Posted to News on 9th Sep 2007, 10:11
Torque wrenches checked daily with ease
Mechanics at the Triple 8 motor racing team use Norbar's TruCheck torque tool tester to check the accuracy of their torque wrenches on a daily basis.
In motorsport, accurate torque control of threaded fasteners is absolutely essential. The danger of under- or over-tightening threaded fasteners are self-evident but, as well as the drivers having the confidence to push the car to the edge, the workshop needs to have faith in the design integrity of every component.
Norbar Torque wrenches have long been the tools of choice for the Triple 8 (888) team, the company behind VX Racing, which is said to be the most successful team in the British Touring Car Championship's history.
Chief mechanic Martin Ellis knows the importance of accuracy: "If something does go wrong on the track, we have to know for sure that an incorrectly tightened bolt can be ruled out as a possible cause. For that reason, the accuracy of our torque tools is extremely important. We use a number of Norbar wrenches here, ranging from the quarter-inch drives for the small suspension and gearbox sub-assemblies right the way up to the one-inch wrench that we use for the suspension bearings."
But even with Norbar's reputation for accuracy and reliability, nothing can be left to chance, and ensuring that the team's torque tools remain accurate between servicing is critical.
TruCheck torque tool tester
The Triple 8's workshop was one of the first in the UK to take delivery of the new TruCheck torque tool tester from Norbar. TruCheck is designed to make the checking of torque tools so quick and easy that they can be verified at frequent intervals - daily in the case of the Triple 8's workshop. Used in conjunction with regular factory calibration, TruCheck gives Triple 8's mechanics total confidence in the accuracy of their torque tools. TruCheck is simple to use. Its red, green and amber LED display gives a clear visual conformation that the tool being tested is within the specified tolerance.
Ellis states: "TruCheck is so quick and easy to use that we do not even think about it anymore. The guys routinely just click the wrench onto the TruCheck and then get on with the job in hand, knowing that the tool is within tolerance."
At just a few hundred pounds, TruCheck enables almost every workshop to have the kind of confidence in the accuracy of the torque tools that Triple 8 insists on. Ellis concludes: "TruCheck is an essential bit of kit in our workshop. We would not be without it."
