M12 tools for car work?

Shedendman · 2026-03-15T05:45:36+0000

Kram said:
It is the newer 1/2" that seems to be one of the best available, which would be nice to have, just in case, but dont think I need that power.
Theres been times that only 3/8 sockets would fit and only without adaptors/extensions, cant remember what, currently.

Any thoughts on the m12 angled impact? May be better for some jobs but too long for others?

Got one,brillant,the 1/2" is cheaper than the 3/8" or was when i was looking,i've the 1/2 with the 3/8 adaptor
Frankly the Milwaukee M12 tools (which is all i have) are the bizz imo
:thumbup:

MattF · 2026-03-15T07:19:03+0000

Shedendman said:
Frankly the Milwaukee M12 tools (which is all i have) are the bizz imo

They're almost as nice as the Bosch 12V gear. :whistle:

roofman · 2026-03-15T07:35:22+0000

After being a "yellow" guy for many years i have recently bought a none impact M12 driver from @Craig-SM ..bought a 6AH and a 3 AH battery for it and what a tool..I can see the attraction now for this brand as the quality is top notch. I am on the look out now for a M12 3/8 ratchet to replace the parkside one i currently use.

Kram · 2026-03-15T07:40:06+0000

Same the ratchet is cheap enough but what size to get? I am thinking the shortest one in 3/8" would be the most useful.

dobbslc · 2026-03-15T07:40:08+0000

Kram said:
It appears that the stubby impact needs a 5ah battery for best results tho unlikely I need that good performance

I would definitely agree with that , I have one with the 5ah high output battery and it is great BUT it won't remove car wheel nuts that are torqued to 125Nm which is what I bought it for! It ment to have something like 745Nm of nut busting torque, maybe I gotta duff tool :dontknow:

Kram said:
There appears to be a few different models of stubby impact, which is the best one to buy?

My one is a Gen 3 brushless which I think is the latest version.

Kram · 2026-03-15T07:41:40+0000

While on the subject I dont actually have any impact sockets (apart from those with the parkside wrench).
Could anyone recommend some, good but inexpensive, in 3/8"?

roofman · 2026-03-15T07:41:46+0000

Kram said:
Same the ratchet is cheap enough but what size to get? I am thinking the shortest one in 3/8" would be the most useful.

thats what ime thinking

premmington · 2026-03-15T07:46:20+0000

dobbslc said:
I would definitely agree with that , I have one with the 5ah high output battery and it is great BUT it won't remove car wheel nuts that are torqued to 125Nm which is what I bought it for! It ment to have something like 745Nm of nut busting torque, maybe I gotta duff tool

My one is a Gen 3 brushless which I think is the latest version.

More like some tyre fitter is equipped with a high torque version. Bangs them on - then wave's a torque wrench in the general direction of the lug nuts.

It is unreal how tight - wheel fixings are now. I stopped lifting cars on a ramp fist - then using a battery or airgun. I always try to get wheel fixings loose now - while car in on the floor.

Had a Volvo XC60 the other day - 3/4 socket - breaker bar - length of pipe - the noise when they cracked was loud. These were more than 600nM (lorry tight). Two new tyres accross one axle - tyre fitter must have the best impact gun money can buy...

dobbslc · 2026-03-15T08:05:44+0000

premmington said:
More like some tyre fitter is equipped with a high torque version. Bangs them on - then wave's a torque wrench in the general direction of the lug nuts.

These were ok as we have had the wheels off a couple of times since he bought the car.

premmington said:
tyre fitter must have the best impact gun money can buy...

If he'd only let me know what it is I'll buy one

reb78 · 2026-03-15T08:09:59+0000

dobbslc said:
I would definitely agree with that , I have one with the 5ah high output battery and it is great BUT it won't remove car wheel nuts that are torqued to 125Nm which is what I bought it for! It ment to have something like 745Nm of nut busting torque, maybe I gotta duff tool

My one is a Gen 3 brushless which I think is the latest version.

I bought one just after you, the same and it will do land rover wheel nuts at 140nm with no issues. I have it set on the screw setting most of the time. Have you tried changing the setting its on as it seemed to make a difference on my big m18 one. The m12 just worked on this setting straight away.

dobbslc · 2026-03-15T08:16:30+0000

I'll now have to read the bloody manual won't I? :rules:

What is the screew setting?
Maybe I've missed something here as I thought it has three torque settings and a low setting for running up nuts loosely.

reb78 · 2026-03-15T08:21:39+0000

Yeah. Sorry, it's my description. I have it on the low/run up setting (it looks a bit like a pic of a screw) and it seems to undo on that just fine.

Kram · 2026-03-15T08:37:21+0000

What do we think, have I got the right ones?

Craig-SM · 2026-03-15T09:05:26+0000

roofman said:
After being a "yellow" guy for many years i have recently bought a none impact M12 driver from @Craig-SM ..bought a 6AH and a 3 AH battery for it and what a tool..I can see the attraction now for this brand as the quality is top notch. I am on the look out now for a M12 3/8 ratchet to replace the parkside one i currently use.

Once you go red…

The 3/8 ratchet was sold the other week on here so you missed out on that.

Kram said:
Same the ratchet is cheap enough but what size to get? I am thinking the shortest one in 3/8" would be the most useful.

Go the FIR (fast) version. Don’t rule out the extended reach version too. I had one but didn’t think I was getting the use out of it so moved it on. The other month I had to replace the starter motor on the Shogun. One bolt took me about an hour to secure due to it’s position and really wished I hadn’t sold the extended reach one.

There are new versions released in America but not expected until the end of the year over here. They benefit from being slimmer with more power and customisable switch

Craig-SM · 2026-03-15T09:08:12+0000

Kram said:
While on the subject I dont actually have any impact sockets (apart from those with the parkside wrench).
Could anyone recommend some, good but inexpensive, in 3/8"?

You know I’m going to say Milwaukee in both standard and deep. They have more weight to them than the Draper ones they replaced. More weight equals more energy in the impact.

Craig-SM · 2026-03-15T09:09:33+0000

Kram said:
View attachment 533114

What do we think, have I got the right ones?

Yes but I’d still prefer 1/2 over 3/8 on the impact gun.

atomant48 · 2026-03-15T09:09:37+0000

Kram said:
View attachment 533114

What do we think, have I got the right ones?

Looks good but more batteries.

Kram · 2026-03-15T09:12:14+0000

I'm assuming all of the tools I show above are brushless? They dont all say.

Craig-SM said:
Yes but I’d still prefer 1/2 over 3/8 on the impact gun.

As they have the same torque spec I was thinking that if 1/2" is needed I could use an adaptor, which gets even more weight.., but if 3/8" is needed there may not be space for it.

Craig-SM · 2026-03-15T09:15:01+0000

dobbslc said:
I'll now have to read the bloody manual won't I?
What is the screew setting?
Maybe I've missed something here as I thought it has three torque settings and a low setting for running up nuts loosely.

I’ve had the previous and current version of the stubby, never had any issues with removing wheels nuts.
I usually use setting number 2 for removing and 1 for fitting. The fitting isn’t very tight as I finish with torque wrench.
Setting 3 for rusty suspension bolts. The 4th setting is just a nut spinner.

I’ve always used them with a 6ah on the previous version and 5ah on the new one.