You must change this on the car as soon as possible – important for safety Having good winter tires on the car is important for safety in winter, and it is also important that they are mounted correctly.
For several decades, Swedish motorists have been urged to “tighten” the wheel bolts, but now the National Association of Tire Specialists is changing its recommendations, reports Vi Bilägare.
The association is a trade organization for Sweden’s tire, rim and service workshops.
Wheels can detach from the car
The reason why the experts are changing their recommendations is a survey from 2023 which shows that 6 percent of all Swedish car owners in the last 10 years have seen a wheel come loose from the car.
The accident statistics show that every year there are three accidents with personal injuries, after a wheel has fallen off.
Too tight wheel bolts can have fatal consequences – Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT Don’t “tighten” anymore
– It was in a discussion group linked to this report that it was concluded that “delaying” sends the wrong signals. That you have to “tighten” the wheels. Some believe that you should pull even harder than the workshop, says Lasse Dahlqvist at the National Association of Tire Specialists to We Car Owners.
According to Dahlqvist, the risk is that you tighten too hard and stretch the wheel bolt past its normal tension position. This can cause the wheel bolt to thread itself up, and tightening the wheel bolts too tightly increases the risk of a wheel falling off.
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New advice: Here’s what to do
Due to the risk of car owners tightening their wheel bolts too tightly, the advice is now being changed from “re-tightening” the wheel bolts to “re-checking” them.
– After five to ten miles, you should take the tool you have in the car and feel by hand that the wheel screws are tight. More than that is not needed. However, the very best thing is to use a torque wrench, says Lasse Dahlqvist to Vi Bilägare..
A torque wrench is a tool that tells the user when the bolt, screw or nut being tightened reaches a certain tightening torque.
You can find the torque with which the wheel bolts on your car should be tightened in the instruction manual.
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