Recommend me a good torque wrench

[Paul Alexander]

Hi Folks,

as the thread title says really. i'm not sure which to get, as i see so many with different ranges, so ideally can anyone recommend a good torque wrench with a decent range for working on the elan?

cheers.

[HJ2]

It's all a matter of budget to start with Paul.

When you set the budget for yourself, then you can find the best bang for the buck.
Without budget limitations: Go for Snap-on or similar A-brand

[dapinky]

Hi Paul,

As a skinflint I'd say go for 'cheap and cheerful'

Okay, lets qualify that a bit.......

.... over the years I have collected a few of these things, and tend to keep one in the boot of each car, plus a couple in the garage.

My "best" one is a Snap-On one, and is a joy to use - easy to see what setting it's at, easy to wave around, and it gets sent back to the company every year to check the callibration - it has a lifetime guarantee and has Nm & Lb.f scales....... Oh, but it cost nearly £200 (they do a digital version now which costs £250 and is meant to be the dogs danglies).

Next down the list is a Draper Expert which cost about £30 - Nm, & Kg.f scales (with a conversion chart for those of us who still think in Ft.Lb).

Then there are the 'bargain basement' ones from Lidl which cost about a tenner each. (look identical to the Draper one, but not as 'smooth' to use).

Just to see where they were all at, I tested the cheaper ones against the Snap-On when it came back from callibration - at the lower end of the scale all were the same accuracy, at 65Nm the 2 cheaper ones were about 1Nm out (wheel nut setting), and at 120Nm about 2-3 Nm out.

This is close enough for most applications - and they were tested at anything between 3 - 10 years of age/use.

So, if it is for regular (or highly accurate) use, I'd say you can't beat a good one, but for occassional use then a cheap one will do the job just as well.

As for the range needed, (I still find the odd nut that mine wont do for, even with a selection!), I'd suggest 40-200Nm or thereabouts for a half-inch drive is a reasonable range.

My actual recomendation to you would probably be a Draper #30357 with a range from 30-210Nm (can be had for under £30 delivered from Amazon, Ebay or others)

[Paul Alexander]

cheers guys. i got bamboozled by the sheer choice of wrenches.

dave, i've ordered the draper one as recommended, plus other tools. i've got a feeling i will have to remove my turbo after my holiday

(yay cheddar, here we come).

[simonbuk]

I was just about to ask this exact same question !!

Anymore/other reccomendations for a suitable torque wench ?

Cheers

[Saltire]

My actual recommendation to you would probably be a Draper #30357 with a range from 30-210Nm (can be had for under £30 delivered from Amazon, Ebay or others)

Gone up recently, Dave. Amazon now want £42 Cheapest supplier is Toolstation at £38

[dapinky]

My actual recommendation to you would probably be a Draper #30357 with a range from 30-210Nm (can be had for under £30 delivered from Amazon, Ebay or others)

Gone up recently, Dave. Amazon now want £42 Cheapest supplier is Toolstation at £38

In fairness, Jonathan, I did write it 10 years ago! - and the Snap-On units are now north of £500.

(But the gist of my original answer is still my current thoughts)

I have since added to my tool cabinet a 3/8" drive Draper torque wrench for those smaller gaps and lower tightening figures - but the range still goes up to wheel nut type things.

[simonbuk]

Just ordered a Draper 1/2 and 3/8 torque wrench from Toolstation - £70

[Saltire]

My actual recommendation to you would probably be a Draper #30357 with a range from 30-210Nm (can be had for under £30 delivered from Amazon, Ebay or others)

Gone up recently, Dave. Amazon now want £42 Cheapest supplier is Toolstation at £38

In fairness, Jonathan, I did write it 10 years ago! - and the Snap-On units are now north of £500.

(But the gist of my original answer is still my current thoughts)

I have since added to my tool cabinet a 3/8" drive Draper torque wrench for those smaller gaps and lower tightening figures - but the range still goes up to wheel nut type things.

Well, Dave, if politicians can be pilloried for things they may or may not have said ten years ago, why shouldn’t forumisti?

Your recommendations are absolutely still valid though, and I always go for Draper if they have a product of the type I’m looking for. Their customer service is great too; I recently had a failure on a 10mm ratchet combination spanner, and they replaced it without question - even though it was the best part of ten years old.