Earlier this year I bought a 2023 Škoda Enyaq (iV80). Since it came with summer tires, I had to buy a new set for winter. I went with all season tires, but that’s beside the point.

When I drove the new tires a month ago, all was fine (afaict). Two weeks ago when on my way to another city, I noticed some rattling, like driving over a very uneven road. It persisted most of the travel (so anywhere between 90 and 130 km/h). On slower speeds (<=70 km/h) I didn’t notice it as much or even at all. I wasn’t sure, though, if I just started noticing something that was already there before or if it was indeed a new development.

I checked the tire pressure and drove a few more times on higher speed over the next two weeks to try and get more certainty. The symptom persisted.

Since I didn’t hear any sounds, only felt the vibrations (my whole body and arms shaking) I assumed it might be an imbalance in the wheels; maybe one of the weights fell off.

So I brought it back to where I bought the tires and they unmounted them all and rebalanced them. All were slightly off, but only between 20 and 40g per wheel.

When they were done and they remounted them, the guy who did it shouted over to his colleague regarding the torque, who proceeded to look in a table and shout back “140”. I was taken aback, because I was pretty sure I read 120. So I told him I am pretty sure the manual says 120Nm to which he just said “for an EV?!” and proceeded anyway. I clarified afterwards how much torque he used and he confirmed “140Nm”.

At home I checked the manual and indeed it said “no more than 120Nm”.

I loosened all the bolts and tightened them with 120Nm. But I now wonder: could they already have caused lasting damage? What if they already used 140Nm the first time? Could the symptoms I have be explained by damage caused by this? What are my best options now?

Thanks dear community!

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[–] 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

That is a tiny deviation from the torque spec, to the extent that it's probably within the bounds of the inaccuracy found within a typical cheap set of torque sticks. For the freedom eagles in the audience, a difference of 20 Nm is 177 inch pounds, or 14.75 foot pounds. In terms of, say, head gasket bolts that's rather a lot. In terms of lug nuts, it's basically nothing.

TL;DR: You're fine. And whatever your issue might have been was not caused by your lug nut torque.

I assume you drove your car after having the wheels re-balanced. Did that fix it? If so, there's your answer.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 1 week ago (1 child)

    It got slightly better I think, but I am still not sure it’s as smooth as it should be. Too bad I can’t compare before / after to rule out a bias.

    Maybe I should go to the OEM dealer and ask if they would take it for a quick test drive for a few Euro; they should have enough experience with their different models and what to expect in terms of vibrations. Downside is, that they might “find something” for the sake of squeezing more money out of me.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago

    You could have some manner of unrelated suspension issue, but at the moment my money (all two cents' worth of it) is on the possibility that one of your new tires is bad. Flat spotted, got a broken cord or belt, or maybe it's just out of round. I've seen it happen occasionally over the years.

    Whenever you had something done and then there's a new problem, the best place to start is with whatever the most recent work or part was.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    I don’t think so. I’ve seen lots of mechanics just slam the impact wrench on lug nuts instead of torquing. I’m not a mechanic tho. Only know a few cars I’ve worked on.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    There's no way that slight over torquing would cause any problems like that. You could damage the lugs, but not at 140Nm.

    Look into road force balancing.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    The symptoms were likely tire imbalance, but its possible if the wheels were not mounted flat to the wheel hub and torqued down at an angle, it could also make the same symptoms.

    20nm/15ftlbs isnt really that big of a margin of error for lug nuts, in my experience. I have seen guys use pneumatics only to tighten them, and while I would not do that myself, I haven't seen one come back for that kind of issue, and I know it was way more than 20nm difference. Overtightening lugnuts is far more likely to shear the lug stud off, if it doesnt crack or warp the rim or wheel hub.

    If the tire imbalance wasn't the cause, its possible the wheel was mounted at a slight angle due to rust or debris on the hub, but if the symptoms went away then the wheels might be flat to the hub too.

    Just so you know: all torque wrenches have built-in inaccuracy. All of them, even the really expensive ones. So your wrench might say 120Nm, but it might actually be 115Nm, or 125Nm, or maybe even more inaccurate. Most reputable tool manufacturers make their torque wrenches with +/- 4% accuracy, but that doesnt mean they all are like that, even from the good brands. Don't drop it and do not store it set with any tension in the tool, because those also can easily damage the tools accuracy. Generally, you should check calibration every year if you use it infrequently, and every 6 months or sooner if you constantly use it.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Thanks for all the info :-)

    My torque wrench hasn't been calibrated in "a while". I do store it properly, at least. I am not sure if I want to have it calibrated professionally (since afaik that is quite expensive in relation to the value of the tool for a non-professional like myself) and the workaround at home that involves filling a bucket of water until the tool "clicks" likely fails by also not having a well calibrated scale 🙄

    But from all I read in all these nice answers here it's not an exact science anyway, so I guess I'll be fine in that regard. Thanks again!

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago*

    Yeah, for lug nuts its not a big deal. If youre using your torque wrench for high performance engine blueprinting, that's when its really important. But most people aren't doing that, so a difference of 20Nm isnt generally an issue for lug nuts. It would for like, valve cover bolts or interior trim or something, though.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago*

    Not anything to worry about. It’s not the first time. Not the last time.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago

    140 is quite a lot, but it isn't what cause the vibration in the first place. They do it that tight just to be sure, no one wanted the wheel fall off and people killed, a stripped bolt is still preferable consequence.

    20g off the balance is quite a lot, 40g will likely cause vibration on 70-80kmph. Usually 15g off it will caused an issue on highspeed from my experience, but less than 5g usually won't cause any vibration for anything less than 150kmph..

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