Best torque wrench?

[oldcamper]

I’ve been very satisfied with a set of 3 clickers (1/4,3/8,1/2) from Harbor Freight.
They get good reviews and can be purchased on sale for about $10 each.

I’ve tested the 3/8 against a beam type and the 1/2 against a Craftsman and they seem to closely match.
Probably not the quality for a professional but for occasional use they work well enough.

+1 on returning them to 0 or less after each use.

 

[skibum69]

I have an old Snap On 1/2 that came with my full tool box from a retiring auto mechanic, I have not had it calibrated.

My 3/8 Craftman does just about everything on my KTM’s, I don’t care about the high torque values on my wheels etc as I’m good with doing those by feel. I stick to torque’ng Critical stuff like sensitive engine bits.

I bought a 1/4 Snap On thinking I needed it for my engine covers but turns out the Craftman is fine.

I hear you guys on consistency vs accuracy but when you’re only dealing with 5 foot pounds I don’t want it to be non accurate too high.

I do need to calibrate my big one for sure, the Snap On guy around here has a pull tester on his van to do a quick check. I need to track him down with mine in tow,

 

[pglaves]

Not to be a broken record: I have 3. A 1/2" drive I use for wheels at 77 ft lb. My most used is a 3/8" drive from about 10 ft lbs to 80 ft lbs. I also have a 3/8" (not 1/4") that is in inch pounds. The 3/8 just fit my various socket sets better. I use the 3/8 10-80 ft lb 95% of the time. If I had to have just one this would be it. It would do wheels but near the max. The 1/2"is mid-range for wheels. It would do the small stuff but at the bottom 10% of the range. So I have 3. But one would mostly do OK. I have had several different brands. At the moment all three our Craftsman. RIP

 

[skibum69]

Don’t forget all of your BMW hardware is metric. Lucky for you most torque wrenches these days have imperial and metric scales on them. Your phone/tablet/computer etc will give you converters easy peasy too.

Maybe you want to buy a European wrench so you know it is built to metric specs? Just a thought...

 

[lkchris]

IMHO the best is Stahlwille.

For sure they are very convenient, as there is no need to zero them when not in use.

Also, they are sensitive in only one direction, so no problem loosening fasteners with one. The ratchet head is removable and reversible for use with right-hand threads, should that ever come up. Additional heads are available besides ratchets, and in fact one is the special tool required to remove the transmission drain plug on an R1100S.

 

[akbeemer]

I have five. Four I purchased to give me a range from inch/lbs to 150 ft/lbs. A friend gave me a Snap-On. He bought two at a garage sale for $10 each. The Snap-On is 1/2 inch drive, has an attachment to make it a ratchet and has a light that comes on when it reaches the desired torque. It tested at 1 lb under the specified torque at 75 ft/lbs. I use it instead of a Craftsman 1/2 inch beam wrench I have had for many years. I keep a chart posted for converting between Nm and ft/lbs.