrench either. However, I have realized that when I can stand on the 4-way and them NOT move that the shop that tightened them with an air gun overtightened. I've had to kick the 4-way and bounce on it sometimes to get them loose. I weight around 200 and my kick is about 350+ lbs. Figure that one out.
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