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What torque wrench to buy?



Austin-182

Austin-182

  182
Torque wrench advice needed. I have never owned one but always wanted to add one to my current tool collection.

Im about to do the brakes on my car which i believe the torqe levels range from 17nm to 175nm.
I have had a look at the halfords range because my 200 socket set has been amazing! But they have around 4 different wrenches. I dont know what to go from. Are there any that go from 0-300?

Theres a halfords that does 0-60nm and one that does 60-300nm but it seems crazy having to buy 2 different models. Or is this the norm when it comes to this type of tool?

Thanks all
 
A

alistairolsen

You wont find one that starts from 0, and you'll find every manufacturer will have different sizes covering different ranges due to the way they work internally.

I have the halfords ones for what its worth, the 3/8 and 1/2 inch drive versions and have been very happy with them (find someone with a trade card to order them for you).

For the job you're trying to do, buy the 1/2" drive one which will let you do the stub axle nut and caliper bolts properly. 17Nm is likely for non-critical parts and as long as you're not a total ape, just do them up with a ratchet. 17Nm is approx 1.7kgm, which is probably about 6kg on the end of your 3/8" halfords ratchet (just under 1/3 of a metre long but you can measure to check)
 
mitch1503

mitch1503

  172
Halfords 1/2 60-300 is what iv got, got it with my trade card so a nice lil saving.. It's all you will need tbh
 
L

Lctr

  Civic type r fk8
Make sure it's certified or it's not worth having ,I got a draper one for £30 ,looks like the cheap ones but it's certified and came with test paperwork, so Good as anything for occasion use.
 
Vicky.

Vicky.

  SG9 Forester STi
Lctr said:
Make sure it's certified or it's not worth having ,I got a draper one for £30 ,looks like the cheap ones but it's certified and came with test paperwork, so Good as anything for occasion use.
Click to expand...

Another vote for Draper. Had a draper one for over 8 years and it's still going strong! Good value too.
 
JamesBryan

JamesBryan

ClioSport Club Member
The Halfords 60-300nm one is ok for most things.

As with most budget torque wrenches, they are only really accurate in the middle of their range and not at the low and top end. After that they should still be within +/-3% really, so good enough.

If you wanted to go all out there's some Snap-on tech angle ones on eBay occasionally for a decent price (£300 ish).
 
A

alistairolsen

Tbh, people bang on about accuracy but for hobby use, what's important is not overtorquing small fasteners or ones installed into aluminium and for groups/patterns ensuring they are all at the same torque. Most things done up to a significant torque on modern cars are angle tightened and the torque measurement is almost irrelevant compared to the angle - which most don't bother to measure.
 
Brigsy

Brigsy

ClioSport Club Member
  T.Turbo
I had a Britool torque wrench that give me years of good service until it eventually broke..just upgraded to a snap on techangle which seems great, especially as most engine bits are angle torque these days. You can get them for a reasonable price refurbished off ebay.
 
Vicky.

Vicky.

  SG9 Forester STi
donnylad said:
what % discount does the trade card earn you? I will have to get one!
Click to expand...

It's well worth it for oils, filters etc. We got a battery for the RS6 the other week which would have been £130 but the trade card meant it was around £80 or £90 IIRC.
 
Mr Burns

Mr Burns

ClioSport Club Member
  Swift Sport
I used to repair and service torque wrenches at Britool, and I use a wheel brace.

Just sayin'
 
Clio_fool

Clio_fool

ClioSport Club Member
I have a Norbar pro one that I aquired from work 20 odd years ago and a Silverline on from Amazon. Both are more than capable for the car. AA members get 10% off at halfords too.
 
Louis

Louis

I Park Like a C**t
ClioSport Club Member
I have a norbar one that's ace. They're meant to be one of the best wrenches you can buy (apparently). Had no issues with mine although it's out of calibration now (12 months since but I don't use it daily)

Halfords advanced are rebranded norbar or atleast used to be.
 
mitch1503

mitch1503

  172
If im not mistaken Halfords ones are made by Norbar.. Iv got a cheapy one aswel which iv put on a torque meter bench @ work and its around 3nm out so good enough imo to keep in the car rather than a wheel brace
 
Mr Burns

Mr Burns

ClioSport Club Member
  Swift Sport
Britool and Norbar used to be the same brand too, but that was years ago when I worked for them. I'd strongly advise against buying anything Britool now as it's a Chinese brand that bought the rights to the name after Stanley Tools shut the Britool factory down.
 
Mavez

Mavez

ClioSport Club Member
  Clio & No Megane
Mr Burns said:
Britool and Norbar used to be the same brand too, but that was years ago when I worked for them. I'd strongly advise against buying anything Britool now as it's a Chinese brand that bought the rights to the name after Stanley Tools shut the Britool factory down.
Click to expand...

Interesting, I thought Britool was bought out by Facom a while back and re-branded recently to Expert by Facom, or was that just the Britool Expert line?
 
Mr Burns

Mr Burns

ClioSport Club Member
  Swift Sport
Mavez said:
Interesting, I thought Britool was bought out by Facom a while back and re-branded recently to Expert by Facom, or was that just the Britool Expert line?
Click to expand...
Yes, Facom bought Britool around 2000 and manufacturing ceased at the headquarters in Cannock. They also bought Sykes-Pickavant. The Cannock site became a distribution and service centre for all products under Facom ownership, but then Stanley Tools came along and closed everything which was when we all lost our jobs.
Britool still exists as far as I'm aware but as a cheapo Chinese brand using the Britool name, which I'd personally avoid!

Edit :- Anything with the Britool and Facom logo on should be decent enough as their products seemed pretty good.
 
Mavez

Mavez

ClioSport Club Member
  Clio & No Megane
Mr Burns said:
Yes, Facom bought Britool around 2000 and manufacturing ceased at the headquarters in Cannock. They also bought Sykes-Pickavant. The Cannock site became a distribution and service centre for all products under Facom ownership, but then Stanley Tools came along and closed everything which was when we all lost our jobs.
Britool still exists as far as I'm aware but as a cheapo Chinese brand using the Britool name, which I'd personally avoid!

Edit :- Anything with the Britool and Facom logo on should be decent enough as their products seemed pretty good.
Click to expand...

Cool man, thanks for the info! A lot of my stuff is Facom or Britool Expert/Expert by Facom.

Edit: Sorry you lost your job in the process...
 
Last edited:
B-shaw557

B-shaw557

Mad how much Stanley Black and Decker own (theres a brand ud probs not heard in a while lol)

I've got a little draper 3/8 one I've had for years, always been fine.
Need a 1/2 one really though for the bigger bits/more leverage.

Halfords look decent, always tempted by Snapon/Mac though even though they cost the world.
 
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