SnapOn TechAngle torque wrench

[SturdyHSV]

Going to be starting on my first full engine rebuild shortly, and with an eye to "doing it right" the first time, I'm planning on investing in a good quality torque wrench.

There are some TTY bolts as well where an angle is needed, and I must confess to finding the SnapOn item mentioned in the subject quite appealing...

Naturally it's a hefty wedge of cash, I'd want to just purchase it through the website for simplicity in terms of warranty etc.

My question is, anyone with experience of them? They seem well rated, but then when you've dropped £500 on a torque wrench you're going to tell the internet it's great aren't you, else you'd look like an idiot

Or alternatives I suppose, I know they're hardly must haves, but the lights as you approach the torque setting, vibration, presets etc. are all appealing features and certainly it'd take pride of place on the tool wall as a rare indulgence

Tell me I'm a sucker for marketing and why

For example (link goes to US store, but I'm in the UK):

https://shop.snapon.com/product/TechAngle-Models-(...

[G600]

No experience of the digital snap on but I'd recommend norbar, I use them (and non digital snap on) at work all the time, calibrated every 6 months and they take years of abuse before they need adjusting, nice positive click when you reach the required torque.

[Shinysideup]

The best feature i discovered about my digital torque wrench is, i can tell exactly how much torque was applied when releasing fasteners by reversing it. Handy feature when diagnosing parts of the equipment i work on.

Yes geeky as feck but it really impressed me.

The Norbar stuff is great quality, as is Wera. Both great value and tough in an industrial environment.

I would suggest whatever brand you buy, make sure the scale is adequate for your use. You don't really want to be operating them at the edges of their 'envelope' if accuracy is important.

Edited by Shinysideup on Monday 14th September 22:15

[shirt]

I’ve got a couple of nortronics which are superb, and a manual snap on which I really use only for wheel nuts, it’s nothing special. Norbar are also twice as accurate as the one you linked to (+/-1% throughout the rated range)

[SturdyHSV]

Yes the accuracy near the fringes of the range was a minor concern, wasn't sure what was actually available / normal in terms of % variation and so on.

Norbar eh? Never heard of them, I shall have a look, thanks

[Boosted LS1]

I have a Kent Moore torque/angle meter. It's pretty good but can be a bit fiddly when setting up to do multiple bolts.

ETA, if you switch to studs you won't need to measure angle. You can use one of the simple devices for the crank balancer.

Edited by Boosted LS1 on Tuesday 15th September 12:12

[VanDiesel99]

I'm no Expert and my budget dictates that my tools are cheap (often Silverline, perfectly good) but in my mind a Torque Wrench should have a 1/2" Drive, not 3/8"

[shirt]

depends what you're working on, there's very few things on a car where you'd need 1/2in.