What impact wrench is enough for working on a car?

Hi guys. So I'm planning on investing in some tools to do the clutch on my Miata by myself. I will have to buy taller jack stands, a new jack, and I thought why not get a 1/2 inch drive impact to make it easier. I'm debating between the Ryobi and the Ridgid:

Ryobi: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-18-Volt-ONE-Cordless-3-Speed-1-2-in-Impact-Wrench-Tool-Only-P261/205885687

Ridgid: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18-Volt-OCTANE-Cordless-Brushless-1-2-in-Impact-Wrench-Tool-Only-with-Belt-Clip-R86011B/301996008

Now, I can save money by going with the Ryobi, and thats my appeal with it. The only thing is, the Ridgid has 150 ft lbs of more torque according to the specs on Home Depot's website. I would think having more torque would be better, but would I be just fine even with the Ryobi? Let me know your opinions! Oh, and if you have any tips on doing a clutch job on a Miata with jack stands, I'm open to hearing that too...this is my first time ever doing this, and I am quite a bit nervous.

Thanks everyone!

I'd want the Ridgid.  The Ryobi's 300 ft/lbs might be enough, but 485 surely is. 620 ft/lbs in reverse is as much as my IR commercial 1/2 air impact. That thing is a beast.

FWIW: I have a Dewalt 3/8" 20V (I bought it to use as a drawbar wrench on my mill) and it only has 200ft/lbs. Sometimes it isn't enough to break lug nut loose.

Yeah, I'd want the Ridgid.  Better too big than not big enough.  The Ridgid is not that much more and reviews slightly better.  If there's any doubt in your mind, get the bigger one.

I have the ridgid. I prefer my harbor freight Bauer.

I'll say this.   I bought the HF Baur 1/2 corded impact.  1050? lbs of torque is amazing and breaks bolts that have sat in Michigan for years

For homeowner grade stuff, I use Ryobi simply because they don't change their battery format every couple of years.

Nothing pisses me off more than buying into a system and having the system be obsoleted 6 months later.

I don't own Apple products either.

I would go for the Ridgid, personally.  Bogus torque ratings aside, the Ridgid is lifetime warranty, and the rest of their tools are much higher quality IMO, should you decide to add more cordless tools.

Torque ratings on an impact driver are calculated by the weight of the anvils and their moment of inertia and the RPMs.  Torque ratings on an impact wrench are often very inaccurate.  Take a bolt and torque it to 400 lb-ft and I guarantee none of the above will take it off.  Still, they can be referenced as a trend of relative ability to apply torque.

ShawnG said:

For homeowner grade stuff, I use Ryobi simply because they don't change their battery format every couple of years.

Nothing pisses me off more than buying into a system and having the system be obsoleted 6 months later.

I don't own Apple products either.

I tell people this every time. You aren't just buying the tool you are buying into the battery architecture.  

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I would go for the Ridgid, personally.  Bogus torque ratings aside, the Ridgid is lifetime warranty, and the rest of their tools are much higher quality IMO, should you decide to add more cordless tools.

If you buy Ridgid for the lifetime warranty, find out where your nearest service center is FIRST. You can't mail them in or take them back to depot, you need to physically take them to the service center and pick them up.

At least you did 2 years ago when I quit buying tools from them because the nearest service center to me was an hour and a half each way, while harbor freight was 10 minutes.

Thanks guys! I guess I should go with the Ridgid then.

RevRico - Is there a reason you prefer the HF Bauer over your Ridgid? I have Harbor Freight tools which have been serving me well, but I never really considered their impact tools to be a substitute to Ridgid, Ryobi, Milwaukee, etc. Just curious!

In reply to Japspec :

It fits my hand better, and the biggest reason is that I don't need to spend 3 hours round trip dropping it off then 3 more hours picking it up when it stops working, I just go to harbor freight and get another.

I was big into Ridgid tools after getting a series of crap from Ryobi, because they were priced well, did good work, and had that lifetime warranty. Then I had to actually use the warranty and started running into trouble getting batteries at my local Depot.

The Rigid has a better LED light, the batteries aren't terribly priced and work well, but there are almost annual changes to their tool and battery line, which had made keeping a single cordless ecosystem rather annoying.

The Bauer is a bit heavier, and doesn't have a speed selector on it (which I've never used anyway), but the batteries are cheaper, and it's just easier to replace when something happens to it. 

I have had crap batteries straight out of the box from both brands though. 

If money was no object, I'd be Milwaukee everything, no question, but I just can't afford it.

RevRico said:

In reply to Japspec :

It fits my hand better, and the biggest reason is that I don't need to spend 3 hours round trip dropping it off then 3 more hours picking it up when it stops working, I just go to harbor freight and get another.

I was big into Ridgid tools after getting a series of crap from Ryobi, because they were priced well, did good work, and had that lifetime warranty. Then I had to actually use the warranty and started running into trouble getting batteries at my local Depot.

The Rigid has a better LED light, the batteries aren't terribly priced and work well, but there are almost annual changes to their tool and battery line, which had made keeping a single cordless ecosystem rather annoying.

The Bauer is a bit heavier, and doesn't have a speed selector on it (which I've never used anyway), but the batteries are cheaper, and it's just easier to replace when something happens to it. 

I have had crap batteries straight out of the box from both brands though. 

If money was no object, I'd be Milwaukee everything, no question, but I just can't afford it.

Thanks! The nearest Ridgid service center from me is pretty far away too. Kind of odd that they won't let you mail it in; I thought that would be pretty standard practice today. If I had the funds I would be Milwaukee all the way too...they are just very expensive like you said.

I have Ryobi at home, but when I watch a Milwaukee effortlessly pull off an axle nut that I couldn't loosen with an 8 foot wrench being pushed with a jack, I decided I wanted one.  I eventually found the Milwaukee on sale for $250 with a 5 amp-hr battery, and HD hooked me up with a 1/4 inch impact driver, a 2 amp-hr battery, and a charger for another $100.

Pretty much everything I own (one or two outliers) doesn't need the Milwaukee and the Ryobi does just fine and I have a ton of batteries and tools.  The Milwaukee is in the pic-a-part tool set, though.  The Ryobi struggles a little with lugnuts, but then it gets them off anyway.

The big HF Earthquake is a pretty good unit. I haven't yet found anything that made it even work very hard. Downside is the relatively unique battery.

RevRico said:

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I would go for the Ridgid, personally.  Bogus torque ratings aside, the Ridgid is lifetime warranty, and the rest of their tools are much higher quality IMO, should you decide to add more cordless tools.

If you buy Ridgid for the lifetime warranty, find out where your nearest service center is FIRST. You can't mail them in or take them back to depot, you need to physically take them to the service center and pick them up.

At least you did 2 years ago when I quit buying tools from them because the nearest service center to me was an hour and a half each way, while harbor freight was 10 minutes.

This was ten years ago now but when I worked at the tool repair shop, we were -allegedly- a Ryobi, Ridgid, Milwaukee repair shop.

I say allegedly because I could buy Milwaukee parts all day long but whenever I tried to order Ryobi or Ridgid parts, TTI was a massive PITA for me to deal with. Not really sure why but we would place orders and nothing would ever show, we were told parts are backordered or not available. Milwaukee is the same parent company and no problems there.

I would hope it's all fixed by now but it might not hurt to ask. All I could do was send angry people back to Home Depot to ask for their money back.

ShawnG said:

This was ten years ago now but when I worked at the tool repair shop, we were -allegedly- a Ryobi, Ridgid, Milwaukee repair shop.

I say allegedly because I could buy Milwaukee parts all day long but whenever I tried to order Ryobi or Ridgid parts, TTI was a massive PITA for me to deal with. Not really sure why but we would place orders and nothing would ever show, we were told parts are backordered or not available. Milwaukee is the same parent company and no problems there.

I would hope it's all fixed by now but it might not hurt to ask. All I could do was send angry people back to Home Depot to ask for their money back.

I worked for HD in warranty repair.  We never had trouble getting parts, but more often than not we would just give the customer a new tool, fix theirs, and send it to one of those tool outlets in the outlet mall.

It's strange how they're all under the same roof now.  Ridgid, Ryobi, Porter Cable, Dewalt, Milwuakee, Homelite, Black and Decker.  They still maintain their own manufacturing, but tool companies are becoming like food companies.  Pretty much everything in the grocery store is either Proctor & Gamble or Kraft.

02Pilot said:

The big HF Earthquake is a pretty good unit. I haven't yet found anything that made it even work very hard. Downside is the relatively unique battery.

I have the pneumatic Earthquake XT.  That thing is scary.

Wow, I looked at the comparable Makita: BL brushless motor delivers 210 ft./lbs. of maximum torque and 295 ft./lbs. of nut-busting torque.  About 3 1/2 lbs.

Their more expensive model offers 740 ft lbs of maximum torque and 1,180 ft lbs of breakaway torque, but its about 7 pounds.

The model I have is 8 pounds, huge, and puts out 325 ft. lbs. of maximum torque. Its fine for changing tires at the autocross and was the cheapest of all three options, but no way would it work under a car because it is so massive.  

The RIGID looks like a pretty solid deal.

The big blue Kobalt air impact was the only one that I could find that would actually remove the Honda crank pulley bolt - so that's what I use, with a 3/8" air line and a regulator set to 90 psi most of the time and 140 when necessary.

I have the smaller and larger brushless makitas, as well as the $30-shipped ebay 3/8ths impact makita clone(uses makita batteries), and the Husky rechargeable ratchet.

Personally, I would grab the big-boy makita (it's a beast and zips off lugs without breaking a sweat) and then the husky—it's cheap, maneuverable, and will change the way you wrench.

For the record, the knockoff makita is awesome and I reach it more often than the others, probably because I don't feel bad beating up on it. 

02Pilot said:

The big HF Earthquake is a pretty good unit. I haven't yet found anything that made it even work very hard. Downside is the relatively unique battery.

How difficult is that to use under a car? It looks huge!