Using a simple lug wrench is one of the most common ways regular drivers and professionals alike use to torque up the lug nuts on their wheels. And notice that we have used the word torque and not just referred to the process as “screwing in the lug nuts”. That it because there is a precise pressure that needs to be applied between the lug nut base and the corresponding base on the wheel. At that precise pressure point, that is different for each individual type of car, the two pieces of metal are basically fused together and there is no danger of the screw ever coming undone. That is why those who really care about the safety of their car use a lug wrench with a torque counter.
Of course a lug wrench with a torque counter is a more expensive piece of kit and even most garages prefer to use their employees intuition to determine the proper amount of torque to be applied. The risk of not applying enough torque when putting the wheel in place is that the tremendous pressures that are being applied on the lug nut combined with the vibrations of the vehicle can result in the lug nuts coming undone. It is a problem most commonly seen with large trucks because the forces involved there are so much greater but the fact is that a small passenger car has even fewer lug nuts on each of its wheels which means that even if just one of them comes undone there is a real danger the rest will come undone. However that doesn’t mean you should put the maximum amount of pressure you can on the lug wrench when you doing up the lug nuts.
The fact is that using a strong lug wrench and by applying enough pressure you can easily tear off the studs. And that is the best case scenario because applying enough force when tightening the lug nuts and tightening them in the wrong order can result in warping the wheel drum which is an essential kit in the design of the brakes. Below is a table with the correct order in which you should fasten the lug nuts but the best practice in this case would be to follow a precise pattern of applying the pressure. The first step is to make sure to remove all impurities on the studs and on the lug nuts so that they can easily be screwed in by hand. Afterwards you can switch to using the lug wrench to apply some pressure on the lug nuts in the order shown in the table below.
Ideally after using a simple lug wrench to do put some amount of pressure on the lug nuts but not over doing it you should use a torque lug wrench and using the torque levels in you cars manual you should continue to completely torque your lug nuts to the correct pressure point. However since a you may not always have a torque lug wrench handy there is a simple rule of thumb you can use and that is men should only use their complete upper body strength to pressure the lug nuts while women should use the strength in one leg taking care however to not put their entire weight on the lug wrench.
The conclusion is that a torque lug wrench is a very good piece of kit to have handy in any car but in case you don’t have one remember that too much pressure can be as damaging as not enough and that you should at least check your lug nuts after the first 30 or 40 miles if you only used a simple lug wrench to torque them.