Using old tire irons with aluminum rims

[98gpgt]

Do these cars come with teeny tiny tire irons for a specific reason, that is because you're likely to overtighten and possibly crack the aluminum? Therefore is it a bad idea to use such an older iron with my rims?

[Imp558]

The torque spec for your wheels is 100 Ft Lbs, if you have to use a lug wrench in a pinch just try not to kill them and make them all feel the same.

There's a thing people say about over tightening aluminum wheels causing them to warp but I've had many that people had on way to tight and they didn't seem warped to me.

One interesting thing is that when I bought my Regal at least one lug would snap every time I pulled a wheel, I don't know what the PO did to it but after a while I had a baggie of new lugs and lug nuts in the center console .

Edited August 9, 2017 by Imp558

[l67ss]

Hypothetically with the average adult man the factory tire iron will get close to proper tq under normal use

[digitaloutsider]

I've owned nothing but aluminum wheels, and I've never seen anything crack around the lugs. You have a shitty flimsy lug wrench thing because GM is cheap.

 

You should only be using it in emergencies on the side of the road anyway. Outside of that, you need to be using a torque wrench to ensure that they're snugged to the proper 100 ft lbs.

[Psych0matt]

For some reason I thought it was 110 either way, I've only used a torque wrench on my aluminum nuts, I've got a pretty decent feel for ~100lbs and have never had an issue (other than once when I forgot to tighten a wheel, luckily just driving 10mph around campus )

[primergray]

Do these cars come with teeny tiny tire irons for a specific reason, that is because you're likely to overtighten and possibly crack the aluminum? Therefore is it a bad idea to use such an older iron with my rims?

 

Yes...because there's less space in the spare tire well with a tiny spare tire.

[Schurkey]

Clearly you mean "lug nut wrench" instead of "tire iron", as a "tire iron" is for prying the bead of the tire over the lip of the wheel.

[Imp558]

Awww, c'mon, we can tolerate a little of the old tongue. At one time cars did have real tire irons so I kind of think it's cool when people say that. It could be a thing that's local too. A little south of here people say "ride you" instead of "give you a ride". To me those have very different meanings but it's just part of their local dialect.

Edited August 16, 2017 by Imp558

[Galaxie500XL]

I keep a chrome 4-way lug wrench in the car that I've carried around now for over 30 years.

 

I had a bad tire, and discovered the Pontiac Rally II wheels with new lug nuts I'd put on the car a couple of weeks earlier didn't fit the jack handle.

 

Two hours later, I flagged a friend down, changed the tire---and in my frustration on having missed a highly anticipated date because of the delay, did a 450 degree donut on dry pavement---directly in front of an unmarked police car.

 

I was 21 at the time, and very foolish.  It's a wonder the cop didn't take me to jail that night.  I bought the 4-way the next morning, and have kept in in every daily driver I've had since.