I am a new amateur mechanic, and I went to pick up a torque wrench at a box store. My immediate plan was for torquing my lug nuts to spec after rotating my wheels (80 ft/lbs for my Civic). I was planning on buying a 3/8" drive which goes to up to 100 ft/lbs, but the store employee strongly recommended that I go for a stronger 1/2". He said the 3/8" would not be adequate for torquing my lugs. Was he right? I ended up buying the 1/2", but I think the 3/8" would be more useful for the entry-level maintenance that I’ll actually end up doing, and it would still work for the lugs. Should I return the 1/2" and swap it for the 3/8"? Maybe I’ll just end up needing both eventually anyway …
Keep the 1/2 inch. What are you going to do when you get an SUV or truck that needs to be torqued to 120 or 140. I know this is a touchy topic but a lot of techs use torque sticks also.
The idea of a torque stick is so you don’t over torque with an impact gun. And they are not to be used for the final torque. The wheels must be torqued by hand after. It would be irresponsible not to check by hand after.