Torque Wrenches

August 2005

Every single nut and bolt on your car needs to be fastened to the correct tightness or torque in order to do its job properly. And the best way to achieve this is to use a torque wrench. Screws which are too tight can be as bad as those that are too loose, so for the ultimate accuracy, leave the spanner or ratchet on the workbench. All you have to do is set the torque wrench to the specified figure and you'll hear a click when the job's done.

There is a wide choice of products on the market, offered at a range of prices. But do you have to dig deep to get the best kit? We went into the lab to find out.

Verdict

The user-friendly Halfords product was the best per-former. But because value counts, we've opted for the marginally less effective yet substantially cheaper Draper tool. Indeed, the Halfords 200139's price is so off the pace that it loses second place to the Sealey, which is nearly as good.

Top 3

1. Draper 3001A
2. Sealey AK624
3. Halfords 200139

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