Wrong tire pressure

[gusfraga]

Hi All,

Today a washed my smart cabrio for the first time so I decided to check the tire pressure....
The pressure readings went from 24 PSI to 45!!!!psi in the front very very dangerous. I do not know if it was the dealer o the factory that did this buy I am very ,very MAD.
Please check your tire pressure!!
Regards
Gus

[Gortok]

Hope you didn't pay too much for the dealer prep charge...
I think I'd have to give them a ring and let them know how I felt about it...

[jonnysan]

Originally Posted by gusfraga

Hi All,

Today a washed my smart cabrio for the first time so I decided to check the tire pressure....
The pressure readings went from 24 PSI to 45!!!!psi in the front very very dangerous. I do not know if it was the dealer o the factory that did this buy I am very ,very MAD.
Please check your tire pressure!!
Regards
Gus

Just an ad lib to this ....I have always rechecked tire pressures even after getting new tires just put on or having the "free rotation" done. I also loosen all the lugs on all the wheels 1/2 turn and retorque them to 95 ft lbs so that I KNOW they are not overtorqued as most times in the past they have been and I wind up replacing the rotors that have become warped as a result of overtorquing.
I have, on most occasions, found the pressures and the lug torque to NOT be correct. ONe time I nearly broke my 2' breaker bar getting a lug loose...would you say that was alittle bit too tight???
I just have this thing about correctness and doing things myself most of the time eliminates all those ills that could fall upon me when depending on others to do what I am very capable of doing correctly myself.

Just a tip from an older guy who's been there and done that.


John

[bmx43]

Originally Posted by jonnysan

I also loosen all the lugs on all the wheels 1/2 turn and retorque them to 95 ft lbs so that I KNOW they are not overtorqued as most times in the past they have been and I wind up replacing the rotors that have become warped as a result of overtorquing.


John

a little dramatic there don't ya think. i can say that i've owned over 30 cars (19 brand new) and i have never, ever had to or heard of replacing a rotor because of overtorquing lug nuts. you write this like it happens frequently. come on.

[Old smart]

Originally Posted by bmx43

a little dramatic there don't ya think. i can say that i've owned over 30 cars (19 brand new) and i have never, ever had to or heard of replacing a rotor because of overtorquing lug nuts. you write this like it happens frequently. come on.

I once had some clown over-torque the lug nuts on my Caterham and they succeded in cracking one of the front alloy hubs.

[jonnysan]

Originally Posted by bmx43

a little dramatic there don't ya think. i can say that i've owned over 30 cars (19 brand new) and i have never, ever had to or heard of replacing a rotor because of overtorquing lug nuts. you write this like it happens frequently. come on.

That you are either alot younger or luckier than I have been or you've been out in the sun too long. The particular car that it happened on was a Taurus and that problem WAS a problem on them.

Ofcourse, nothing like this can happen to Audi's ....I am sure......

In my life, I have not had the advantage of having 19 brand new cars like you have...mine have always been purchased slightly used and kept for at least 10 years.... that could be most of the reason why you have not experienced this common occurance.

Do yourself a favor and ask any auto technician what effect overtorqueing wheel lugs has on wheel imbalance problems and overall rotor problems and if he has had any experience at all he will verify my comments to be correct.

John

[oldbike]

Originally Posted by bmx43

a little dramatic there don't ya think. i can say that i've owned over 30 cars (19 brand new) and i have never, ever had to or heard of replacing a rotor because of overtorquing lug nuts. you write this like it happens frequently. come on.

I have been in the automotive service business for over 30 years (I know, big deal) but yes, it does happen often. The smaller the car, the easier brake rotor warping occurs.

[jwight]

Took my own advice and Googled the subject; a whole lot of anecdotal info being passed back and forth on how overtorquing = warped rotors, lots of pros and cons, but I didn't run across anything concrete (engineering study, manufacturers' documents, etc. ) verifying the link. Still looking.

[doc540]

Here's the most dangerous thing that can happen:

Your wife has to change a tire on the narrow shoulder of an interstate highway at night with 18 wheelers rocking everything, and she finds she can't break the lug nut loose because it was overtightened by some hopplehead at the dealership.

The greatest risk isn't that she's injured on the highway shoulder. The greatest risk is to that hooplehead when she finally gets back to the dealership!

[Fredvon4]

bmx43... consider yourself very fortunate. But please try to not disparage those of us who learned some of life's lessons the hard way

New hub and rotor assy on Ford, Chevy, or Dodge 4x4 truck is well over $800 and over torque will damage all three versions...Air impact tools can apply as much as 300~600ftlbs on a 150ftlb nut or bolt.

Many brake rotors are part of the hub and the over torque lug nuts can warp the rotor and change the wheel bearing roundness and preload... some rotors float between and do not have this dynamic

But is ALL cases the wheel lug nut torque is a CRITICAL specification...If you trust a tire shop and rattle ratchet air tool to apply the correct torque you are sadly mistaken. And no! The pretty colored "torque tubes" are not any good!...ONLY a CALIBRATED torque wrench is the proper tool, and I would gladly pay for the extra 10 minutes time it takes to do it right.

Sage advice on this forum...

What is the harm of knowing the typical wheel changer does not torque to spec and re-doing it correctly....

bmx43.....sounds like you are suggesting to not sweat the little stuff... sheesh