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what is the toque specs for the lug nuts on 97 venge es.  Also, I have the front wheels off and I lost track of left and right.  I don't see any difference in tire wear or shape......so does it really make any difference?

lugs should always be torqued on to ensure even distribution of pressure.  i know mine needs to be torqued to 45-50lbs, i would imagine yours wouldnt be much different

I always torque to 90 ft#'s as recomended by my wheel maker

I knew they needed to be torqued, I just wanted to make sure I knew a ballpark area of how much.  I wanna make sure I get this right, as I plan on milking every mph from this car.  ;D ;D

45/50 sounds pretty light IMO  :o

65/70 was what was in my manual and what i learned when i was in college, NOT 45/50.  that was my mistake ppl, sorry! :-X  diff wheels require diff torques, stock wheels should be around 70lbs.  aftermarket wheels require more (mostly just to cover their own a$$) but i guess i shoulda asked stock or aftermarket before i put in my 2 cents, sorry

well, these are american racing estrella 17" aluminum wheels.  I think I'll go with 65 or so.  Thanks for the numbers!

I'm with Bad Venge on this one. I always torque mine to 90 and I have aftermarket wheels anything below that, I think is too little.

Factory service manual  tightening torque: 88 - 108 Nm (65 - 80 ft.lbls.)

yes 75 to 90 ft-lbs.  I would stay with the lower number due to the fact that you probably don't calibrate your torque wrench as often as it should.
(I calibrate my tools now every 6 months) as they are typically out of spec after 1 year or less.

I put em down at 85 and it felt pretty good, so there it is.

I usually just torque them "to feel"... tight enough..

Don't got a torque wrench.

slightly related question.

How simple is it to change a wheel stud on the Avenger?

I've done this.  You have to soak the old stud in as much wd-40 or whatever as possible.  Then you have to beat the living hell out of it, it comes out the back.  When you pull the new one through you will need to find a way to keep it straight.  I used a few closed wrenches between the hub and the lug nut to pull it through until its straight.  A new stud is about 3 bucks at autozone, btw.

yeah. i got the new stud and nut (some idiot snapped it off before i got the car).

Same here.  Oh, you should heat up the hub with a blowtorch for when you hammer the old one out.  Try to keep the stud as cool as you can though.

metal expansion. gotcha.

i always tighten them by my feel also.  several steps: 1) figer tight while its lifted, 2) torque em up little bit more while the wheel is touching ground slightly, 3) final muscle work when wheel is on the ground completely  8)


oh, little bit off topic but still related - always check your lugnuts' torque after safety-state-checks or any shops which take your wheels off!!!

one day after my mom's car had a safery inspection it was making really funky sounds from the front.  we changed brakes 2 days before that so we thought something was messed up with brakes, but the car passed inspection.  the problem WAS = the moron, who ever inspected the car used air wrench (duh) and didnt tighten lugs tight enough so the left front wheel was actually held by like 3 out of 5 lugs  >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

Manufacturer recommends 65 to 80 ftlbs. in the service manual. Snug them all and never tighten two right next to each other to spec.
I used 90 once and had to get a two foot Breakover to get them back off.

According to Chrysler the torque needs to be to 80 lbs and yes the left and right need to be the left and right they do have different wear even if it does not appear to be....look at the tires they should say inner and outer (thats just to make sure that they are on right) Now since you forogot which ones are which its ok to have them switched no big deal they will just develop new wear on top of the old wear.

I torque my aluminum rims to 90.  I tighten until the wheel starts to turn, then put the car down and torque them.  Ivan is right, that does matter.  You can tell pretty easily which is which if they are worn down much.

the popper procedure is to first take them off mark them and set them aside do the job you need to do...then put them back on finger tight(no need to worry about star pattern here) then go in a star pattern with a gun if you have one if not use a torque wrench(i like to start on the bottom most lug) or pull the living sh*t out of them...lower car and do that over again since the weight of the wheel will now be surpased by the car itself and could have possible left you a loose lug. There is a VERY nifty tool that is a tapered attachment for the gun that only allows the gun to torque to a certain amount (believe me the gun can and does over torque wheels...Ivan he must have had his set at a lower rating...ive seen these things strip the lug and snap it off with the nut pretty much permanently stuck to the pice) it will simply click when the torque has been reached and you are done. they come in collor coded sets and a book that lets you know what year and color goes to which ever attachment.


It is pretty improtant to get the tires on the right side since the hubs can warp and set in a wear pattern on the tire this could cause different drivability in the car....though its not a safty issue its just one of those things that should be done...on a new tire its not important just make sure that the inner is on the inside and the outter is on the outside for directional treded tires( lol funny story there my buddy has a cobalt ss that he took to the dealership 3 times cause the car drove off the center they told him the car was perfectly alligned and he said no there is a problem come to find it was that they installed the tires wrong now hes stuck with a side of inner on the outside and outter on the outside on the other side so it pulls to the right a little)


Oh and ET though 90 inst enough to cause a problem be careful of over torqing the lugs it does cause problems and can cause stirpping which can be dangerous.