Who "supervises" their car when its being worked on?

[Ben 0]

haha i dunno why i feel like i have to defend myself but f**k it ill take the bait

im not advocating the use or non use of a torque wrench to tighten wheel nuts

but in my experience ive never used one except when i was doing trucks and never had any wheels come off

and of the 20 odd mechanic mates i know its only happened to one of them and that was

during their apprenticeship

As for tire techs, would you trust their torque wrenchs?

They have probably dropped them countless times and they wont be accurate anyhow

[thorburn 120]

You should use filler rod. It will make it easier to sand and polish and will giv you a stronger weld

[Ben 0]

You should use filler rod. It will make it easier to sand and polish and will giv you a stronger weld

True bro

how much 0.7mm stainless do you weld?

[thorburn 120]

I'm guessing you don't back purge it either. Chill it's just constructive criticism. I'm no pro it's just logical to do it this way in most situations. How thin is that .7mm stainless sheet after you've fused it together, sanded and polished it?

Sure if you don't have the money for filler rod and the weld doesn't need any strength it'll do.

That is really the problem with others working on your. Some have a different opinion on what'll do

[Greg111 13]

haha i dunno why i feel like i have to defend myself but f**k it ill take the bait

im not advocating the use or non use of a torque wrench to tighten wheel nuts

but in my experience ive never used one except when i was doing trucks and never had any wheels come off

and of the 20 odd mechanic mates i know its only happened to one of them and that was

during their apprenticeship

As for tire techs, would you trust their torque wrenchs?

They have probably dropped them countless times and they wont be accurate anyhow

The main principle of the torque wrench is to torque to a certain spec that you have set......but it is also peice of mind that the nuts/studs are tight, doesn't matter if the wrenchs have been dropped, still lets you know that the wheel is tight, as i previously said, never trust rattle guns to tighten a wheel, EVER.

[*Glenn* 854]

The main principle of the torque wrench is to torque to a certain spec that you have set......but it is also peice of mind that the nuts/studs are tight, doesn't matter if the wrenchs have been dropped, still lets you know that the wheel is tight, as i previously said, never trust rattle guns to tighten a wheel, EVER.

+1... we have a dedicated torque wrench that is used for nothing else

[Ben 0]

The main principle of the torque wrench is to torque to a certain spec that you have set......but it is also peice of mind that the nuts/studs are tight, doesn't matter if the wrenchs have been dropped, still lets you know that the wheel is tight, as i previously said, never trust rattle guns to tighten a wheel, EVER.

If theyre not torquing them up with a strong arm after

the rattle gun then theres a problem........

and every gun ive used i wouldnt trust the torque settings on

Lol ive never been so compelled to post on bimmersport before haha

bbs - I dunno if your in the engineering industry yet but

you will find a lot of what you learn at tech isn't necessary when your

on the job due to time constraints, accessibility, cost etc.

If a customer wants a product and they want it yesterday and under budget

then sometimes corners are cut even if it goes against your work ethics

[shaneg 0]

Lol ive never been so compelled to post on bimmersport before haha

bbs - I dunno if your in the engineering industry yet but

you will find a lot of what you learn at tech isn't necessary when your

on the job due to time constraints, accessibility, cost etc.

If a customer wants a product and they want it yesterday and under budget

then sometimes corners are cut even if it goes against your work ethics

Taking shortcuts is the difference between good and great.

Business that do things properly will around longer and have a better rep, also personal satisfaction in doing things correctly and to a high standard is something i like to strive for in my work. Also when i was training if i took a shortcut or didnt do things a certain way id get chewed out and get called a lazy p.o.s, so you learn to do things properly quickly.

I dont work in your industry but personally id like to assume im paying to have things done properly.

Take for instance the wheel nut situation, what if they rattle gunned it too tight, i have a flat tyre on sh1 at 2am and i cant get it off because a: its too tight or b: the rattle gun rounded off the nuts?

If they job im paying for was done correctly i could swap tyres over.

And wht canter you say to customers that want stuff "yesterday" i can do it for you asap and itll be ready today, or i can do it properly and itll be ready tomorrow.

[Greg111 13]

I dont work in your industry but personally id like to assume im paying to have things done properly.

Take for instance the wheel nut situation, what if they rattle gunned it too tight, i have a flat tyre on sh1 at 2am and i cant get it off because a: its too tight or b: the rattle gun rounded off the nuts?

If they job im paying for was done correctly i could swap tyres over.

I can't speak for Ben but we have our guns set on a low torque when doing wheels so when we go to torque the wheels with the wrench they're done to factory spec, eg 120nm for 1,3 and 5 series, 130nm for X and 7 series etc.

[Ben 0]

Taking shortcuts is the difference between good and great.

Business that do things properly will around longer and have a better rep, also personal satisfaction in doing things correctly and to a high standard is something i like to strive for in my work. Also when i was training if i took a shortcut or didnt do things a certain way id get chewed out and get called a lazy p.o.s, so you learn to do things properly quickly.

I dont work in your industry but personally id like to assume im paying to have things done properly.

Take for instance the wheel nut situation, what if they rattle gunned it too tight, i have a flat tyre on sh1 at 2am and i cant get it off because a: its too tight or b: the rattle gun rounded off the nuts?

If they job im paying for was done correctly i could swap tyres over.

And wht canter you say to customers that want stuff "yesterday" i can do it for you asap and itll be ready today, or i can do it properly and itll be ready tomorrow.

Gee I feel popular for all the wrong reasons ha

When I say "shortcut" you as a customer wouldnt know the difference in the final product

but as a person building it I would know what, why and how it was done.

No one should "shortcut" when it concerns someones safety or the structural integrity of a job but

theres a million and one ways to do something, some are text book, some seem cowboy.

Personally im a perfectionist in my work and im frequently told by my boss

not to be so picky, i ignore him

Edited March 13, 2012 by Ben

[kiwi535 538]

Bought 4 toyos the other week (thanks gastkr)

Rang around a few places to ask fitting and balancing costs, while one place quoted me $32 and then said they dont balance rear wheel usually as its not necessary being rears and all.

So i decided not to use them and went to Firestone instead, at $25 it was cheaper too.

Decided to hang out and watch them do it, which im sure they didnt like but my wheels so tough tittie.

First i caught them about to put them on the wrong way, "oh are they directional?"

Then i caught them about to stick a 255 on the other front wheel "oh are the rear tyres wider?"

Didnt seem to notice the wheels are staggered.. ok

Ended up chatting to the manager for a bit whilst they fitted the rears.

Car all finished, made sure they torqued the nuts when the car was on the ground

Getting in the car the next morning i notice the rears were put on the wrong way, just needed to swap the left and right over, no biggie but christ it couldve been a lot worse, i wouldve ended up with a 235/255 front and 255/235 rear with them going in the wrong direction if i had left it up to them.

Anyone else watch their car like a hawk when unspecialised people are doing things to your car?

i would have left without paying after the first f**k up

[zenetti 0]

Ive never damaged a wheel nut with a rattle gun

and every gun ive used i wouldnt trust the torque settings on

Lol who uses a torque wrench on wheel nuts?

We do on EVERY car. If the torque wrench is not used, my staff get a friendly reminder. If it happens again I issue a warning - yes, I take it that seriously.

the last two tyres places i have used torque the nuts with a torque wrench after a quick brrrp with the gun.and they use a star type patten.

We use a gun to do up the nuts as it saves time but it is always set to the lowest torque setting. Then we use the torque wrench to do the nuts/studs up poperly.

You can NEVER trust a rattle gun.

[Allanw 1051]

You can NEVER trust a rattle gun.

Agreed - especially when you get a Bongo or something with left hand threads on one side. Most rattle guns are only adjustable on the doing up - they usually use full power on undo, regardelss of the setting (not so good for doing UP left hand threads to low torque!)

[polley 916]

I just set everything to maximum and let rip.

[elmarco 56]

We do on EVERY car. If the torque wrench is not used, my staff get a friendly reminder. If it happens again I issue a warning - yes, I take it that seriously.

Well done for taking safety of your customers seriously. One of my mates was nearly killed when a wheel bounced over the median barrier on the motorway (an inch taller and that would have been it), and I knew another guy through work who wasn't so lucky when a truck wheel landed on his windscreen.

[Allanw 1051]

..., and I knew another guy through work who wasn't so lucky when a truck wheel landed on his windscreen.

Which is why trucks now have to be torqued and have pointers installed - to visually see if the nuts are moving.

There is a reason why the torque is specified. If a person doesn't torque wheel nuts, why would they torque head bolts. Just rattle 'em, they'll be fine. Right?

[Old_Skool_Bmw 0]

I had a tyre guy trying to 'lever' the tyre off the rim on my BBS RS's when they were replacing a flay tyre. Left a huge flat spot on the rim.. needless to say they ended up paying for the rim to be fixed.

Half-arse jobs are becoming all too common these days.

Laurence