Tool Review: Wera Tools Wheel Impaktor C 1/2” Drive Socket Set
Scott Brown is a technician and co-owner of Connie & Dick’s Auto Service Center in Claremont, California. The shop is a fixture in the region, serving customers in the vehicle repair business since 1960. That makes sixty years of growing, changing, and wrenching. In the last sixty years both vehicles and toolboxes have exploded with new tools and technology. Even so, some things about this work are enduring, like the feel of a well-made socket that helps a technician complete work that is both quick and clean.
Brown recently shared his thoughts on Wera Tools’ Wheel Impaktor C 1/2” Drive Socket Set. After putting the set to work removing vehicle wheels in the bay, he described the set as “high quality” and “very easy to use”. He adds he would rank the toolset top-of-the-industry alongside other market leaders.
With no setup or manual needed, the sockets were ready to go out of the box.
With Wera Tools’ “Take it easy” tool finder system, technicians can quickly find the profile and size they need – simply by looking at the colored band found on each tool, a feature that Brown liked. The “Take it easy” system is a color-coded system for hexagon drive screws, external hex drive screws and nuts, and TORX drive screws.
“The [Wheel Impaktor C 1/2” Drive] sockets are clearly labeled for size and have a color-coded band so locating the right socket only takes a quick glance,” he says.
Another feature that Brown likes about the socket set is its heavy-duty outer plastic sleeves. The rotating plastic sleeves surround each socket, protecting the rim when technicians change out wheels.
“Some wheels have a deep recess leading to the lug nut and if a hard tool is inserted, it could damage or mark up the wheel,” Brown says. “This plastic sleeve prevents that from happening.”
The sockets in this set also feature an internal plastic insert to protect the surfaces of the wheel bolts. Brown notes he hasn’t had the need for this feature yet in his shop but said it would be a nice touch when it comes to working with long studs.
Brown was very satisfied with how easy the sockets were to use. He said he wouldn’t change anything, and that they are “nicely built”.
