Had a master tech in Phoenix show me why I was wrong about impact guns

I always thought you needed the biggest cordless impact you could find for lug nuts. Then Dave at a shop near Chandler let me use his old pneumatic IR 231. He made me torque a wheel by hand first, then back the nut off with his gun, and retorque it again. Watching the precision and hearing him explain that big impacts snap studs convinced me on the spot. Anyone else been humbled by an old school air tool after swearing by battery stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

green.noah2d agoMost Upvoted

Remember watching Dave do that and it really makes you stop and think. I had a similar moment a few years back with an old Ingersoll Rand 2135 at a buddy's shop. He showed me how the clutch on his pneumatic gun would just stop spinning once the nut was seated, while my new Milwaukee would keep hammering until the stud snapped. I went home and sold that big cordless impact the next week. You just cannot beat the feel and control of a good air tool for something like lug nuts where you need to be careful.

the_oliver2d ago

Yeah but my Milwaukee hasn't snapped a single lug yet and I don't have to drag a compressor around or listen to that racket. Air tools are great until you need to change a tire in the rain.