Tightening alloy wheels

[guest4132]

As I mentioned in an earlier post I am buying a second set of alloys and already have a set of winter tyres so I should be all set up for winter when it arrives.  I have never owned a torque wrench but now seems like a good time to change that.  The handbook states 108N-m whatever that means.  Does anyone have any recommendations for a simple torque wrench that will enable me to swap wheels on the Jazz twice a year?

Prices online seem to vary from peanuts to really silly money and I am finding it hard to see what makes a good occasional use torque wrench. 

I have a socket set with 1/4" and 3/8" drives but most for cars seem to need 1/2" drives. I am not quite sure of the wheel nut size as both my 3/4" and 19mm sockets seem to fit perfectly!
 
Any advice or experience would be appreciated..

[guest255]

I have a Halfords 1/2" torque wrench which I have used for many years no problem.

108 Nm refers to the torque setting which stands for Newton metre.

Most torque wrenches have two scales Nm and lb-ft.

Ive used a 19mm socket no problem

[Garyman]

I bought a Silverline Torque wrench from Amazon which was only £15.45 delivered (currently £17.95)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000LFTSG6/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They do fluctuate in price and at one time it was £14 so just depends how soon you want them. They were £14 when i started looking but the following week when i wanted to purchase, it was £21 so i didnt buy them then over a course of 4 weeks, it fluctuated between £16-£22 until it went down to £15.45 when i hit buy lol

I change my wheels quite regularly so I should definitely should had purchased this a long time ago

[guest869]

Probably a good idea to check the accuracy and repeatability of these cheap torque wrenchs. It is quite easy to do by hanging a weight off the handle.

Repeat it several times and see if you get the same answer.

The 3/4" and 19mm sockets are actually different sizes but as you say will go on. The  Honda is metric so use the 19mm.

[guest4132]

Thanks for those comments.  Most helpful.  I have ordered a Silverline one and will see how I get on.  At a quarter of the price of the Halford's Pro I am not expecting miracles but for use twice a year I hope it will be accurate enough.  It had quite a good rating and was the joint budget choice in the Autoexpress reviews a few years ago.

[guest1232]

As a brief explanation, 1 foot pound means a 1 pound weight hung 1 foot from the bolt. So for a 20 foot pound torque setting, you could hang a 10 pound weight 2 feet from the bolt or a 20 pound weight 1 foot etc.
Most torque wrenches are pretty accurate these days, you only need to spend silly money if you are using them every day for critical applications such as cylinder head bolts on all alloy engines.