Kia Forum banner

Wheel changing and bolt torque

47K views 36 replies 14 participants last post by  steelwindmachine 
#1 ·
Hello every one. I am thinking of changing my winter tires on my car by myself. I have winter tires on rims so all I have to do is jack up the car and change the wheels, The problem that I have is I don't know how much torque I should apply to the wrench when I am tightening up the wrench. I also need to purchase a torque wrench. Any suggestions of what brand of wrench I should purchase? Any comments? Thanks
 
#4 ·
I have a neighbour who has been a mechanic for the last 40+ years and even has his garage at home set up like a mechanic shop and services many peoples cars. He recommends going to 80lb/ft because he says that 80lb/ft is tight enough to hold the wheel on perfectly but not too tight that if you were ever stranded, you wouldn't be able to change the tire. I have a lot of faith in him so I go by that rule with tires. You never want to tighten it to the point where you were stranded and could never remove it.
 
#6 ·
80lb may be adequate but seems low to me, 100lb is what I torque mine at.
if one cannot take lug nuts off, just put lug wrench on the nut so the handle is more or less level and while holding onto car roof step on the wrench and bounce a bit to break it loose. it'd be way over 100lb to having to do so thou.
 
#7 ·
Jacking points

Not to sound like a total incompetent fool, but...
Where are the jacking points on a 2014 sorento? I'm due for a tire rotation and I can't figure out where to jack it up at. And to top it off my jack is too short!
 
#13 ·
Bought 18" winter wheels for my Nokia Hakka snow tires.
Not bad for $320 with hubcentric rings and lug nuts thrown in pro bono.

 
#15 ·
Bought these Michelin tire totes on sale for only $21, regular is $39.



Now my question is, why the hell did I not buy these before?? They were a breeze to use and very handy for spare tires. Keeps the tire's dirt inside and far from your hands.
 
#16 ·
Do you self a favor and buy a floor jack and at least two axle stands. Using the scissor jack and pinch points are for emergencies only! If you jack your car a bunch of times from these point you will bend and warp the metal! Also scissor jacks can easily slip. I bought a 3 1/2 ton jack and stands at Costco for a reasonable price. A tip for using a floor jack and this applies to 90% of cars and trucks is to jack from sub frames, frame rails, and any other solid point of metal under the car.

As for torquing down the lugs I almost always go with the the specified number in the manual. I have a basic beam torque wrench but I would rather have a modern electronic one, but it still works for me.

By the way are your winter wheels balanced? And think about doing an alignment sometime soon after your wheel change. As Canadian roads are not the best!

Good luck!
 
#17 ·
Hi, if this question is for me then yes, they did balanced well. My guys has a balancer and some wheel mounting equipments in his garage and is pretty good in doing it. He just stickied some weights on the wheel that has some bend and all's good!

Only time I am reminding myself that I now have winter tires is that when I parked my car and saw that the wheels are different - no change in steering wheel, suspension dampness and overall drive experience. And that's always a good thing to know.
 
#18 ·
Two and a half ton jack

After reading a previous post I have noticed that he is using a 3 and half ton jack that he purchased at Cisco. I am now wondering if my 2 and a half ton jack is heavy enough to lift my Sorrento so I can change my wheels. Any comments about my jack. Thanks
 
#20 ·
I checked the owners manual for the weight of the Sorento and it is about 5200 pounds.so I guess that my two and a half ton jack should be OK. So when using the jack would you place the jack in the middle on one side of the frame or would you be closer to the wheel that you are changing? Thanks
 
#22 ·
I checked the owners manual for the weight of the Sorento and it is about 5200 pounds.so I guess that my two and a half ton jack should be OK. So when using the jack would you place the jack in the middle on one side of the frame or would you be closer to the wheel that you are changing? Thanks
recheck that page that is the GVW rating not the curb weight depending on the model that can range from approximately 3755 - 4235 lbs .
 
#21 ·
Ya 2 1/2 ton is fine. Like Hudsoner said you're lifting just one side. Also worst thing that could happen is your jack sealing ring will go and you leak oil from the jack.

Here is a story....I had a 2 1/2 jack lift a corner of a metal skip that was overloaded by 2 tons of concrete and the truck driver couldn't pick it up. We jacked it up and threw 2 ton axles stands under. I blew the seal in the jack and it pissed oil everywhere and I stood far back as the weight of 7 tons of concrete laid on those cheap axle stand. Not a smart move I know but we had no choice. Long story short the 2 1/2 ton stuff is strong! Just don't do what we did! lol
 
#26 ·
It's not recommended to keep the jack up supporting the car for a long time so you use an axle stand - most especially when you wanna work under the car like changing oil, etc. So, for example, you jack up the driver front side, put an axle stand under that and release the jack, same goes for the rear driver side.

Also, using axle stands instead of the jack prolongs the life of the latter.

Well if you jack the car lifting the drivers side you would put a jack under the front driver side and rear driver side to support the weight. If you jacked the front then you put stands under the front sub frame. If you jack the rear up then you would put the stands under the rear sub frame or axle.
This!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hudsoner
#25 ·
Well if you jack the car lifting the drivers side you would put a jack under the front driver side and rear driver side to support the weight. If you jacked the front then you put stands under the front sub frame. If you jack the rear up then you would put the stands under the rear sub frame or axle.
 
#27 ·
I put my Sorento up with a 2&1/2 Ton Jack, but unless you have/get the taller 'suv' jack, you might need something under the jack to get more height, to lift the wheel off the ground. I have to use a 1-1/2 - 2" thick patio stone under mine, wasn't an issue with the Rondo, but the Sorento is a few inches taller to the sub frame/lifting point, the jack can't lift it enough for the wheel to clear the ground with the jack I have, so had to use the patio stone as an 'adapter' or what ever to gain a couple more inches of lift.

Just do one wheel at a time, much easier and much safer if you don't have a car lift in your garage (99% of us) or if you don't have axle stands. Use one axle stand/jack stand as a backup to your jack, and you'll be set to do one at a time.

I've heard for Kia's that 90ft/lbs torque is the correct tightness for the wheel lug nuts.

Get a torque wrench, don't 'guesstimate' lol ;)
 
#28 ·
As per the quote " I've heard for Kia's that 90ft/lbs torque is the correct tightness for the wheel lug nuts."

I thought that the correct torque was no more than 80 ft / lbs for the Sorento.
I also do agree with you to use an axle stand as a back up. I think that when I am removing the wheel from the Sorento, I will place the frame onto the axle stand so as to remove the pressure from the jack
I recently purchased a torque wrench from Canadian Tire and it broke on me after tightening up only three bolts on the wheel. So I went back to the store and upgraded to one of the best wrenches that they have that was on sale at half price at $50 instead of paying $99 for it. I hope this wrench doesn't break on me. It has a half inch drive on it instead of a 3/8 th drive like the previous wrench. Any further comments?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top