05/17/2026
This wasn’t the customers fault, but it’s a great reminder to use caution.
In our rally seminar I brought this up because we’ve seen it before—someone might do a quick google search for the torque values or their torque wrench might be out of calibration. Then they torque their lug nuts with good intention, but it ends up too tight, and they stretch the metal threads. Once that happens, the lug nuts aren’t seating properly, and it becomes an unsafe situation.
Here, they had some work done prior, but when we took off their tires for some simple preventative maintenance, we caught the issue luckily before it became a bigger issue. In this case, the studs were serviceable, so we were able to just replace the studs that were damaged. The rest of the project went smoothly.
It’s really important that you verify your torque values with the manufacturer, you replace your torque wrench as needed, and you use caution when tightening those lug nuts up.
This is one of those lessons you don’t want to learn the hard way. Hope this helps you all and keeps you timing down the road safely to your next adventure!
