7
The day I stopped using impact wrenches on lug nuts after a rotor fell apart on I-94
Switched to hand torquing everything for my fleet customers in Detroit when I saw a wheel separate at 65 mph, who else has seen cheap impacts kill rotors?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
jake98619d agoMost Upvoted
Wait, a whole rotor literally fell apart? Like pieces of it were flying off on the highway? I've seen some cheap chinese knockoff rotors get cracks before but never had one actually disintegrate while driving. That must have sounded insane when it happened. Honestly surprised the whole wheel didn't just lock up or come off completely.
8
carter.casey19d ago
Has anyone checked if those impacts are actually torquing past spec or just rattling things loose? Cheap impacts often deliver way more ugga dugga than advertised, which can overstress rotors and cause cracks. I've seen impacts that claim 500 ft-lbs actually put out closer to 700 on a good day.
4
olivia39819d ago
Yeah I actually read something about this on a mechanic forum a while back. Some guy tested a few cheap impacts with a torque stick and found his 650 ft-lb rated one was hitting 870 cold out of the box. That's a lot of extra stress on rotors that are already thin from wear. I figure that's probably what happened here, just too much ugga dugga on a rotor that was already borderline.
8