Saw a shop in Dayton using only electric torque wrenches, no click types at all

I was dropping off a part at a shop over in Dayton last week and got to talking with their lead tech. He showed me their whole setup, and I noticed something wild. Every single torque wrench on their wall was electric, the kind with a digital readout and a beep. Not one old school click type in sight. He said they switched over about two years ago after a few too many 'feel' mistakes on aluminum heads and carbon fiber parts. He swears by the accuracy and the data logging, says it cuts down on comebacks. But man, it got me thinking. I've always trusted the click and the feel in my hand, and an electric wrench just seems like another thing that can fail or need a charge. What's the move here, stick with what we know or go full electric on the precision stuff? Has anyone else's shop made the switch and seen a real difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaronf401mo ago

What's next, a robot to tell you when the oil smells funny? I guess if you can't hear a click over the sound of your own doubts, the beep is a nice backup plan.

ryan9521mo ago

No kidding! My old shop tried those electric wrenches on a few race builds. Felt weird at first, like using a video game controller. But we caught a guy under-torquing lug nuts by a solid 20 foot-pounds on the digital log. The clicker he used was just worn out. Never went back for wheel hubs or anything with a spec sheet after that. The beep doesn't lie.

kai4631mo ago

Yeah, the beep is the shop foreman you never knew you needed... saves you from the guy who thinks "good enough" is a torque spec. Honestly, if a clicker can lie but a log file can't, I'm siding with the video game wrench every time.