So I'm trying to decide on the type of impact gun I am going to buy. It will be primarily used on my auto repair work. I am deciding between a dewalt 3/8 1500 ft-lb gun for about 200 bucks or a 1/2 1750 ft-lb gun for about 10 dollars more. The issue is that all the bits I have are 3/8 inch. But for an extra 10 bucks I can get more torque with the 1/2 gun but I would have to buy 1/2 bits. What are some suggestions of what to do? What would you guys do?

 

I have had the ingersol rand air impact gun, i have had it for 5 years and not a single problem with it yet, nothing but awsome torque and pretty good for price.
If i were you i would go with the 1/2 drive, and use impact sockets, i have snapped to many chrome sockets to count (good thing canadian tire has life time warranty)

 

Are we talking electric or air? My IR 231C (Ingersol Rand) air impact has never let me down and is rated for 425ftlbs. The next gun I get will be the IRT2115TiMAX which is rated for 300ftlbs, but is VERY light & compact. It'll handle the vast majority of what I do. If I ever have to replace my IR231C, I'll be replacing it with the IR2135QTiMAX (780ftlbs rating).

From the sounds of those guns, they are electric and you have mixed up the units. 1500ft-lbs is WAY outside the range of your typical 1/2 electric and even air guns. Sounds more like they're rated for in-lbs which would bring them in at 125ftlbs & ~150ftlbs - which is quite low in terms of rated torque and is the reason why I assumed they were electric.

The Snap-on CT6850P cordless impact has better breakaway torque than the IR231C I referenced above. I know of a few shops in the area that have started using them. On our assembly floor where I work, we have started using Hitachi cordless impacts that are rated for 325ftlbs max torque similar to the BTW450. Unless you get upwards of 300ftlbs rated torque with the cordless electrics, you won't be happy with it IMO.

And please resist the urge to use your standard sockets. I speak from experience when I say that digging flecks of chrome out of your skin is not fun! Glad I had eye protection on that day!

 

IR231 all the way baby. I have had mine for over 10 years and has never let me down.

 

You'd be better off if you started putting together a collection of 1/2" "man powered" ratchets and sockets than if you had a 3/8" air impact gun. You should really use impact sockets, too, but can't say I've never used standard sockets here and there myself. My 1/2 inch stuff is much more handy than my air tools, as a guy that only fixes my own stuff on weekends, and does not do this every day.

If I was pulling wheels every day, you bet I would have a reliable 1/2" pneumatic impact gun, along with a good set of air ratchets. Ingersoll Rand comes to mind. If you're going to go with a cheap gun to use only on weekends, I'd suggest a Harbor Freight gun. I have a Central Pneumatic "Earthquake" gun, that I have yet to find a nut/bolt it won't turn, between my '88 F150 and '94 Jimmy. I picked it up for around $50.

 

harbor freight earthquake 1/2" FTW!

 

lol. i was gonna say the same thing. i bought mine on sale for like 50 bucks. that thing kicks butt. i was to cheap to buy a good one so gave this a try and bought the warranty to be paranoid. a year later, and this thing being used everyday have never had any problems with it. its as good as any of the snap on or mac ones we have in the shop.

it'll break off any lug stud when the lug nut is seized to it

 

I fourth the HF Earthquake.

 

i thought mine was junky until I upgraded to 3/8 quick connects, what a difference, zips anything off

 

Another vote for the I/R 2135TIMAX. I have one - not the "Q" model though. I couldn't see spending the extra money for what is essentially a muffler. At the time I bought it, the model was brand new, so I/R was getting top dollar. The Q model was like $50 more than the regular model.

I use the thing every day & haven't found anything that will stall the 780 ft/lbs. It's about 5 lbs lighter than my trusty $60 Wal-Mart Campbell-Hausfield that lasted me 8 years. Been using the I/R for about a year and a half now. (EDIT: Time flies - guess it's closer to 2 years now!) You get used to the light weight REAL fast - can never go back now. Don't know how I used the C/H before! Feels like a chunk of lead next to the I/R.

Only thing I hate about the I/R is how they have this special grease fitting on there that nobody else uses, so your forced to spend more money if you want to maintain the thing. Stuff like that pisses me off. $250 wasn't enough?