Just realized I was tightening lug nuts wrong for like 15 years

Was rotating tires on my truck last Saturday and my neighbor came over to help. He watched me crank each lug nut down hard with the cross wrench, then said "you know that's how you warp your rotors, right?" Told me the trick is to snug them all in a star pattern first, then go around again with about half the effort. I thought I was being safe by making them TIGHT but turns out the truck's own weight is what seats the wheel properly. Has anyone else been doing this their whole life without knowing?

1 comments

1 Comment

logan6321mo ago

Huh, I gotta disagree with your neighbor on that one. I've always torqued the heck out of mine and never had a rotor issue in 20 years of driving. The star pattern thing makes sense, but I'm not convinced half effort is gonna keep a wheel from coming loose on a washboard road.