Lug nut torque

[Chasander]

What is the proper lug nut torque for OEM wheels on a 63 Riviera. I do not want tire guys using impact wrench set at 200#

 

Chuck

Edited July 25, 2016 by Chasander (see edit history)

[Seafoam65]

                    I would go with 90 foot lbs.

[Guest Kaber]

Don't forget to tell them the Driver's side lugs are left hand thread!!!!!

 

Kaber

[Chasander]

thanks

[Rafz66riv]

On 7/25/2016 at 9:03 AM, Seafoam65 said:

                    I would go with 90 foot lbs.

What that be the same for a 66?

[EmTee]

I use 100 ft-lbs on my '67.

[60FlatTop]

I tighten mine to the satisfaction of an experienced fitter with a 10" tommy bar.

[Riv Eng]

Two ugga-dugga's on the impact gun is precisely what you need

[RivNut]

The first and second generation Rivieras have 1/2 x 20 thread size, coned nuts, and steel wheels.  This charts says 90 - 120 lbs.

 

[gungeey]

Factory Service Manual is anyone is so inclined

 

Edited January 22, 2023 by gungeey
Better pic (see edit history)

[EmTee]

65 - 85 (20 ft-lbs.) seems like a pretty wide range...  That's ~25% tolerance!  That said, my arm thinks that 65 ft-lbs is really not enough.  The last time I checked, my calibrated arm yielded 90~100 ft-lbs.  I have used 100 ft-lbs for years now, since I began using a torque wrench on lug nuts.  FYI, both my '04 Silverado and my wife's '13 Equinox specify 140 ft-lbs.  I use my long-handled breaker bar to loosen those! 

[gungeey]

👍 Tighter= Better

[EmTee]

There was an old guy with a '68 Pontiac who was a semi-regular customer at my best friend's father's garage.  As I recall, he left a tire for repair and when he came to pick it up he parked his car at the street corner and put it on himself.  I can still see him tightening the lug nuts using the jack-handle lug wrench with what must have been a 3~4 foot piece of galvanized pipe on the handle.  To this day, I don't know how he managed to do that without snapping the studs...

[65VerdeGS]

On 1/22/2023 at 9:11 AM, EmTee said:

There was an old guy with a '68 Pontiac who was a semi-regular customer at my best friend's father's garage.  As I recall, he left a tire for repair and when he came to pick it up he parked his car at the street corner and put it on himself.  I can still see him tightening the lug nuts using the jack-handle lug wrench with what must have been a 3~4 foot piece of galvanized pipe on the handle.  To this day, I don't know how he managed to do that without snapping the studs...

Doing that might not break the studs but will stretch them enough so they will fail at some point in the future.  The factory likely built in a tolerance for over-tightening, but best to keep to the recommended torque values.

[60FlatTop]

There is no torque specification for 3/4" NPT. But it slides right over the handle nicely.

[NTX5467]

The factory service manual spec is pretty much in-line with many other brands of cars of the 1960s, by observation.  Even up until aluminum wheels came into the mix.  My '77 Camaro specs "90", though.

 

The later model cars usually spec closer to "140", but they ALL have aluminum wheels on them.  Not sure why the difference, but it's there.  And the later OEM alloy wheels have very thick lug nut holes, too.

 

NTX5467