Earlier this year I bought a 2023 Škoda Enyaq (iV80). Since it came with summer tires, I had to buy a new set for winter. I went with all season tires, but that’s beside the point.
When I drove the new tires a month ago, all was fine (afaict). Two weeks ago when on my way to another city, I noticed some rattling, like driving over a very uneven road. It persisted most of the travel (so anywhere between 90 and 130 km/h). On slower speeds (<=70 km/h) I didn’t notice it as much or even at all. I wasn’t sure, though, if I just started noticing something that was already there before or if it was indeed a new development.
I checked the tire pressure and drove a few more times on higher speed over the next two weeks to try and get more certainty. The symptom persisted.
Since I didn’t hear any sounds, only felt the vibrations (my whole body and arms shaking) I assumed it might be an imbalance in the wheels; maybe one of the weights fell off.
So I brought it back to where I bought the tires and they unmounted them all and rebalanced them. All were slightly off, but only between 20 and 40g per wheel.
When they were done and they remounted them, the guy who did it shouted over to his colleague regarding the torque, who proceeded to look in a table and shout back “140”. I was taken aback, because I was pretty sure I read 120. So I told him I am pretty sure the manual says 120Nm to which he just said “for an EV?!” and proceeded anyway. I clarified afterwards how much torque he used and he confirmed “140Nm”.
At home I checked the manual and indeed it said “no more than 120Nm”.
I loosened all the bolts and tightened them with 120Nm. But I now wonder: could they already have caused lasting damage? What if they already used 140Nm the first time? Could the symptoms I have be explained by damage caused by this? What are my best options now?
Thanks dear community!
That is a tiny deviation from the torque spec, to the extent that it’s probably within the bounds of the inaccuracy found within a typical cheap set of torque sticks. For the freedom eagles in the audience, a difference of 20 Nm is 177 inch pounds, or 14.75 foot pounds. In terms of, say, head gasket bolts that’s rather a lot. In terms of lug nuts, it’s basically nothing.
TL;DR: You’re fine. And whatever your issue might have been was not caused by your lug nut torque.
I assume you drove your car after having the wheels re-balanced. Did that fix it? If so, there’s your answer.
It got slightly better I think, but I am still not sure it’s as smooth as it should be. Too bad I can’t compare before / after to rule out a bias.
Maybe I should go to the OEM dealer and ask if they would take it for a quick test drive for a few Euro; they should have enough experience with their different models and what to expect in terms of vibrations. Downside is, that they might “find something” for the sake of squeezing more money out of me.
You could have some manner of unrelated suspension issue, but at the moment my money (all two cents’ worth of it) is on the possibility that one of your new tires is bad. Flat spotted, got a broken cord or belt, or maybe it’s just out of round. I’ve seen it happen occasionally over the years.
Whenever you had something done and then there’s a new problem, the best place to start is with whatever the most recent work or part was.