Why You Should Re-Torque Your Wheels 100 Miles After A Tire Rotation

For some, using a torque wrench to properly tighten bolts and nuts is a car thing you have to learn the hard way. While under torquing any automotive component is unwise, loose lug nuts, or lug bolts, are extremely dangerous and can result in the loss of a wheel and tire, leaving you sitting on the side of the road, or worse.

If you've taken your car to a service center for a tire rotation, hopefully they tightened the lug nuts to the proper torque spec when they reinstalled the tires and didn't attempt something dumb in the process. While many tire rotations occur every day, most of them ending with properly torqued lug nuts, professionals recommend re-torquing those lug nuts within the first 100 miles following the service to ensure that the wheels are truly secure and to account for any movement or settling of the lugs.

In addition, the lug nuts/bolts securing your vehicle's wheels should be retorqued about every 5,000 miles and anytime a wheel is removed and reinstalled for any other service. If the wheel was removed, it's critical to torque it properly when it's reinstalled, and you should retorque it at 100 miles or less, just like after a tire rotation.

If you're retorquing your lug nuts at home DIY style, you'll need to find the torque spec for your wheels. Most often, the owner's manual or official online specifications for the car are your best bet. If your car has custom wheels and lug nuts, they may have a different torque spec that you can find in a separate manual.

The only tools you'll need to torque the lug nuts on your car are a suitable torque wrench, a socket that fits your lug nuts, the special socket that fits any locking lug nuts, and perhaps a prying tool to remove the hubcaps if your vehicle has them. It's worth noting that torque wrenches come in a variety of sizes and values. Some read pound-inches while others read in pound-feet, and you'll want a torque wrench that exceeds your wheel's torque spec by at least 20%. For example, you'd want a torque wrench with a maximum torque of 120 pound-feet to tighten your lug nuts to 100 pound-feet of torque.

To retorque your wheels, start by placing your car on a level surface, engage the parking brake, and chock at least one tire in both directions. Set your lug wrench, or mark the indicator scale, to the correct value, and start at the top. From there, work your way around all lug nuts in a star, diagonal, or crossing pattern.