Can Impact Drivers Be Used For Automotive?

Impact drivers are majorly used in carpentry and DIY projects. Moreover, impact drivers are used in the automobile industry to pop out fast or fasten the bolts and nuts in vehicles without tiring out the technicians. The most used automotive task is changing car tires.  So let’s see, whether an impact driver can be used for automotive works

Normally, impact drivers can be used for automotive to a certain extent because an impact driver has 500 in-lbs – 1200 in-lbs of torque which is equal to 57Nm – 136Nm. A car tire lug nut requires 95Nm – 160Nm of torque for fasting or removing. So most impact drivers are not able to produce that much torque for lug nut works.

Remember, impact drivers are not the ideal tool for the automotive industry, yet the portable and compact structure of impact drivers along with impressive torque makes them appropriate for a range of automotive-related work particularly in repairing.

How Much Torque Does A Car Tire Have? 

Car wheel torque is considered the tightness of the lug nuts calculated in foot-pounds (ft-lbs). foot-pounds are associated with the amount of weight necessary to move an object to a particular expanse. The following chart presents the torque setting of widely used car models. 

When we consider the torque for the nut, there are mainly both.

• Break away torque – Required torque to remove the nut

• Fastening torque – Torque needs to tighten the nut

Always, the breakaway torque is higher than the fastening torque. Because a nut can rust or be mechanically tightened with the nut. So it needs higher torque rather than tight it.

Car	Model	Torque (Steel)	Torque (Alloy)
Audi	All current types	120NM	120NM
	RS 2	130NM	130NM
	RS4 (8D), A6/A8/S8 (4E)	140NM	140NM
	Q3, Q5	140NM	140NM
	Q7	160NM	160NM
Aston Martin	Vanquish	–	130NM
	Other	–	100NM
Bentley	All current types	130NM	130NM
BMW	All current types	140NM	140NM
	1.3Coupe/Cabrio (E92/93) Z4, X1	120NM	120NM
Ferrari	348 & Testarossa	–	100NM
	360 Modena	–	110NM
	456 & All other models	–	120NM
	550, 575	–	135NM
Honda	All current types	108NM	108NM
Hyundai	All current types	100NM	100NM
Hummer		–	180NM
Isuzu	All current types	118NM	118NM
Jaguar	X-Type	80NM	103NM
	S-Type	–	128NM
	All current types	125NM	125NM
Jeep	Commander, Grand Cherokee	136NM	–
	All current types	135NM	–
Kia	Carnival, Carens, Sorento	100NM	100NM
	All current types	98NM	98NM
Lamborghini		–	110NM
Lancia	Y, Delta, Musa	86NM	98/100/120
	Kappa, Thesis	98NM	98NM
	Phedra, Zeta	100NM	100NM
	Thema	150NM	–
	Voyager	160NM	–
Land Rover	All current types	140NM	140NM
	Defender	105NM	–
	Freelander 2006 ->	133NM	–
	Range Rover Evoque	133NM	–
Maserati		–	120NM
Mazda	CX-5, 6, 2013 ->	128NM	128NM
	MX-5	98NM	98NM
Mercedes	A, B, C, CLA, CLS, E, SL, SLS, G	130	130
Benz	S, CL, R, M, GL, GLK	150	150
	CLC, SLK	110	110
Mini	all current types	140	140
Mitsubishi	Pajero, Pajero Sport	120	120
	L 200	135	–
	all current types	108	108
Nissan	Pixo, Cube	85	–
	Micra, Tiida, Juke, 370 Z, Murano, X-Trail	108	–
	Note	105	–
	Leaf	112	–
	Qashqai, Pathfinder	113	–
	Patrol	133	–
Vauxhall	Agila	100	100
	Mokka, Zafira	140	140
Peugeot	206, 307 / CC, 407, 607	90	90
	4008, 807, Expert	110	110
	508	120	120
	all current types	100	100
Porsche	Cayenne , Macan, Panamera	–	160
	all current types	–	130
Renault	Clio, Twingo	105	105
	Fluence, Grand Scénic	130	130
	Laguna, Latitude	160	160
	all current types	110	110
Suzuki	Ignis, Swift, SX 4	95	95
	Jimny, Grand Vitara	110	110
	all current types	90	90
Toyota	Avenis 2009	135	135
	GT 86, Hilux	120	120
	Land Cruiser	130	130
	all current types	110	110
Volvo	C 30, S 40, V 40, V 50, C 70	110	110
	S 60, V 70, S 80, XC 60, XC 70, XC 90	140	140
VW	Up	110	–
	Tiguan, Sharan 2010	140	140
	Sharan, T 4	170	170
	Touareg, T 5, Amarok	180	180

Impact Driver Vs Impact Wrench For Automotive

Impact drivers and impact wrenches are two prominent power tools that are utilized for driving screws and nuts/bolts. Even though these tools look the same, they perform very differently, particularly in terms of their chuck style, speed, and torque. 

An impact driver is a significant tool that is used to drive screws effortlessly. They will assist users in driving tough bolts and lugging nuts in automobiles. Impact wrenches are oftentimes utilized in the automotive industry to discard and install lug nuts and rusty and seized bolts carrying the suspension or steering systems elements in place.

An impact driver would not be strong enough to fulfill the above tasks. Tasks such as unfastening lug nuts on a tire can be done except with an impact wrench as impact drivers are not sufficiently powerful. 

Is Impact Driver Torque Enough For Lug Nuts? 

Before trying to remove a lug nut using an impact driver, go through the following chart.  This chart gives an idea about the amount of torque that can be added for a specific size of the lug nut. 

Wheel stud size	Regular range of torque	Number of turns of hardware interaction
7/16 inch	70 to 80	9
½ inch	75 to 85	8
9/16 inch	135 to 145	8
12×1.5 mm	70-80	6.5
12×1.25 mm	70-80	8
14×1.5 mm	85-90	7.5
14×1.25mm	85-90	9

What Is The Best For Automotive? – Impact Driver Or Impact Wrench

Impact drivers also have applications in the automotive field; still, impact drivers are appropriate for household tasks like drilling holes and driving screws. In the automotive industry, they can be used for fast repetitive work such as removing various oil pan bolts or screws and fastening plastic covers when repairing vehicles. 

The following table will guide you to identify some of the pros and cons of impact wrenches in contrast to impact drivers. 

Pros	Cons
High torque than impact drivers	Expensive than impact drivers
Several models temporarily deliver “nut-busting torque”	Heavy and can cause wrist fatigue after prolonged use
Ideal for unfastening seized nuts and bolts	High torque may lead to strip threads or broken bolts in careless situations.
Provide alternatives for power basis

As impact drivers are not that powerful enough, Do not purchase one to use them primarily to do automotive tasks such as removing lug nuts. There can be situations where you will need something more powerful to remove tough lug nuts other than impact drivers. A hybrid impact driver or impact wrench would be a better solution

Read More About – Why there is a Difference Between Impact Drivers and Drills?

Can Impact Wrench Sockets Be Used In Impact Drivers? 

One of the fundamental disparities between these impact tools is their collet size. Impact drivers have a ¼-inch hex collet that accepts 1/4-inch hex shank bits.

Many impact wrenches generally use a 1/4″, 3/8″, or 1/2″ square drive to a socket will be connected to.  Socket adapters and nut driver bits enable the use of impact wrench sockets in impact drivers.  Further, some adapters let your impact wrench accept 1/4-inch driver bits.

Read More About – Impact Socket Vs Regular Socket – Engineering Aspect!

Can A 1/4” Inch Impact Driver Remove Lug Nuts?

This depends. Impact drivers with ¼-inch hex drivers are primarily used to strip off smaller nuts, trim screws, and bolts. For larger lug nuts, a ¼-inch square drive.

An impact driver or wrench is the most appropriate choice. The lug nuts of a car can be removed using an impact driver provided the nuts are tightened at the right amount of torque ( 80 to 100lb-ft ) and your impact driver’s output torque is higher than 100 lb-ft. 

Is 300 Ft-Lbs Enough To Remove Lug Nuts?

When examining the above lug nut torque chart, it is obvious that most lug nuts are supposed to be torqued to about 100-120 ft-lbs. Some require less torque; others more. 

If you tighten a lug nut to 300 ft-lbs, you should be able to immediately remove it using a tool that can deliver 300 ft-lbs of torque. 300 ft-lbs will be too much for lug nuts that have been tightened to less than 300 ft-lbs. As time and environmental conditions often require a lot more torque to be used, it will require a torque of more than  300 ft-lbs.