Pro tip: a 30 year guy told me to stop torquing lugs dry, and I argued with him for 20 minutes before I tried it
Had a DOT inspector in Fort Worth tell me my lug nuts were way under spec after I torqued them dry to 450 ft-lbs. He said the threads were grabbing and giving me a false reading. I told him I'd been doing it that way for 15 years and never lost a wheel. He just smiled and said "try it with a little oil on the studs and recheck." Did one side wet and one side dry on the same truck, and the wet side read 60 ft-lbs higher on the same wrench setting. Now I'm not sure if dry torque is just a habit everyone passed down or if I've been doing it wrong this whole time. So what's the verdict here, do you lube the studs or run them clean? And does it matter on a big rig vs a pickup?