Chris88

Can anyone recommend the latest and greatest torque wrench for the CL wheels that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

evilfij

then you have an apt username.

I check mine because, well, I am OCD.

GrantG

I got one too (maybe Amazon if not eBay) and I like it better than original plastic tool with hook. I think it’s 3D printed...

A/S

Here is a link to the "Torque Solution" CL Tool:


I use an old 3' long torque wrench as a breaker bar connected to a Proto 6:1 Torque Multiplier:


I have 4 CL sockets, one in each car, one permanently attached to the Proto Torque Multiplier, and one attached to a low speed non-impact cordless drill. Once I have loosen the CL nut 180 degrees with my ratcheted breaker bar (aka old torque wrench), I use the drill to remove the CL nut, low speed and zero impact, no need to get messy with grease.

I re-grease every 2 tire changes, and do a full service (cleaning and re-grease) every 20 tire changes.

At this time I have changed my CL wheels/tires more than 250 times in between the 991 TurboS, 991.1 GT3RS and 991.2 GT3RS, so I wanted the most efficient, repeatable and safe process every time. I evolved the process from the archaic days of the Precision Instruments painful tools.

I torque to 480 ft-lbs, unwind 90 degrees, and re-torque to 600 ft-lbs. For me, anything in the low to mid 500 ft-lbs makes the rear wheels slip a little and cause wear on the 5 little pucks. I used to replace them when seeing marks on them, but applying grease and an extra 10% torque works well. My cars run on new or scrub slicks, and Hoosiers, so there is more grip on acceleration and braking and more force over these CL nuts. For cars on stock street tires, I would torque to whatever Porsche says these days (they have increased the torque-spec to tighten these CL twice already, after the flying wheels debacle that some tend to forget).

Always remove or install wheels in the air. Do not loose or tighten on the ground, it will bend the hubs over time.

These Irwin Quick-Grip clamps press my brake pedal, I use a thick microfiber towel and the other end of the clamp uses the seat cushion as support, so no need to have someone inside the car pressing the brake pedal hard:


My torque wrench is a 3' Snap-On with a digital lighted display, progressive light indicators when you're reaching the torque target, and a vibration function. With the 6:1 torque multiplier, producing 80ft-lbs or 100 ft-lbs with a 3-feet long tool requires barely any physical effort, compared to the Chiropractor's enabler long torque wrenches and no multipliers.

One more tip:

I trim the little plastic tab in all my CL caps, so I can press them on the wheels in any position. On hot track days, it is the only time I run with the caps removed, because they would melt and depart from the wheels. In all other conditions, I leave these caps installed. When running with the caps removed, and when re-installing the street wheels, clean any dust, little stones and debris from the CL nut and the piece with the lock. I use Brake-Cleaner, then re-grease again.

bluehorseshoe

Hard to find a better value than the top-of-the-line Icon sold at Harbor Freight. Check it out.

GrantG

Are you sure you mean ft-lbs and not Newton Meters? The official spec is 600NM (about 443 ft-lbs).

Thanks for all the good links and info

GrantG

I saw a YouTube video recently that compared the Icon against Snap-On and the Icon was much more accurate for a fraction of the price. I personally love the Stahlwille torque tools, but they are very expensive. Icon looks to be great for the money (and lifetime warranty). There is also a 20% discount coupon off the already low prices available now on all Icon products.

A/S

Unfortunately, that official 443ft-lbs with Hoosiers and Launch Control in the 991 Turbo S destroyed 2 sets of those little aluminum nipples (5 of them per corner) that prevent/reduce the chances for the wheel to come off. I saved them and should post pictures of the damage (will do when I find them in my garage), as I cringe by looking at the massive number of 991 Turbo/TurboS launched every week at my local drag strip, and most of these guys have never removed a wheel.

First set covered under warranty, dealer asked me to torque to 700Nm which they do on tracked cars. Damaged my 2nd set but it didn't have the hard scratches and missing material as the first ones, went up to 800Nm and no more anomalies.

I know that Porsche forbids slicks in the GT3, they never published anything like that for the Turbo S. The interesting part is that slicks are not supposed to be used due to RWS, yet the RWS is now available across the board, and the Michelin Cup2R is producing similar levels of grip to hard slicks and Hoosier R7 (and there is a GoodYear about to be released that will reset lap times for all).

I forgot to mention that I buy new CL nuts occasionally. As soon as their surface making contact with the wheels is not smooth, I throw them away, they are of a softer material than the wheels (stock or Forgeline). That area, I put a rubber glove and spread the grease (Castrol Opti-Coat) with every wheel change.

At times I miss 5 lugs I had in the 997RS, but I dealt with loose lug bolts and vibrations, broken studs (when I replaced the lug bolts), cross threaded studs, so it wasn't perfect.

GrantG

Interesting

atc5

username checks out for sure

tubwreck

I recently had a local independent Porsche shop (one with a great reputation that prepares and supports lots of track junkies) install a set of CL wheels on my GT3. I asked them to give me a tutorial on the CLs so that I could do it myself. I was surprised that they loosened and tightened the wheels with the car sitting on the alignment rack (not in the air), I asked why they didn't follow the documented procedure: "Nobody could ever apply 450 ft-pounds to a car sitting in the air; wouldn't be safe. We do it this way for all of our customer cars and have done so for years." (In every other respect, their procedure was faultless. Complete inspection, lubrication, torque sequence, etc.)

The shop also mentioned that they are religious about replacing hub and CL components as recommended by Porsche based on track miles.

One other interesting thing was that one of the CL nuts was missing the retaining ring that keeps the cone from falling off of the nut, which also surprised me, since the last person to remove the wheels was a tech at a highly regarded Porsche dealership.

Since then, I obtained the required tools, paste, and ordered a set of replacement parts for the nut. Last weekend I jacked up the car, replaced the missing retaining ring, and loosened and re-torqued all four wheels. It took an hour and was trivially easy. Obviously, I concur with the many other comments in this thread: Do your own wheel changes if you can

orthojoe

LOL! In all seriousness, that is how a wheel fell off a GT3 on track that was being maintained by a 'reputable' shop. If the car is only up on one wheel on a jack, yeah, applying that much torque is dangerous. As you've discovered already, trust no one.

GrantG

Joe, I don’t have the disadvantage of being a healthy weight like you, but I still bought an extension that makes the breaker bar of the Precision Instruments even longer (I think over 5ft) - might be useful

https://www.toolsource.com/adapters-...-p-110329.html

tubwreck

There is allegedly an adapter (https://www.autotoolworld.com/Precis..._p_164969.html) that allows you to attach the breaker bar in place of the outer element of the torque wrench instead of directly to the head, which would give more leverage.

In theory you could also flip the direction and use the torque wrench in the CCW direction (with the torque set to the 600 ft-lb max) to loosen.

It's striking how much easier it is to apply 443 ft-lbs with the wrench than it is with the (shorter) breaker bar.

orthojoe

Thanks, man. I actually have no problems loosening or tightening using the PI bar. Photo was for fun. LOL. I have seen some friends struggle and actually jump on the bar.....