Automotive Reference
Typical torque by stud size and vehicle type, the star sequence that seats a wheel evenly — and why you re-torque after 50 miles. Your door-jamb placard always wins.
Going around the circle warps the rotor and seats the wheel crooked. Cross the wheel in a star pattern, in two or three passes, stepping up to the final torque on the last pass.
5-lug shown. For any wheel, always cross to the opposite side rather than going around.
1 ft-lb = 1.3558 Nm. Torque wrenches sold outside the US are usually in Nm — this is how you match a spec.
Ranges for reference only — the exact figure lives on the placard in your driver's door jamb or in the owner's manual. When in doubt, use the lower end and re-check.
| Stud / thread | Typical torque |
|---|---|
| M12 × 1.5 | 70–80 ft-lb |
| M12 × 1.25 | 70–80 ft-lb |
| M14 × 1.5 | 85–110 ft-lb |
| M14 × 2.0 | 85–110 ft-lb |
| 7/16″ | 70–80 ft-lb |
| 1/2″ | 75–90 ft-lb |
| 9/16″ | 135–145 ft-lb |
| Vehicle type | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Compact / small car | 65–90 ft-lb |
| Midsize / sedan | 80–100 ft-lb |
| Full-size / SUV | 100–120 ft-lb |
| 1/2-ton truck | 120–150 ft-lb |
| 3/4 & 1-ton truck | 140–175 ft-lb |
Most passenger cars land between 80 and 100 ft-lb; small cars run 65–90, and trucks/SUVs 100–150. But it depends on the stud size and vehicle — the exact number is on your door-jamb placard or in the manual, and that always overrides a general chart.
To spin them on, sure — but never for the final tightening. Impacts wildly over-torque, which warps rotors and can stretch or snap studs. Snug by hand or impact, then set the final torque with a calibrated torque wrench in a star pattern.
Too tight stretches the studs and warps the brake rotor (you'll feel a pulsing pedal). Too loose lets the wheel work back and forth, elongates the bolt holes, and can come off. Both are dangerous — torque to spec, evenly.
No — snug all nuts in the star pattern first, then make a second (and ideally third) pass stepping up to the final spec. One hard pass seats the wheel unevenly.