Cordless Impact Driver/Wrench

David Truax

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Curious what you all use in terms of an impact driver/wrench (I know there is a difference), particularly for lug nuts, etc. I was thinking about getting the Black and Decker 20v one since all my tools are B&D 20v so batteries would be interchangeable, etc. But reviews said that it wouldn't be strong enough even though the specs say over 1300 in-lb of torque. I am just looking for one that's not too expensive since I probably wouldn't be using it all that often. Just for tire rotations and brake jobs, etc.
 
That black and decker should be good for most jobs. Just remember to double check your wheel lugs with a torque wrench
 
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I bought my first impact wrench from Harbor Freight. I don't remember the brand. It did not have enough torque/impact to remove stubborn lug nuts. (things get rusty in the winter up here in Wisconsin).

I ended up going to the local Ace Hardware and buying a Milwaukee brand, 110volt corded. It's good for lug nuts, shocks, brakes, etc. It has worked well for almost 7 years now.



Cheap ones, and battery ones, are not good enough.
 
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Torque ratings on all those types of tools are complete BS. The method used to measure that peak torque has little relation to actual usage.
B&D is strictly a bottom-tier consumer brand. Fine for limited use, but don't expect much from any of their stuff. Most of the brands are owned by only a few conglomerates and they specifically differentiate between the brands by various quality modifications. So you do, generally, get what you pay for.
Cordless has its place, but you need the higher end stuff to deal with things like lug nuts. Any corded tool will work much better. Or, just get used to breaking the lugs loose manually then using whatever to spin them off. And as mentioned, do NOT use an impact to tighten the nuts. Get them close, then manually tighten. After much, much experimentation I know that my air gun, at marker "2" with 110PSI source, lands lugs nuts at about 70ftlbs, which gives me just the right amount of room to tighten down to ~80-90ftlbs with another 1/4-1/2 turn. But you need to know your tools and check and double check to do something like that.

The biggest thing with cordless is you're buying into a family. The batteries and chargers are so expensive (*) and wildly incompatible, so you really need to see what set of tools you might eventually want to use and buy that. Super frustrating because, e.g., I bought into the Makita 12V series. Loved 'em. Now totally discontinued.
(*) Again, you get what you pay for. The super cheap batteries on Amazon are cheap for a reason. They might work fine for a while, might catch fire, might have less than half the capacity on the sticker.
 
I just smash the lugs on there with my impact and the compressor at 110. Seems to hit right about 90-100 every time. I've never once had any issues using this method.
 
Never use an impact to tighten your lugs. You can use it to run the nuts up, but never rip on it. Use a torque wrench set to 90-100 ft lbs to properly tighten your lugs. This is to provide even pressure so that you don’t warp your rotors by having one or two lugs tighter than others which can cause the rotor to tilt one way or the other.
With that being said I have a 20v Dewalt DCF894C. It’s a good medium duty impact that do most jobs on the car.
 

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From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Never use an impact to tighten your lugs. You can use it to run the nuts up, but never rip on it. Use a torque wrench set to 90-100 ft lbs to properly tighten your lugs. This is to provide even pressure so that you don’t warp your rotors by having one or two lugs tighter than others which can cause the rotor to tilt one way or the other.
With that being said I have a 20v Dewalt DCF894C. It’s a good medium duty impact that do most jobs on the car.
In theory this is true.... but good luck warping these rotors with the lugs!
 
In theory this is true.... but good luck warping these rotors with the lugs!

Yeah, I don't think rotor warpage will happen just from lugs. Someone might have been able to seriously mess up a rotor by leaving one or more lugs loose, thereby not properly seating the rotor on the hub. Or tightening while the rotor/wheel is caught on the lip of the hub, or using a shitty spacer, or one of a million other scenarios.

But, there are two problems, both of which I ran into in my younger days:
1) You don't pay attention and seriously bugger the threads, deform the cone seat, or even break a stud (done this several times)
2) For whatever reason (e.g., buggered threads), one or more nuts doesn't get properly tight. In my case, I noticed because one of the lugs fell off

I've stopped using air impacts on lugs on cars I care about entirely just because of paint damage to the rims. A little 12v impact is enough to speed the lugs on and off.
 
I use the Milwaukee fuel series professionally. I haven't found a bolt or nut that it can't bust off in 5 years of owning it. They tend to be a little pricey for a hobbyist, but we'll worth the money.
 

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From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
My cordless tools are all Ryobi One 18v. I have the 3/8" drive and 1/2" drive impact drivers. The 1/2" is good for driving lug nuts off, and for loosening brake caliper mounting hardware, which is always on the back side of the knuckle where there's never enough room to turn a long wrench. I'd love to have a compressor and proper air tools, but don't have the room or money for either, and the electric ones get the job done most of the time.
 
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As an occasional DIY'er, I bought a cheap 1/2" corded from Harbor Freight about a year ago - like $45. Have done 3 winter/summer tire/wheel swaps, a couple rotations on the Stinger, and a few on the old Sorento. It's never failed to get a lug nut off. I use a click-type torque wrench to put 'em on.
 
Porter Cable.
 
I'm slowly replacing my cordless tools to team blue (Makita).

Have a lot of Ryobi and Horrible Freight stuff, and they're definitely a step below on quality and power. The HF corded impact is gigantic and cheap, but never fails to remove lugnuts, and rusty U-bolt nuts on my Jeep.

Most brands will be fine for the home gamer, but if you use it a lot, you'll be happier with one of the "prosumer" brands (buy once cry once).
 
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
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