Is this the right way to change my wheels?

[LeroyJohsan]

Hi! So I ordered some PP wheels to put on my 20 GT. Is this process right?

1. Park car in garage and put parking brake on
2. Break the lugs
3. Put on the pinch weld adapter on the pinch weld (the cutout in the plastic thing on the side)
4. Jack up the car
5. Unscrew the lugs the rest of the way
6. Remove the wheel
7. Mount new wheel and finger tighten in a cross pattern
8. Lower car
9. Tighten to 100 foot pounds with my torque wrench (21 mm)
10. Lower car and move onto next wheel

I was going to just put the old wheel under the car in case it comes crashing down. Do I need Jack stands since I’m not going under the car?

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[silverbullet85]

No reason to finger tighten in a cross pattern, only when torqing the wheels with the weight of the car on them. I wouldn't bother with jack stands but you might want to pick some up in case you want to do any inspecting or work on your car

 

[luc]

You torque the wheels to 150 not 100

 

[SoulHunter91]

Last step: test drive and check the torque again

 

[LeroyJohsan]

Can I use the lugs from the wheels that came on the car?

 

[Dfeeds]

I would tighten it more than finger tight when it's lifted. Hold the wheel in place and give it a good yank. After you hit every lug go around once more real quick. Maybe overkill but I've worked on a lot of rusted wheels and hubs that took a bit of force to straighten out. Torquing on the ground won't straighten a crooked wheel.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Can I use the lugs from the wheels that came on the car?

You can…. But the Ford stock lugs are total pieces of shit…. They are aluminum caps over what appears to be pot metal. The caps get distorted and if the user is not aware, torquing to what may be 150, may not be if the caps are twisting

There is a thread on here somewhere about a Class Action suit regarding the factory lugs.

 

[Nuked]

You can…. But the Ford stock lugs are total pieces of shit…. They are aluminum caps over what appears to be pot metal. The caps get distorted and if the user is not aware, torquing to what may be 150, may not be if the caps are twisting

There is a thread on here somewhere about a Class Action suit regarding the factory lugs.

Your not kidding. I learned this on my Focus ST. What a pain in the ass they can be. The Mustang and the Escape both got aftermarket lugs first time I touched the wheels.

 

[CJJon]

Definitely get some jack stands. You will need them to rotate the tires anyway so get some now. I never work on a raised car and trust the jack. Always use a jack stand.

some will disagree, but I don’t take silly risks.

 

[LeroyJohsan]

Your not kidding. I learned this on my Focus ST. What a pain in the ass they can be. The Mustang and the Escape both got aftermarket lugs first time I touched the wheels.

Any brand recommendations?

 

[CJJon]

Any brand recommendations?

Gorilla

 

[WD Pro]

If you are using the standard nuts, you need 13/16”, not the 21mm you quoted

WD

 

[Cory S]

I torque mine to 120-125lb-ft. They don't budge. 150 is completely ridiculous.

 

[ice445]

I torque mine to 120-125lb-ft. They don't budge. 150 is completely ridiculous.

Why is the spec ridiculous? Torque isn't some arbitrary value, it's an approximate way of measuring stretch, which is what actually defines how tight something is. If the engineers called for 150 ft/lbs, you use 150 ft/lbs, lol. You don't get to decide what you think is acceptable. And I don't mean that in an offensive way, I just don't get the logic of deciding you know better than the people who engineered the setup.

 

[007evan]

torque your wheels when they are off the ground. there is a good reasion for that. i put a mop stick on the brake pedal and torque them off the ground. or you can have a friend steep on the brake pedal to hold the wheel in place. just think the ferrair testarossa with center lock setups go on at 265 ft lbs you need a 6 foot pipe to get them off and on. Always use jack stands.

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