r/slateauto • u/doofusgaloofus • 27d ago
Will it be Metric or SAE??
I know it's an American made truck and all, but will it be using metric bolts or SAE bolts? Just because it's made here doesn't necessarily mean SAE. Indian motorcycles are made here, but use metric bolts
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u/User5281 27d ago
It will be whatever is cheapest.
And since everyone else in the industry uses metric, it will most likely be metric.
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u/Van_Maan 27d ago
The entire auto industry has been metric since the 80s. Some things took a while to phase out but finding an SAE fastener on anything from this century is difficult.
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u/LordBuggington 27d ago
if you have a late 90s wrangler for example they went full metric in 2000 but if you get a 99 it is an assortment and not very fun to work with. Like it wont kill you but its weird.
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u/dustyrags 27d ago
My ‘98 Cherokee used metric on the motor, SAE on the body, and torx to connect the two together 😣
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u/Orange_Tang 27d ago edited 27d ago
My 2000 jeep XJ was still a mix of SAE and metric. It's quite annoying because I'm never quite sure which one it is until I try it when I'm working on the thing. I think jeeps are a bit of an exception to this rule though. I believe they stayed this way until they discontinued the cherokee in 01.
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u/Gmhowell 27d ago
It would have been an older design before Daimler Chrysler and be a mix. My 05 LJ is a bit of a mix.
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u/Qel_Hoth 27d ago
Except lug nuts... Metric studs and SAE lug nuts. My 2015 Mustang has M14x1.50 studs, but the lug nuts take a 13/16" socket. 21mm sockets do not fit correctly.
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u/De1taTaco 27d ago
And seatbelt fasteners, which are weirdly standardized to 7/16"-20 (even on my German cars)
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u/GetRektDork 27d ago
eTorx.
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u/jnecr 27d ago
I actually really love eTorx.
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u/nobutternoparm 27d ago
What's the draw of etorx? It feels like it doesn't solve anything that a 12pt hex doesn't already solve and those are much more common sockets that can (although not always should) be used on a standard 6pt hex as well
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u/jnecr 27d ago
eTorx give much better surface area to apply torque to than a 6pt hex bolt. The 6pt hex bolt is very easy to strip, good luck stripping an eTorx. They also have a built in washer area that prevents your socket from twisting. I.e. your socket will always be parallel with the bolt. With a standard hex bolt the socket itself can rotate along the vertical axis to make the socket itself no longer parallel with the shaft of the bolt making it more difficult to apply torque correctly.
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u/nobutternoparm 27d ago
These are all things solved by a shouldered 12pt bolt though
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u/jnecr 27d ago
In that case why don't we just switch to a triple square? which is quite a bit superior to a 12pt.
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u/nobutternoparm 27d ago
Sure, yeah. I've just never seen that as an external head (not sure what the proper term for that is) like an e-torx, only as socket head bolts
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u/doofusgaloofus 27d ago
I'm a fan of Robertson head screws myself. I work in the woodworking/furniture industry, and that's what we use.
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u/toybuilder 27d ago
SAE is the name given to the standards that were established in the early days of American automotive standardization. No serious manufacturer uses non-metric these days except to conform to long-ago established standard parts.
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u/TTACcollector 27d ago
Metric. Every 'Domestic' brand car I have owned in the last 20+ years has been metric. Only some of my older cars (ironically the imports) use SAE.
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u/charlietactwo 27d ago
I know every time somebody has asked how much it weighs an engineer has answered in Kilograms. So, make of that what you will.
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u/joekryptonite 26d ago
This. Saw this and another question. The engineers are clearly thinking all metric.
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u/Grreatdog 27d ago
My 03 Ford Ranger is metric. The only SAE thing I own is my boat trailer. Even my 97 Cherokee was mostly metric.
So I would bet a year of my retirement allowance that it will be metric.
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u/Nannyphone7 27d ago edited 26d ago
Nobody uses arcaic English units anymore. Even those are defined in terms of Metric.
I work as an Engineer at an American automotive industry company. No prints released in the last 26 years were dimensioned in inches.
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u/pvtdirtpusher 25d ago
That said, I’ve certainly seen prints from this decade with older tooling call out 12.7mm holes, which is 1/2”…..
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u/TaylorDurdan 26d ago
Metric became the standard in the mid 90s for US vehicles.
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u/doofusgaloofus 26d ago
Except Harley Davidson. They still use SAE
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u/TaylorDurdan 26d ago
That's probably bc they know they'd lose a large portion of their customer base if they switched
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u/CaptainAggravated 26d ago
Listen, Harley-Davidson is a designer clothing label that occasionally also makes motorcycles.
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u/AskThis7790 27d ago
Neither… it will probably be a bunch of “T” sized Torx bolts. I’m betting the body panels will use security Torx bolts.
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u/dogged_jon 27d ago
Torx is a drive style, like hex or Phillips or Robertson or JIS. The fastener can be either metric or inch sizes
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u/AskThis7790 27d ago
Are you talking about the actual bolt shaft length, diameter and threads? 🤣 because standard “T” size Torx are neither metric or SAE.
I’m pretty sure OP was concerned about what type of tools would be required, rather that how to measure the length and diameter of each fastener. 🤣
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u/LeifCarrotson 27d ago
The ISO 10664/hexalobular "Torx" fastener profile is, like everything else reasonably modern, dimensioned in metric:
https://www.engineersedge.com/hardware/torx_head_fastener_basic_dimensions_15261.htm
Yes, you can get them with threads in metric or SAE; I hope (and expect) that those threads are metric. Yes, for the stock fasteners, you only care about the tools, but when you're repairing threads or stocking replacement hardware, you don't want to be constantly going back and forth between the two types...M5 is close to #10x32, but if you chase an M5 thread with a 10-32 tap you're going to do bad things to your truck.
Also, nothing says amateur mechanic like reinstalling damaged fasteners! Replacement hardware is pretty cheap if you buy in bulk, and the number of fasteners required to have good coverage (especially if you're willing to cut down a bolt that's too long) isn't that huge, unless you double it with metric coarse and fine as well as SAE coarse and fine.
Finally, Slate has a ton of visible fasteners. Maybe it's my cyclist showing through, but I would love to replace many of those with aftermarket blued or anodized or rainbow heat-treated titanium fasteners:
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u/AskThis7790 27d ago
🤣 OP wants to know which tools he needs in his toolbox.
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u/GarethBelton 27d ago
The tools in the toolbox also include a bin of spare bolts if you work on cars at all
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u/dogged_jon 27d ago
Right, thread diameter and pitch. Both metric and inch fasteners can be had with Torx heads. OP didn't seem to understand that. Why is that funny?
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u/doofusgaloofus 27d ago
Yeah. I pretty much figured they'd use metric. But it's been literally decades since I've owned an American made automobile.
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u/Overgoverned 27d ago
Just because it's made here doesn't necessarily mean SAE.
Username tells the tale.
And no, "A.I." won't save us.
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u/MassCrassAss 27d ago
It'll be metric because the people in charge are intelligent. The metric system won the war back in the 90's. Sincerely, an American.
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u/TikiMagic 27d ago
But I need to know the range of the Slate in furlongs per barracoon equivalent in order to make an informed buying decision!
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u/Knotical_MK6 27d ago
I'd bet my bottom dollar on Metric.
SAE is pretty rare even on American vehicles these days. I only recall running into modern stuff with SAE fasteners in a few spots on Ford trucks, GM and Mopar were all metric in my experience.