18V impact wrench - how much torque do I really need?

[SonicHedgeHog]

I’m planning a restomod project that’ll start next year and am going to need an 18V impact wrench. As we all know there is never a bad time to buy power tools but Black Friday seems to be an especially good time. I have Makita, Milwaukee and Ryobi 18V stuff already and rate all of them highly. I’m not a pro using them every day so don’t need the power tool equivalent of a Toyota Landcruiser. I do however want to make sure I have enough torque to undo even the most stubborn nuts and bolts. So how much torque do I really need?

[Belle427]

I have the Ryobi R18IW3, i think its rated at 400 Nm and although its very good it will struggle on some stuff such as an over tightened wheel nut.
Ive got into the habit of cracking bigger stuff by hand now and using it to do the rest which is a bit pointless but no real problem.
Im not sure if the brushless version has more grunt but its worth a look.
Bigger is probably better in this case i think.

[darreni]

Dewalt 899, makes light work of stuck fixings & hub nuts etc. It also has 3 power settings so you can start low & move up if needed.

[CouncilFerrari]

Depending on the scope of your restoration and estimating that it will get completely out of hand, as most projects do, I'd go with the most powerful one you can find. I've got a Milwaukee M18 and it shrugs off everything I throw at it. Axle nuts, crank bolts, top mount nuts.... anything.

Don't estimate the bonded strength of rusted together metals. This is the one I've got, four different settings with a maximum 'nut busting torque' of nearly 1900nM.

https://www.bigredpowertools.co.uk/milwaukee-m18fh...

Edited by CouncilFerrari on Saturday 9th November 13:12

[-Ad-]

Milwaukee M12 Impact Wrench "Stubby".

New 2.0 version has just come out.

[SonicHedgeHog]

I can see where this is going. The best Ryobi is rated at 1000 torques and is about half the price of the Milwaukee but it sounds like even that won’t be enough. Anyone got a heavy duty Makita?

[guywilko]

The big makita DTW 1002 18v is great but needed help with heat on a shock bolt seized in Alu.

For most stuff I use the DTW300

[Belle427]

SonicHedgeHog said:

I can see where this is going. The best Ryobi is rated at 1000 torques and is about half the price of the Milwaukee but it sounds like even that won’t be enough. Anyone got a heavy duty Makita?

That will be enough, they have higher breakaway torque too which helps.

[LennyM1984]

darreni said:

Dewalt 899, makes light work of stuck fixings & hub nuts etc. It also has 3 power settings so you can start low & move up if needed.

This is what I have and it is epic. It removes 400nm hub nuts as if they aren't there

I watched my neighbour struggling to remove something from his Landrover (his impact gun wasn't touching it, a scaffolding pole wasn't moving it, and a blow torch wasn't helping it) and so offered him this gun. He looked entirely unconvinced that it would help until he tried it and the nut came off in less than half a second. The joy on his face was priceless.

[B'stard Child]

CouncilFerrari said:

Depending on the scope of your restoration and estimating that it will get completely out of hand, as most projects do, I'd go with the most powerful one you can find. I've got a Milwaukee M18 and it shrugs off everything I throw at it. Axle nuts, crank bolts, top mount nuts.... anything.

Don't estimate the bonded strength of rusted together metals. This is the one I've got, four different settings with a maximum 'nut busting torque' of nearly 1900nM.

https://www.bigredpowertools.co.uk/milwaukee-m18fh...

Edited by CouncilFerrari on Saturday 9th November 13:12

I went the same way - I figured if I was going to get one I'd buy just once and get something more powerful than I'd ever need - If I bought one and then found it wouldn't get stubborn bolts out then I'd end up buying twice..........

[ChocolateFrog]

B'stard Child said:

CouncilFerrari said:

Depending on the scope of your restoration and estimating that it will get completely out of hand, as most projects do, I'd go with the most powerful one you can find. I've got a Milwaukee M18 and it shrugs off everything I throw at it. Axle nuts, crank bolts, top mount nuts.... anything.

Don't estimate the bonded strength of rusted together metals. This is the one I've got, four different settings with a maximum 'nut busting torque' of nearly 1900nM.

https://www.bigredpowertools.co.uk/milwaukee-m18fh...

Edited by CouncilFerrari on Saturday 9th November 13:12

I went the same way - I figured if I was going to get one I'd buy just once and get something more powerful than I'd ever need - If I bought one and then found it wouldn't get stubborn bolts out then I'd end up buying twice..........

I'm going to replace my Makita with something like that.

It's so bad it's either fake or broken and I'm pretty sure it's not fake. Won't wheelnuts, not even close.

[normalbloke]

2400nm. I also have 2 other impact wrenches from MW for less obstinate jobs. Interesting that my 1/4” MW impact driver will happily undo wheelnuts with its socket adapter.

[Richard-D]

darreni said:

Dewalt 899, makes light work of stuck fixings & hub nuts etc. It also has 3 power settings so you can start low & move up if needed.

I also have one of these that I rate. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has already bought in to the main competitor (Milwaukee) though as I don't believe there is significant difference between the two brands to justify having another battery system.

[InitialDave]

I have a Dewalt 899, and would also recommend it, but echo the above about not changing horses if you're already bought into someone else's battery system.

Also, these heavier guns are quite chunky, and on occasion it can be awkward getting at a given fastener with them.

But I'm firmly of the opinion that when you need an impact gun, you need a beefy one.

[JimM169]

Have you considered where you're likely to be using the gun and how much access you'll have. No point having the most powerful wrench on the market if you can't actually get it into the space to use it. I'd be tempted by the new Gen2 Milwaukee M12 stubby mentioned above, seems a great balance of power vs size - it's on my Christmas list (even though I don't really need it!)

[aeropilot]

JimM169 said:

Have you considered where you're likely to be using the gun and how much access you'll have. No point having the most powerful wrench on the market if you can't actually get it into the space to use it. I'd be tempted by the new Gen2 Milwaukee M12 stubby mentioned above, seems a great balance of power vs size - it's on my Christmas list (even though I don't really need it!)

This is why I went for a DeWalt 892, plus I already had other DeWalt stuff, so commonality of batteries was another factor in that choice.