If you’re wondering what to get the car enthusiast in your life, this holiday season, a good idea might be to get them some new tools for their DIY adventures. Whether they’re an amateur DIYer or a highly experienced one, new tools are always welcome and make those weekend repairs a lot quicker, allowing them to enjoy more of their days off. For this holiday season, we’ve put together a few tools that might make just do the trick.
DEWALT 20V MAX Impact Driver Kit, 1/4-Inch (DCF885C1)
Having a 1/4 inch impact driver is extremely helpful for DIY work, both automotive and otherwise. While impact drivers are typically for home use, high quality socket adapters are making them more and more frequently used for automotive work, while also being more versatile than a traditional impact wrench.
Have a few bolts that just don’t want to come off? With this impact driver adapter, you’ll be able to bust them in no time. Admittedly, being just a 1/4 inch impact driver, it’s not going to bust off stuck lug nuts but it’s a versatile tool that will make quick work of most jobs, thanks to its maximum 1,400 in-lbs of torque. Its three-stage variable trigger will also help keep the tool from snapping any bolts. Plus, this DEWALT features a one-handed bit-loading chuck design, so you can easily swap bits while in a tight work space, perfect for when you’re underneath a car. For jus $99, this kit comes with the tool, a 1.5 Ah battery, a charger and a carrying bag.
TEKTON 3/8 Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench (10-80 ft.-lb.) | 24330
Having a good torque wrench is a necessity most DIYers, especially those that work on German cars. Over-tightening bolts can lead to disastrous results, so the ability to know just how much torque you’re applying can be a life saver. I’ve learned my lesson several times, after snapping bolts or breaking aluminum control arms… Let’s skip over that, I’m reliving painful memories.
This Tekton 3/8 inch drive torque wrench will help save your bacon in the weekends and give you piece of mind that each bolt you tighten down will be done so to the manufacturer’s torque spec. Whether it’s for you or your loved one, that sort of piece of mind is incredibly satisfying. While a 3/8 inch drive won’t accommodate all of your needs, as it’s not large enough to handle lug nots, nor small enough to handle 1/4 inch jobs, but it’s the most versatile size. However, Tekton does offer high-quality torque wrenches of all sizes, if you want to get the entire set, at affordable prices. If you want to choose just one, though, this 3/8 inch drive wrench is a great tool to have in the toolbox at just $40.
Neiko 40447A Rechargeable Underhood Work Light, 202 SMD LED Bulbs, 1,200 Lumens Max Brightness, 8,000 mAh Li-ion Battery, 2 Brightness Modes, 1 Pack
Any automotive DIYer knows that weekend jobs almost never go according to plan or finish as quickly as expected. So, often times, jobs run into the night and visibility becomes an issue. That’s where a good underhood work light comes in and this one from Neiko provides 1,200 lumens of max brightness to fully illuminate your engine bay at night.
Underhood work lights are really useful, as they’re placed, well, under the hood and fasten to the hood itself and span the entire engine bay. This allows the full engine bay to be illuminated, making your work environment a lot easier. This model’s 8,000 mAh lithium-ion battery allows for three hours of run time in its max brightness setting or six hours of run time in its low setting. So it’s perfect for finishing up the end of a job as the sun starts to go down. When you’re struggling to see at night, while trying to fix you car so you can get to work the next morning, this light seems like an $89 life saver.
TEKTON Ratcheting Combination Wrench Set, 12-Piece (8-19 mm) – Holder | WRN53170
Anyone who’s worked on a European car knows how valuable ratcheting wrenches can be. More often than not, you’re working in very tight areas, with barely enough clearance to get a socket and socket wrench on the bolt. In my early days of amateur wrenching, I quickly learned the value of a good ratcheting wrench, as it allowed me to get into a tight area, with very little clearance, and still quickly undo bolts.
This 12-piece metric set from TEKTON is made of high quality and features sizes from 8-19 millimeter, perfect for most German cars. With their 72-tooth ratchet gears, these wrenches only need 5-degrees of swing arc to engage, making them very easy to work with in confined areas. DIYers won’t use these all the time but when they do need them, they’ll be glad they have them.
Chemical Guys BUF_503X TORQX Random Polisher Kit with Pads, Polishes & Compounds (9 Items)
Every car enthusiasts loves when their car glistens and shines, without any of the annoying swirls and imperfections that paint gets over time. The only problem is that polishing and waxing a car by hand is tedious, time consuming and exhausting work and taking your car to get detailed regularly is expensive. That’s where a powered polisher comes in and the TORQX Random Orbit Polisher is a great value. It’s a corded model, so you don’t have to worry about expensive batteries or short run times, and has a powerband between 2,800 and 7,000 rpm, so it can tackle a variety of different jobs. Buffing, waxing, polishing; you name it, it can do it.
This kit comes with three different pads and four different polishes, to provide everything a DIYer needs to start detailing their own cars. After the weekend work is done, hit the car with this polisher and make it shine.
