On Wed, 28 Sep 1994, Mike Busby wrote:
> You won't chuckle when your out in the desert in the summer in west Texas,
> 100 miles from the nearest person and can't get the lug nuts off because
> the VW dealer that rotated your tires used 500 ft/lb of torque to
> put them back on.  Ask me how I know...

No, I'll shake my head in wonder.
I just tried to rotate the tires on my van, and got a knock in the head 
trying to turn the lug nuts.  What insanity.  I noticed that there was a 
lug that was broken off in the left rear, so I didn't even bother 
trying.  I'll take that to a mechanic.

It's exactly my point, however.  We carry spare tires in our cars, but what
average driver is going to have the tools to take a tire off when they're
torqued so tightly.  My standard lug wrench wouldn't do it.  My wife once
asked me what she should do if she gets a flat tire in a car.  I said call a
garage.  I think changing tires on the road is a dubious, risky and futile
process.

 --
Gerry
Gerald Skerbitz <gsker@med.umn.edu> U of MN Med School Admin 6-5379