Yokohama Avid ST are going away

[clayfoushee]

I don't want to start a controversy here, but I talked to Compomotive 3 or so years ago, and they recommended 65-70 ft/lbs. on their aluminum wheels. That's what I've been using for at least 3 years, and I check them regularly with a torque wrench. They stay tight. I know others here say 90-100.

What led me to check years back was that I had one stud sheer off and another spinning loosely. It had been massively over-torqued by someone else, before I bought the car, which was built in '98. I ended up having to replace a front hub.

[davids2toys]

I don't want to start a controversy here, but I talked to Compomotive 3 or so years ago, and they recommended 65-70 ft/lbs. on their aluminum wheels. That's what I've been using for at least 3 years, and I check them regularly with a torque wrench. They stay tight. I know others here say 90-100.

What led me to check years back was that I had one stud sheer off and another spinning loosely. It had been massively over-torqued by someone else, before I bought the car, which was built in '98. I ended up having to replace a front hub.

No controversy at all, I want the correct info so i can treat my baby the best i can!
As I said, I do have one spinning stud in the front that I cannot torque, do you know if this stud is pressed in , or screwed in with LH threads...it does have an Alllen head! If it is scewed in, i'm thinking I could back it off with vice grips (carefully), red locktight it in , and then try torquing it again.
Any other opinions or fact on this torque spec?

[rdorman]

Torque is not a one size fits all type or situation. Tensile strength, fastner size etc all come into play. Having the same studs (1/2 220,000 psi) all the way around, I torque between 75-85.

Take your loose stud out, clean the stud and the hole (non-chlorinated brake cleaner works well) lock tight red and torque to 77 ft-lbs (double check with wilwood but seems to me that is the spec for torque), of course if you aren't working with wilwood, this may be different!

[rdorman]

Actually I think there where 170,000 PSI... but either way, those numbers where what I got from wilwood and jag. I just crank em down to 80 and forget it. And, I always use anti seize on the studs when bolting the wheels on. Seems to me for a 220,000 1/2 stud the numbers around 100 ft-lbs are about right.

[will butterworth]

is right, don,t over tighten on aluminum rims. Tire places have ruined standard studs on park avenues for me over the years, and they ain,t easy to get out sometimes.Had stud break off on rear of cobra-take chisel cut off back flange and screw it out counter.But you said front, don,t rem.,anyway ,was looking at yoko tires for next buy, well, reckon somewhere else.Will-alabama

[JeepSnake]

In this case, with the aluminum rims, I'd go with Clay's numbers provided by the manufacturer. However, in the absence of information from an OEM on a part, the SAE torque numbers will steer you right. Included is a link to a page with the chart.

If you have a factory service manual for an older model car, it will sometimes have the SAE chart as an appendix. They'll have a note somewhere to the effect that: "When torque value is not supplied in this manual for a specific fastener, refer to the SAE specs herein." It's a handy piece of info.

http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/specs/bolts/SAE_bolts.html

Simply put, the point of torquing the bolt is to either elastically compress the material of the parts being clamped or elastically stretch the material in the bolt, either of which will serve to put the bolt in tension, thus keeping the assembly together.

So many factors can cause torque numbers to vary (lube on the threads, lube on the underside of the bolt head, gasket sealer, corrosion, etc.) that many have dropped torque in favor of actually measuring the bolt elongation. Or, in the case of OEM's, going to "torque-to-yield" bolts, particularly on headbolts. In other words, you tighten the bolt beyond the point where it will spring back to it's original length; once you pass that point, the clamping force will not increase, thus all the headbolts will have a nearly identical clamping force, reducing the chances of warpage and head gasket leaks. (Once a TTY headbolt has been tightened to spec, it goes into the scrap bin when you take it loose. Generally can't reuse them, though some people get away with it at times.)

[davids2toys]

In this case, with the aluminum rims, I'd go with Clay's numbers provided by the manufacturer. However, in the absence of information from an OEM on a part, the SAE torque numbers will steer you right. Included is a link to a page with the chart.

If you have a factory service manual for an older model car, it will sometimes have the SAE chart as an appendix. They'll have a note somewhere to the effect that: "When torque value is not supplied in this manual for a specific fastener, refer to the SAE specs herein." It's a handy piece of info.

http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/specs/bolts/SAE_bolts.html

Simply put, the point of torquing the bolt is to either elastically compress the material of the parts being clamped or elastically stretch the material in the bolt, either of which will serve to put the bolt in tension, thus keeping the assembly together.

So many factors can cause torque numbers to vary (lube on the threads, lube on the underside of the bolt head, gasket sealer, corrosion, etc.) that many have dropped torque in favor of actually measuring the bolt elongation. Or, in the case of OEM's, going to "torque-to-yield" bolts, particularly on headbolts. In other words, you tighten the bolt beyond the point where it will spring back to it's original length; once you pass that point, the clamping force will not increase, thus all the headbolts will have a nearly identical clamping force, reducing the chances of warpage and head gasket leaks. (Once a TTY headbolt has been tightened to spec, it goes into the scrap bin when you take it loose. Generally can't reuse them, though some people get away with it at times.)

Thanks for the link. All I have to do is figure out what I have for studs.
Is there a service manual for our Cobras, sure wiould make things much easier!

[davids2toys]

Torque is not a one size fits all type or situation. Tensile strength, fastner size etc all come into play. Having the same studs (1/2 220,000 psi) all the way around, I torque between 75-85.

Take your loose stud out, clean the stud and the hole (non-chlorinated brake cleaner works well) lock tight red and torque to 77 ft-lbs (double check with wilwood but seems to me that is the spec for torque), of course if you aren't working with wilwood, this may be different!

How would I know I have wilwood?
Is taking the stud out a big process?
I was thinking of using loctite 680, it is supposed to be much stronger than 671, and made for slip fits, which is kind of what it is if the threads are stripped!
Also a little worried about heat in that area, if the loctite was to fail down the road , and it was Torque down...you would have a real situation getting that lug OFF!
680 is also suppose to be less sensitive to heat.

[rdorman]

Just looking at them you should be able to tell if they are wilwood. OEM studs are often pressed in and not threaded in. Red will work fine. The studs on my wilwood rotors are all safety wired so if you have one that is spinning, you may have an OEM style rotor/hub in which case if the stud is spinning, it is buggered and you should replace it. The confusing part is that it has an allen head so that would seem to indicate that it is threaded in. You will just have to get in there and look!