Re: wheel torquing, air guns, and litigation (rated:pg13)

["Mike Miller" <JoMi@email.msn.com>]

I have seen these at the local Midas shop. The shafts are all different
diameters and will not apply further toreque when a specific torque is
reached. They seemed to have just about all sizes in most settings. BTW,
they did not do any work on my Audi  :-)

mike miller
91 200q


-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa Schiefer <seast@home.com>
To: Q list <quattro@coimbra.ans.net>
Date: Thursday, July 09, 1998 1:25 PM
Subject: wheel torquing, air guns, and litigation (rated:pg13)


When I had new tires (Dunlop D60 A2's- I'm up to 10 or 12 of these now) put
on my girlfriend's 240 Volvo, I noticed the mechanic attaching the wheels
with
an air gun, so I politely asked him to hand torque them instead. He showed
me
some attachments that looked like nothing more than various lengths and
diameters of iron, that supposedly limit the torque the air gun can deliver.
I
convinced myself that I understood while thinking " how the heck does that
work?". He never did re- torque by hand, incidentally. Was I bamboozled? It
seems plausible a torque limiting device could be attached to an air gun,
but
I would expect it to be more clutch or gear like in its design.
BTW, I photographed (what I do) a lawyer who successfully sued a wheel
manufacturer that didn't have torque specs on the wheel. His client's wife
was
killed when an over- torqued wheel cracked, flew off a nearby car, and flew
through their window. Their argument was if tire manufactures print
inflation
specs on the side walls, wheels should have torque specs.
food for thought, eh?
Shane East