Coley Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 In my experience of working on cars and trucks over the last 52 years, TORQUE has always been expressed as "foot pounds" or "inch pounds".But now on some automotive commercials and shows they keep refering to "pounds feet".What gives and when was this changed?? Pounds feet sounds stupid.What do ya think?:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 It hasn't changed for me and never will. Ever shop manual I have torque is expressed as FT-lbs and never once I've seen it as lbs-ft. It's probably the same group that all likes to say a car "needs restored" or has new breaks or a new cadillac convertor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moskowitz Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Got me curious too and did a quick Google. It sounds to me it is like the baseball deal with RBI versus RBI's Someone decided that since there were multiple foot pounds being measured that it should be feet pounds or pounds feet. Your right, sounds goofy and my torque wrench says foot pounds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhigdog Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 FEET WRENCHES! WE DON"T NEED NO STINKING FEET WRENCHES! Just pull on the wrench until the bolt snaps and then back off................Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moskowitz Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I've apparently followed your advice before Bob... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVE A Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 To be totally technical, torque is correctly expressed in pounds-feet (or pound -foot) in order to differentiate torque from energy which is in foot-pounds although they are often used interchangeably in the case of torque. One pound-foot of torque is created by a one pound force acting at a perpendicular distance of one foot from a pivot point (such as a torque wrench 1 foot long using one pound of force). One foot pound is the energy transferred on applying a force of one pound through a displacement of one foot. Now if you understand all of that you are either an engineer or crazy which is also sometimes used interchangably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 LOL, you's guys is funny!Put a milk weighing hanging type farm scale one foot from the center of the bolt to that 12 inch spot in the wrench and pull until proper torque is noted. Thus the term, "Foot Pounds" 70 LBS of milk is one super good milk cow, and a keeper at that. :cool: Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastertech Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I am at work right now doing a jeep 3.8 engine and everthing is in newton-meters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Paraphrasing from a 1917 Pullman Owner's Manual..."Head bolts should be snug but when tightening be careful to stop just before they break." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moskowitz Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Melvin, precisely why when first I worked in a dealership I was a grease monkey, later I became a mechanic and still later as a service manager my guys were technicians! Totally correct it may be newton meters or Olivia Newton John or whatever but most of us grew up with foot pounds or inch pounds. Some dogs never learn a new trick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Pounds/feet makes no sense, linguistically. It is either pounds or feet but it cannot be both. We had a similar discussion on the HAMB. I went to my shop and looked at all four of my torque wrenches. All say ft/lb or in/lb on the scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bkazmer Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 it's not lb/ft, ft/lb or in/lb. It's a force times a distance, so any combination of these is "correct."so I guess the Aussie singer's torque rating could be two newton-feet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Green Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Just pull on the wrench until the bolt snaps and then back off................BobI good mechanic will listen for the “crack” then stop prior to the bolt breaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I believe it is an affectation that certain, pretentious, people have taken up to make themselves sound smarter than they actually are. Kinda like saying that you were "gifted" something or pronouncing endive as "ohndeeve". Then there's Madonna and her bogus English accent. Golly, it makes her sound so urbane and sophisticated. I think I'll do it too.It's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knobless Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 It hasn't changed for me and never will. Ever shop manual I have torque is expressed as FT-lbs and never once I've seen it as lbs-ft. It's probably the same group that all likes to say a car "needs restored" or has new breaks or a new cadillac convertor.LOL know exactly what you mean...........hahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knobless Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 it's not lb/ft, ft/lb or in/lb.It's a force times a distance, so any combination of these is "correct."so I guess the Aussie singer's torque rating could be two newton-feetor two fig newtons...................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knobless Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I believe it is an affectation that certain, pretentious, people have taken up to make themselves sound smarter than they actually are. Kinda like saying that you were "gifted" something or pronouncing endive as "ohndeeve". Then there's Madonna and her bogus English accent. Golly, it makes her sound so urbane and sophisticated. I think I'll do it too.It's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snideya right, she's from Mich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 ya right, she's from Mich.Must be a UPer;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 In my experience of working on cars and trucks over the last 52 years, TORQUE has always been expressed as "foot pounds" or "inch pounds".But now on some automotive commercials and shows they keep refering to "pounds feet".What gives and when was this changed?? Pounds feet sounds stupid.What do ya think?:confused:I think you should have stayed awake in high school physics class, where you would have heard the correct term pounds-feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Fizzicks???? Hell, I took auto shop, metal shop and enough "hard" classes to gradiate. Wanna hear me cypher?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Simmons Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I gotcha ya'all beat I got torque wreenchs thet sez feet on one side an newtons on tuther so it don't matter none em bolts snap off jus the same. An don't ya goan mix up itches anfoots cuz em small guys ull bustoff afor you get a secont pullon em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I was thinking Fig Newton-Meters too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I've never heard pound feets but I've heard feet pound.And since when do figs go with meaters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Sometimes it's fun to start an argument. Which is more accurate and repeatable, a simple "pointer" style torque wrench or a Snap-On type "click" style torque wrench? "Pounds-feet" is the more correct usage but only physicists and some engineers would really care. Anyone else remember when the US of A was all set to go metric in 1980? I remember many gas pumps being converted to litres in anticipation of the big change which apparently never happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Old48Truck Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 My head hurts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhigdog Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 My wrenches are calibrated in beers per hour........................Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bkazmer Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 and as a physicist I'm sure you just love the engineering fudge factor gc to convert "pounds mass" to "pounds force" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coley Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 LOL You fellas are great. At 69 years old I am not about to change, but thanks for the info... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I do not worry over much about mixed units and can deal with them in turn. In my professional life, I normally work with SI units but the mass unit in traditional units is the SLUG. One pound will accelerate 1 slug at 1 foot per second per second. Just like 1 newton will accelerate 1 kilogram at 1 meter per second per second. Gravity produces a force on masses (kind of what gravity is) and has to be taken into account as needed.F=dMdt reduces to F=Ma in the non-relativistic world and works fine when I am dealing with cars.:eek: And how much does a Slug weigh??? ..... Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 At earth gravity, a Slug weighs about two stones four.Ahhh, but of course. And less on the Moon and Mars, and more on Jupiter assuming it survives the ride to the surface. :cool: Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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