joejenie

Just a heads up here. I had a centerlock that wasn't coming off. Long story short, I put enough torque on the renntorq tool to break the the tool! I guess I should have read the instructions closer and in the future, John has changed the instructions to highlight that you can't put more than 155 lbs. of torque on the wrench taking off the centerlocks. Very frustrating because Renntorq wouldn't warrant the product and it cost me $300 to have them fix it. He said this is the 3rd time it has happened, so I'm not the first idiot I guess. I did end up bringing out my old Precision wrench and big bar and got the centerlock off.

Next time I'll save $2200 and keep using the old big wrench. I would also suggest he raise the price about $50 each so he can fix these when it happens periodically and make a customer feel good about backing an expensive product. Turn around time was good, just a bad taste in my mouth.

Randyc151

Yeah, I'd suggest he should have taken care of that if it was still during the warranty period. Basic customer service, and the margin on this tool is considerable.

joejenie

What''s funny is he admitted that two other guys had broken them before me and he comped those ones becuase his supplier comped him. But his supplier said he would have to pay going forward, so I was the 1st lucky one to have to pay for it. He also admitted that he was changing the instructions and putting this info on the first page in bold type. Glad I was able to help the future buyers.

PTGFAR

What was the part that broke? Was it part of the custom torque arm or part of the torque multiplier?

Nice to know that something gives before the wheel spoke. I wonder how much force the wheel spoke can handle.

991carreradriver

If my math is correct that is 733 ft lbs of torque applied to break the bolt. That seems pretty high to me as I average about 600lbs to break the bolt. Since most quality TM's have a safety break away drive that inserts into the socket, is this what broke on your unit or was it something internal to the multiplier?

joejenie

Yes, the multiplier broke. the drive had sheared completely off inside. John sent me a picture, but i deleted it or can't find it. I bought the tool new in June and was the 2nd time using it. I freely admit I did put a lot of pressure on it (I'm sure more than the 150 lbs.). Centerlock was dry and I finally had to bring the big wrench out and a 40" breaker bar.

trlin

Bummer to hear about the broken multiplier. I'm guessing something was up with your CL nut to need so much force. Maybe they needed to be broken down and re-greased? Just a guess. I've been using my Renntorq for a full year now and again just last night to get ready for today's track day. It's worked great for me so far, no issues. Hopefully you will have the same experience moving forward.

bluehorseshoe

For such an expensive product, $300 seems fairly reasonable to repair. I don't think misuse is ever covered under any warranty. $2200 is ridiculously priced but I would say well worth it if you often change your wheels. Also, I don't think his margin is that high on this product.

bluehorseshoe

Think I will take a break from this misery and go change my wheels...

GrantG

Yes, when they need extra (or too little) force to break free that means they needs to be broken down, greased, and reassembled, by definition...

Matrog

previously tighened with far too much torque?

RENNtorq

Thanks to joejenie for bringing this topic up for discussion.

After taking a few days to review the situation I've concluded that the initial set of instructions shipped with the tool could have done a better job describing the fact that a torque wrench (not a breaker) bar should always be used to drive the RENNtorq tool. With this in mind I revised the instructions to highlighting the need to use a torque wrench set to not more than 155 lb*ft for nut removal (155 lb*ft input torque going into the RENNtorq tool delivers 730 lb*ft output torque to the nut). As of tonight I have distributed these new instructions to every RENNtorq owner.

Since I agree that this aspect of tool usage could have been better documented in the original instructions I have also refunded joejenie for the replacement drive for his tool.

Going forward the owners are now aware of the 155 lb*ft input limit and as long as this is adhered to I do not expect the see any further issues. The reason for this 155 lb*ft input limit is that the RENNtorq tool has a built in safety breakaway feature which is triggered when you attempt to deliver more than 750 lb*ft output torque to the nut. When this limit is exceed the 3/4" drive coming out of the RENNtorq tool shears. This is not a quality/manufacturing issue, but rather a built in safety feature which prevents the user from unintentionally breaking the gearing in the multiplier section of the tool or damaging the surface of the wheel.

With this said, with centerlock vehicles it is highly recommended that you breakdown (disassemble) the centerlock nuts regularly to ensure that they have proper lubrication on all working surfaces. In our experience when you encounter a nut that requires more than 730 lb*ft output torque for removal it is due to inadequate lubrication on the nut. Please note that while it is important to keep a light film of lubrication on the upper cone surface, it is critically important to have adequate lubrication on the actual bearing surface on the underside of the cone, and the flat bearing surface on the interior of the nut where the required movement occurs during removal/installation. It is also very important to have adequate lubrication on the threads of the nut at all times to ensure smooth (low friction) removal. If you do ever encounter a nut that requires more than 155 lb*ft input torque (730lb*ft output torque) we recommend that you take that nut off with a long breaker bar (NOT the RENNtorq tool). This is not a situation you should encounter on a car with well lubricated nuts, and while most tool owners will never encounter this we wanted to make everyone aware of the situation so you knew how to address it if it does come up.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to let everyone know that we have a new phone number (603) 325-7624. We are reachable by phone or text on this number, and are also available at renntorq@gmail.com.

Thanks,

John

joejenie

Thanks John! John decided to warrant the product even though it was definitely my fault. Class act for sure. My centerlock had definitely been on there too long and was dry. Greased it up and good to go now. It was on a car I bought that had had the tire/wheel on for a long time. I change tires quite frequently now due to tracking it, so shouldn't have the problem in the future.

991carreradriver

I have no dog in this hunt, but when a manufacturer steps up like this, it makes me feel very good about them.

KKenosha

I saw the comment above about how much pressure the tool applies on the wheel. For my 991.1 Turbo-S, max engine torque is 516 ft/lbs. with a 3l91 first gear and 3.44 final drive ratio, max torque at the wheels (assuming no drivetrain friction loss) would be 6940 ft/lbs, full throttle, first gear, 2100 rpm. Assuming the 10 spoke wheels shows in the video, roughly 694 ft/lbs of torque would be applied to each spoke. I do not know the length of the reaction bar portion of the RennTorq device, but rough calculation would indicate that it is probably exerting a force similar to what the wheel would experience under full throttle acceleration. Braking forces are even higher, and the wheels are (of course) designed to handle these loads with a significant safety margin. Based on this, the tool should be quite safe, even beyond the max output torque.