Torque and Chrome

Torque wrench or 24V impact gun?

I am going to start doing work on my own car, and to help out i want to invest in some more powerful tools. i know the impact guns are good for tires, but are torque wrenches just as good? and more useful in the long run for things other then tires?

Public Comments

1. Torque wrenches are for speed not necessarily accuracy. torque wrenches are better if used properly and calibrated. The newer engines demand accuracy to prevent stripping threads or breaking bolts.
2. buy a good torque wrench first for accuracy
3. Yes they are. if you are going to remove and or rebuild parts on your car yes you should have a torque wrench, you should have a 3/8 and a 1/2 inch drive torque wrench, they will come in very handy, if you aren't really going to do a whole lot of work then I would just go with the impact gun, just remember that a 24 volt impact gun has alot of torque and can snap a wide variety of bolts so use this with caution. best of luck to you.
4. Depending on what kind of work you plan on doing you will require a torque wrench for some parts.
5. Most bolts require torquing to a specification. You will need a torque wrench to do a good job, whereas a impact gun just tightens and loosen bolts. That's something arm power has done for over a century. I would actually wait for the repair to be necessary before I sprung for a lot of cash tied up in tools you might use once in 5 years. Then you can get what you need for that job, knowing it was useful and money well spent. 6 ton jack stands and a big three ton hydraulic floor jack will do more for you on suspension, brakes, engine work, etc. You need to be able to get to the part to fix it.
6. Well to provide you with a little of my experiences...I use to use an impact gun when putting wheels back on. The problem...When I had a flat on the side of the road I had no impact gun to remove it. I know what you are thinking...just use the tire Iron to remove it. Well, the impact gun put to much torque on the lug nuts and I couldnt budge them at all. And I consider myself to be pretty strong. So to answer your question...Go with the torque wrench...you will have more accuracy and yes you can use it for other things as well. But only for torqueing nuts and bolts. Dont use it for loosening or for snugging down. They are for torqueing only. That is their purpose. Good Luck!