They really aren't that hard at all.

 

Anything that allows any kind of "give" will absorb some of the torque and result in not enough torque into the join...i.e.: a click-type wrench will still trip at its setting, but some of its delivered torque will have been absorbed by the strap rather than the wheel nut, resulting in lower torque into the join. Some sort of positive mechanical stop with no "give" (the brakes, etc.) will be required to accurately achieve the desired torque. If you could somehow apply a steel cable in the way that you're suggesting, without it bending anything (bending will also absorb torque), that would work as far as accurate torque goes...but then you're probably back to causing cosmetic damage in the process. Surely a stand-up, Porsche-owning person should be able to muster up one friend to stand on their brake pedal for them, no?

 

The PDF attached to the first post in this thread is a scan from the Porsche manual. It says to torque the centerlocks to 370 ft-lbs. I've seen others in this thread mention 440 ft-lbs, 444 ft-lbs, and a You Tube video mentioned 450 ft-lbs. What's the real answer, and the rationale for not following what's written in the Porsche manual? Thanks.

Sean

 

Here's the story. As originally published, Porsche specified two different torque settings for the CL wheels - a street setting (lower) and track setting (higher -444 lb-ft.) After a fairly short time, they upped their recommendation to 444 across the board, regardless of use. They sent out a supplemental manual (wheels only) to owners but apparently the original post didn't get that. It was 444 for my 997.2 GTS and it's the same for my 991 GT3.


DMoore
'15 GT3
'13 Panamera GTS

 

Perfect. Thanks DMoore!

 

I recently had to change all 4 center locks with my new tool at a rainy autocross. I was moving too fast and my precision tools torque wrench was not clicking when torqued. I had the handle on backwards! There is a CW side and a CCW side. Duh! Only have your torque wrench on the CW side....lesson learned. Over torqued all wheels and it took a very long cheater pipe to get them off.

 

Hello,

Picked up a screw entering the bank parking lot. Nearest Porsche dealer is 50 miles south...all the local shops dont do center lock wheels....surprise surprise. So, I decided to remove the wheel/tire and take it to Discount Tire for repair.

After researching and so forth, this was my experience.
1. I used a low-profile 3 ton jack
2. Used pieces of carpet squares to fill the void between the jack plate and the actual mount under the car (instead of a hockey puck)
3. I used a 20" long 3/4" breaker bar from HFT
4. A friend let me borrow his 1000 lb/ft torque wrench
5. I used a 1/2" drive breaker bar to wiggle the locking pin/mechanism so it would be flush. I just inserted the end of the drive into the pin and very gently wiggled from left to right.
6. I also torqued the wheel to 450 lbs/ft
7. I did NOT use any Castrol Optimol TA paste as the nut and screw had plenty.
8. I placed soft towels over the ceramic rotor
9. Once the nut was removed and the wheel was ready to come off, I lowered the car to where the tire was within 1/4" to 1/2" of the floor. This step made it super easy to remove the wheel without risking damage to the rotor. Plus, I didn't have to worry about not having the "wheel alignment" tool.

After getting over the sheer fear of breaking the car or screwing something up, I did the job.

For me, I used the weight of the car to keep the tire/wheel from moving when I was loosening the nut. Afterwards, I raised the driver rear side of the car to get the wheel/tire off the ground. Then, I was able to finish loosening the nut by hand. To tighten, I hand tightened the nut. Then, used the breaker bar to tighten as much as possible. I tightened the nut while the car was in the air. I lowered the car in order to apply the 450 lbs/ft of torque.

I will post pics in another entry.

 

Some of the tools I used

Before and after pic of the flush safety locking mechanism/pin

The text is out of the owner's manual

 

Felt great working on my toy and very accomplished afterwards! For those that might be too concerned to try, go for it! Take your time and you'll be just fine. Be sure to wear some gloves and even use a towel to cover the end of the breaker bar. Loosening 450 lbs/ft of torque can certainly rub the skin off your hands or make you feel like your bones are scraping against metal. Leather work gloves and a thick cotton towel made it much more comfortable for me to use the breaker bar.

Cheers!