Impact wrench or driver to change a wheel?

[Diver Fred]

Don't use an Impact Driver to tighten wheel nut/bolts up. Instead buy yourself a Torque wrench (50 to 150ft-lbs) and use that. The car handbook will quote the recommended torque setting (typically 80ft-lbs/110 Newton metres).
it's OK to use the impact driver to remove wheel nuts.

 

[johnny2007]

That's not so bad. I inherited a proper floor jack (not sure if ideally I need 2?)... I was mentally extrapolating how long it takes to change a flat at the side of the road in the dark, in the rain!

In that scenario, without the floor jack, possibly 15 minutes for 1 wheel.
That's assuming your boot is empty.
Most boots are packed with useless rubbish.
I keep the breakers bar (750mm from ffx for £25) in my boot.
I saved the day for a couple of drivers stuck with nuts torqued with non calibrated impact wrenches.
The tyre place I use gets them calibrated to 120Nm which covers most cars, I checked with my torque wrench.
When they get larger cars or vans, they check the torque online and use a torque wrench.
Unfortunately this doesn't happen in most garages.

 

[pcaouolte]

Just to head off topic, as usual........
I haven't been the victim of road rage, but a mate has.......
I don't know the full details but some dude (BMW driver) stopped my mate on a dual carriageway slip road, ran down to my mate carrying a large hammer He was out of control, apparently.
If there's nutters like this around, maybe a metal bar in the door pocket may give you an edge?
Any comments?
John

If you give that explanation when a copper asks why you have an offensive weapon in the door pocket you are likely to end up in a world of trouble. I carry one of those extending wheel bars but it is under the floor of the boot, with the spare wheel, it isn't a weapon it is clearly a tool to change a wheel.

If a nutter runs towards you with a hammer simply drive off, away from the nutter.

 

[MisterBoy]

If a nutter runs towards you with a hammer simply drive off, away from the nutter.

Absolutely... And ensure your doors are locked.
The best fight is one you avoid, etc.

I can understand the desire for a defence weapon to maybe brandish at someone so they back off but if someone is running at you with a hammer, now you face having to use it for real against someone who is willing to attack you with a hammer. And even if you are defending yourself, "I hit him with this weapon I keep in the door" is liable to get you on assault charges.
I reckon pepper spray would be better, or similar defensive item?

 

[Fultonius]

Unfortunately, even in these days of heighten 'elf 'n safety too many tyre fitters rely on rattle guns with scant regard for the correct torque specified by the car manuf.

This annoys the **** out of me. We've got what is otherwise a decent tyre fitter nearby but they rattle the **** out the bolts. I was there one day they were doing and mentioned something about torque specs, so the guy picked up on this and went round checking the torques - obviously they as just "clicked" immediately as they were totally over-torqued.

When I got home I got the big breaker bar out, loosened and re-torqued them properly. When correctly torqued I can loosen them with a fairly standard sized bar. On our T4, if I swap the summer to winter wheels and torque them myself, they come off ok after 6 months use. After the garage has done them I need an 800mm breaker bar!!

I'm kind of surprised we don't see more wheel nut failures...

 

[norseman]

Probably better off with a spray, I believe such things are available.
I'm unsure as to the legality of such devices, the key phrase when it comes to self-defence is 'proportional response'

 

[Burnerman]

Believe me, I’m the last guy in the world to go looking for bother......35 years in a tough comprehensive school taught me that. I’ve seen enough aggression to last me a lifetime.
If a guy comes after you with a hammer, I’d guess the window would be the first to go in - a truly terrifying prospect.
Here’s hoping it never happens!
John

 

[Mottie]

I reckon pepper spray would be better, or similar defensive item?

You will have absolutely no defence if caught in possession of pepper spray. I knew a bouncer that got caught carrying it and he got a spell in jail for carrying it. I think he was done under some firearms act?

Edit: That was about 25 years ago though so maybe things have changed now?

 

[MisterBoy]

Believe me, I’m the last guy in the world to go looking for bother......35 years in a tough comprehensive school taught me that. I’ve seen enough aggression to last me a lifetime.
If a guy comes after you with a hammer, I’d guess the window would be the first to go in - a truly terrifying prospect.
Here’s hoping it never happens!
John

I've seen videos of car windshields withstanding sledgehammers. That's why you need a special tool to break it if heaven forbid you are ever stuck in a river... Same tool the thieves use. Side topic but everyone should have one (with seatbelt cutter)

But if someone is coming towards me with a hammer, I am not going to front up to them with a little wrench... I'm running away and I couldn't care less what anyone thinks!!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I'm kind of surprised we don't see more wheel nut failures...

I had a Celica and the first time I took the wheels off, I noticed how sloppy the wheel nuts were on the threads. The threads in the nuts had been torn by overtightening. They were only just holding the wheels on. Luckily, the nuts were softer than the studs - all I needed to do was buy and fit new nuts all round.

 

[MisterBoy]

So if I am the only one changing my wheels, could I normally avoid needing the bar after the first time I get them all loose, if I don't over tighten? Or do they tend to stick over the months?
Clearly I need a bar anyway in case, I'm just wondering if I would need it every time. The torque specified is actually quite low so as someone said much earlier it seems I could use my regular driver to do most of the work, and would be advised to get a torque wrench that lets me properly control... Which is a tool I've been considering anyway

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

So if I am the only one changing my wheels, could I normally avoid needing the bar after the first time I get them all loose, if I don't over tighten? Or do they tend to stick over the months?

Yes. After they have been on a while, you tend to need just a bit more leverage to undo them. For such times, I carry a short bit of steel tube, to slip over the car's wheel brace, just to give a little more leverage to release them, but never to tighten them. I also find alloy wheels tend to 'weld' themselves to the hub, making them near impossible to get off at the roadside. The work-around, once you get the wheel off, is to smear copper-slip on the hub mating surface to prevent it happening.

The easy way to get them off, when they have 'welded' themselves on, is to undo the nuts by a turn, then drive the car jerkily back a forth, jamming the brakes on, until they release.

 

[MisterBoy]

The easy way to get them off, when they have 'welded' themselves on, is to undo the nuts by a turn, then drive the car jerkily back a forth, jamming the brakes on, until they release.

Or lend the car to Grandma

 

[cdbe]

I've got one of these, plugs into 12v socket. Strange how it works - it spins until some kind of clutch engages then delivers a "knock" and repeats till the nut loosens.

Did 4 out of 5 nuts recently (blown on by tyre place) but wouldn't touch the suspension arm nut when I had to change a back spring, so I wouldn't rely on it without a bar for backup.

 

[Avocet]

I've seen videos of car windshields withstanding sledgehammers. That's why you need a special tool to break it if heaven forbid you are ever stuck in a river... Same tool the thieves use. Side topic but everyone should have one (with seatbelt cutter)

But if someone is coming towards me with a hammer, I am not going to front up to them with a little wrench... I'm running away and I couldn't care less what anyone thinks!!

The windscreens are almost always laminated these days. A sheet of glass, glued to a really tough layer of flexible plastic and another sheet of glass on the inside. There are no tools tht will break a laminated windscreen to allow you out of a submerged car quickly!

The side windows are almost always toughened glass. These will take quite a beating, but can't handle a very concentrated point impact. "Glass hammers" are available for breaking those. Once they break, they shatter into thousands of tiny fragments and you can easily put your foot / fist through them to make an escape hole (albeit that you will get small cuts and scratches in dong so).