After switching to this alloy set I found for cheap, I realized two day later that I have been using the lug nut set that came with the steelies, a big no no for alloys that take conical shaped lug nuts. Worry of cracked alloy starts to creep in.

Sooo .... I got a torque wrench: one of those cheap ones from canadian tire (about $30 cad).

I was as excited as a little kid getting his favorite candy after begging his parents for the whole day.

Next came my biggest fear: did I over-torque or under-torque the lug nuts? So I used the wrench to undo the lug nuts, to find the following:

Most lug nuts were torqued with a range of anywhere from 70 to 85 lbs. The special key lug nuts were higher, ranging from 85 to 100.

And here comes the bummer: the replacement lug nuts with conical seats do not fit properly in my socket (i.e. too short of a socket). So I had to wrench them as I usually do: hand tighten first, with a final foot down, force applied at my discretion, as I see fit.

All in all, I am very happy with my cheap investment.


cheap torque wrench

 

I doubt a average human can damage the wheel by hand tightening a wheel (unless you use a massive cheater bar).
I bet it takes a tremdenous torque to damage the wheel...like from a powerful air gun.

Those beam style torque wrench (shown in your picture) is the most acurate...they're actually more acurate than the more expenisve clicky style ones.

You did good by not wasting money on the expensive style.

 

Interestingly, the Fit manual calls for hand tightening. I don't have any worthy muscle power in my arms, so I feel the need to use "my other hands": i.e. my foot lol.

Last time I visited a shop for tire service, they used the air gun to tighten the nuts, and boy were they a pain to undo when time came to. They were definitely at over 100lbs/ft.

I am surprised to hear that the cheapy wrench I got has a good reputation. No calibration required.

 

Hey Commander,
I have one of those beam torque wrenches but prefer the click style. You dial the torque spec and when tightening it will click and you stop. Torque wrenches are available at Princess Auto.

The 2016 Fit's Wheel nut torque is 80 lbf∙ft (108 N∙m, 11 kgf∙m), pp 407 of the 2016 Fit Owner's manual. When I have my wheels done at a shop they invariably tighten it too much. I always back them off and torque them properly.

Alas I only have steelies for my winter tires in addition to the OEMs.

Snow a cometh tonight. Do you have winter tires?

 

Beam torque wrenches do have some advantages over the click types. They are much less likely to go out of calibration due to drops or improper storage, for one thing, since a rod of metal is a lot less likely to stretch or deform than a spring. It also gives a continuous readout of torque, rather than just an indication of when you reach some value. Either one is perfectly suitable for putting on wheels, so it's as much a matter of personal preference as anything.

Damaging a wheel from overtorquing may be uncommon, but damaging wheel studs can be a problem. It's definitely a sinking feeling when you go to remove a wheel and have half the stud shear off with the lug nut (and even worse if it happens when you're driving down the road).

 

I actually like the click style myself, but I wanted something that gives me torque ranges starting at 10lbs. Most click style ones start at 20 or more and are more expensive. Thank you for linking me to princess auto's torque wrench: looks like a great deal!

Winter tires a must for Toronto weather. Wierdly, I am running the winter tire set on my alloy wheels, and use the steelies for summer. I am too cheap to get all tires swapped between them lol. Currently running Yokos IG20's which are discontinued sized 195/55/15 running like a charm; wishing they were 195/65's; the car feels too low to the ground.

You are currently running on 14 inch tires, right? Excellent choice! They really dig in deeper snow. My 195's not so much. By the way, I went over 80k kms last month. What mileage do you have on your white fit?

Photo of my current set up:


.
Winter tire set installed. Winter ready!

 

I use a HF click type that I got on sale for $10, and it starts at 5LBs 3/8 in. Drive Click Type Torque Wrench

I'm sure it's not the most accurate, but good enough for my purposes. I'm not rebuilding engines or anything that needs real precision.

 

$20 clicker is fine. I use to use dat too 20yrs ago.

im kinda old skool so continue using a clicker type by snap on.
I should be using a digital one dis day and age..