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Can someone tell me how? I went to the shop today to buy a torque wrench but they asked if I want 1/2" or 3/8" one, I had no idea so I left. I was told there is a certain pattern to do this? Isnt it as easy as just attaching my lugnut attachment to the end of the wrench, attach to the lugnuts and tighten till its tight?

A friend of mine said it has to be set to hondas recommended setting. How do you tell this when youre just using a wrench?

 
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You can get either one just make sure you get the right socket size for you lugnuts and for the wrench to. Now I forget how much torque lugnuts need but its like 60 something or around thru there ft/lbs. Now you don't need to go by the torque specs. You can just easily get you a 4 way lug wrench and just tighten them down till they are pretty tight

 
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If you did it this way, most people would over torque their lug nuts. Over tightening them leads to a couple of problems.

Do you have any sockets of your own? This will tell you what size torque wrench to get. You will probably need the 3/8 size, but that depends on whether or not you have sockets.

From experience or you're just guessing.

 
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That size of torque wrench you choose is based on the sockets you use, do you currently own a tool set?

Torque wrenches aren't all set the same, have the guy at the store show you how.

On an administrative note, if your going to create threads on this forum please put thought into where your creating them. The threads in the DIY sub-forums are instructional articles, not questions.

 
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get a 1/2 inch they tend to be longer for better leverage and you first hand tighten the lug nuts then torque them down in a criss cross star patternto 80ft lbs

 
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http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=h...0&tx=84&ty=111

hope that helps with the torque pattern.. all you need now is how much ft/lbs you have to set the torque wrench to..

 
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A torque wrench is basically like a socket wrench - it needs a set of sockets which can fit over bolts.

Civic OEM lug nuts have a 19mm hex. This means you need a 19mm socket. You can buy individual sockets or a whole metric set at Sears, Home Depot, Lowe's, or your neighborhood hardware/auto parts stores.

The 3/8'' and 1/2'' drive refer to the size of the square drive that mates the socket with the wrench. It is not a big deal which you choose. If you plan on doing more work on your car, a 3/8'' socket set goes to smaller sizes and will cover a majority of bolts on your car. A 1/2'' drive would be recommended for tackling larger engine and drivetrain bolts.

Example socket set with standard, deep drive, an extension, and a socket wrench:


Note on hand-torquing. Civic bolts need around 70-80 ft-lbs. This means that with a 1-foot long lever arm, you put 80 lbs of force on the end of the wrench to tighten the bolt. This is tight, but it is easy to overdo it. Do NOT use your full body weight. If you are ever turning the bolt but the force is not rising (seems to level off), this means you are starting to deform the threads.