Originally Posted by oldnslow2

Close enough only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.

I build engines on the side and torque specs are there for a reason. Over or under tighten a bolt can cause it to snap or come loose. On a carbon bike you can pull the embedded nut out which means the part hast to be replaced. Carbon stems are not cheap, but a whole lot cheaper than a frame. Or worse the stem can come loose when you're riding.

If you're willing to trust your bike to a $15 torque wrench, please don't ride in front of me.

BTW... i read a car magazine review of a Harbor Freight 1/2" drive that when set to 70ft-lbs, it was actually 65ft-lbs which his 7.15% off.

Sort of 70ft-lbs is not very accurate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEALcSUy4Ds