[P-ToK72]

I am looking for some advice in selection of a Torque Wrench please.

Those in the UK will know of Halfords and i have been looking at their range of Torque Wrenches looking for one that will do the majority of tasks for the car and other jobs.
I know there are plenty of other brands and retailers out there but halfords are generally top quality and most of their professional tools have a lifetime guarantee. I recently took a small ratchet wrench in that was bought around 15 years ago and it was swapped in store without any questions.

The first i looked at has a range of 60 to 300Nm and i thought that seemed perfect but would i be missing out on lower torque settings?
https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-...0-488729.html?

They have one which is 40 to 200Nm which may be more suited to most common uses (I believe wheels are 140Nm).
https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-...0-488711.html?

There is only £5 difference between them but i would hate to buy one and then find its not low or high enough for any specific task.

Would appreciate any thoughts on this please.

[ian332isport]

It depends what work you plan on doing. In my experience it’s more critical to torque small bolts than big ones.

It’s incredibly easy to over tighten small bolts that often have a 10Nm spec. Things like rocker covers and sumps are often over tightened when done by feel. I’ve had to repair many broken bolts and damaged threads and it’s generally the small ones that suffer.

I have three torque wrenches that cover from about 5Nm up to 300Nm. It’s not often you need to tighten things to 300Nm. Hub nuts are often that high, but not much else.

[Pentland]

It will be unlikely you’ll torque anything over M16 so the smaller one will be of more use.

[Watsey]

Like ian332isport I have different torque wrenches for different jobs.

Digital models are more expensive than traditional models. If I was a mechanic I’d go digital, but I’m not so non-digital models are fine for my needs.

[danb1979]

I've got these 2 and they've been faultless for years, never any issues

Micrometer: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-3457...0001K9T2O?th=1

Normal:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-3035...s%2C103&sr=8-6

They've done everything I've asked of them and they're always boxed back up and stored safely; never dropped etc

Unless you're a mechanic or manic DIY'er; can't see why you'd need to spend a lot more

But each to their own

[kzg1969]

I will echo the above in terms of smaller bolts/torque. Sump plugs, for example will be down around 30nm typically on ally sumps

Cant recall ever torquing anything over 200nm

so, to adequately cover things, you will need 2 x torque wrenches

[blau3er]

Wera - they are brilliant quality.

[Ennoch]

Halfords Advanced ones are decent. IMO I'd go for a 3/8" one rather than 1/2" as the smaller bolts are more critical as others have said. If a bolt is M12 and above the chances of stripping it or over tightening it are a lot lower than on the smaller stuff. Of course it's better to properly torque everything but as long as you have got a good sense of things you're going to be okay there, IMO. Lower down the scale is harder especially in the mid range (i.e M5 or M6 is easy, but M8/M10 etc a little harder, especially when going into aluminium).

[Pond]

TBH I would go with a cheap torque wrench (and did) if it's just for occasional DIY use.
I have it on good authority that ALL torque wrenches go out of calibration quite quickly and by quite a lot.
Unless you are planning to have it inspected and re-calibrated every year or so, an expensive one is a bit of a waste of money IMO.

I have a real cheapo (from Screwfix) and it still works fine after 3 years. It's probably miles out of calibration but who knows?

[Pond]

Originally Posted by blau3er

Wera - they are brilliant quality.

Yes they are, but Wera tools are not cheap!

[blau3er]

Originally Posted by Pond

Yes they are, but Wera tools are not cheap!

True - I now only buy Wera tools, can't beat them in my opinion!

Unless you are a pro that uses Snap On - which I am most certainly not!

[AlwynMike]

My Old Man was a mechanic. He had a Britool torque wrench.
It's probably 60 years old now, maybe more. I bought a new calibrated torque wrench (my brother had the Old Man's one when he died).
Both tighten exactly the same.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by AlwynMike

My Old Man was a mechanic. He had a Britool torque wrench.
It's probably 60 years old now, maybe more. I bought a new calibrated torque wrench (my brother had the Old Man's one when he died).
Both tighten exactly the same.

That takes me back a bit... using Britool torque wrenches! I personally had a Craftsman Professional 'beam' torque wrench in the late 1960's.

Your experience, comparing old and new. I put my old Williams from the 1980's 'back to back' against a new Draper. They both clicked off together, over a range of settings.

On the broader subject, I also agree that it's the lower range of torque values, where we need the most appropriate torque wrench.

Better to use a low range torque wrench at mid settings, than a high range wrench, right down at the lower end.

[P-ToK72]

Thanks all for your input on this one, really was appreciated

I ended up with a 40 to 200 Nm wrench with a view at some point to getting another for smaller settings.

Job was done over the weekend so all good now.