"George E. Cawthon" writes:

You shouldn't need more than maybe 70 foot pounds on your lug nuts.
Keep in mind that it is approximately equivalent to you leaning on a
standard size 3/8 ratchet wrench. (maybe a 1/2 inch ratchet if you
are a lightweight)

Honda specifies 80 foot-pounds for the wheel nuts on my 92 Civic.
So 70 may be a bit low, at least for 4-nut wheels.

I always use a torque wrench when tightening the nuts (unless I'm fixing
a flat when away from home). And I retorque the nuts after the car
comes home from being serviced, if the wheels were off, on the
assumption that the garage didn't use a torque wrench.

I have never had a wheel nut or bolt come loose, but I *did* have some
problems with disc rotor warping on a VW Rabbit. That was when I began
the practice of retorquing the wheel bolts after service. I haven't had
warped rotor problems since then, either on the Rabbit or the Civic that
replaced it.

Dave