Pop into your local garage and see what they use, I bet you won't see much 1/2" stuff being used - for a good reason.

Like you when I bought my first socket set many years ago I went for 1/2", a couple of years later when I needed a new ratchet I enquired about a 1/2" drive Snap-On, the rep and my mate who owns his own garage tried to talk me out of it, but I was having non of it!! So I bought the 1/2", used it a dozen times and then bought the 3/8" drive ratchet that I should of bought first! the 1/2" has only been used about 10 more times in the last 20+ years!!

3/8" is more than strong enough for 99% of the jobs you need to do and will give you so much more room to work in when space is limited.

3/8 is fine but sockets only up to a certain size?

I use my 1/2 stuff quite regularly, and am more confident 'leaning' on it than the 3/8

Bought the halfords pro kit and a toolchest & cabinet when they were on offer, I now have a nice chest with most of the tools I use often and it only cost £165

I'll fill in the gaps, and the more specific tools as and when I need em

Surely though, by the time you get something like a full halfords pro kit or Teng or whatever, most people will also have a few other smaller sets knocking about in their garage by that point before deciding that it's more cost-effective to buy the lot in one go rather than piecemeal.

3/8 is fine but sockets only up to a certain size?

Of course, they are fine up to 17mm though.

As a rule of thumb if it needs a breaker bar on it then I would use 1/2" (I actually then use my 1/2" breaker bar with 3/8" impact sockets and a 3/8" to 1/2" adapter) anything that can be done up or undone with a ratchet then 3/8" is fine.

The only 3/8" Snap-On socket I have broken is a 17mm one that was being used on a breaker bar to undo the wheel nuts , this broke at the bolt end, not the drive end - I now use the impact sockets for this (Snap-On replaced the socket FOC)

On a slight tangent, can anyone recommend me some kind of tool tray or socket organiser thingy to go inside my toolchest drawers, preferably one that isn't a complete rip-off?

Just had a bit of a garage sort-out and I have to say, I love my toolchest setup. It might only be halfords, and it might only be basic rails rather than roller bearings, but it's still great! You can tell straight away if any tools are missing, and you can just go straight to any tool you need. I can't believe I even contemplated spending the (what now seems) trivial £160-odd quid for it all. Should've done it years ago.

Lastly, if anyone is shopping for torque wrenches I can recommend Teng. Shop around a bit and you can get the smaller torque ranges for about 30-40 each. And to be honest I've always found that it's the smaller torque settings that need the precision - the big stuff is less likely to break if you overtighten it so I'm happy to use a cheaper torque wrench like draper or clarke for stuff like that.

I've been looking at this 1/4" Halfords Socket Set reduced from £50 to £25;

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_177537_langId_-1_categoryId_255215#tab1

My question is, in providing a Torx T40 to be mated to a 1/4" drive, are Halfords saying this should undo anything fastened with a T40 without braking the ratchet e.g. a sump plug on a Fabia? It just seems like a small drive size to me, to go undoing something like a sump plug with.

Similarly, are they saying I should be able to undo a 13mm Hex brake caliper bolt with this set?

There won't be anything done up with a torx that will be / require overly tightened. It's usually just trim bits and the odd sundry fitting in the engine bay.

I think the bolt that attaches the steering wheel to the column in my 106 was a T40 - and that wasn't tight at all really. Not compared to say a cam clamp bolt, or even a headbolt.

I'm after a set of combi ratchet spanners, 10 or 13mm to at least 19mm. I have seen some in Halfords, but don't want to pay that much, so £20 or less. Any Ideas where I could get them?

Lidl's have some in ATM

just seen this is a revived thread, Jim. If you haven't bought some in the past 30 months, Lidl still have some

Just re-posting, as I got caught in a page change.

I've been looking at this 1/4" Halfords Socket Set reduced from £50 to £25;

http://www.halfords....yId_255215#tab1

My question is, in providing a Torx T40 to be mated to a 1/4" drive, are Halfords saying this should undo anything fastened with a T40 without braking the ratchet e.g. a sump plug on a Fabia? It just seems like a small drive size to me, to go undoing something like a sump plug with.

Similarly, are they saying I should be able to undo a 13mm Hex brake caliper bolt with this set?

I would use 3/8 stuff to undo sump plugs and caliper slider bolts

I must admit bigger is better in my book, why make work for yourself struggling with a small tool when a bigger one will do the job easier with less effort, just bought a 2ft breaker bar, best thing I ever did, rips the bolts threads and everything off!!

Laser tools do alot of specialist pieces that are direct copies of VAG specific dealership tools.....like the strut removal key for the hub carrier!

Mainly have a big old Draper socket set but will upgrade to Teng or Facom

Defo get breaker bars..........got 3/8 and 1/2 both Laser

Got 3/8 and 1/2 Laser torque wrenches

Spring compressors, ball joint separators, caliper re-wind tool, sprung joints for the socket sets, big Geodore nut for the main hub nut, plain ring and open spanners, offset ring spanners, various spark plug sockets, hex and torx spline keys and sockets, loads of other stuff

Gunsons easy bleed, big SIP 3ton trolley jack, two sets of axle stands, anti-freeeze tester, digital multimeters, two channel digital temp unit/reader

Facom, draper, stanley for screwdrivers................

Thats just the "car stuff"........never mind the plumbing tools, the joinery tools, building tools..............

Oh yeah.......................just got the full VCDS from Ross-tech..................

Lidl's have some in ATM

just seen this is a revived thread, Jim. If you haven't bought some in the past 30 months, Lidl still have some

Last year (or year before) I bought the set from Lidl or Aldi.They are just what I wanted and were cheap too, Only went up to 17 mm, but was able to buy bigger ones at a Tool Stall at a Show.

I only have a 1/4 set (quite handy and you'll manage m8 bolts aslong as they arent mega torqued down / rusted

But for bigger stuff i use 1/2" never bothered with 3/8 what so ever. Not required imo

Most mechanics will agree that ½” is overkill on a car and can be a bit bulky, since I changed to 3 / 8” around 25 years ago my ½ drive ratchet has been used about 10 times!

Agree mate, saying that, at my work its mainly 1/4, 3/8 or the daddy 3/4 and inch drive kit

Thanks guys, some interesting comments there.Which 1/4" set would you go for out of these;

Gone for the photo from this website, not the price. Gen available for £25

http://www.splatshop...33611-b20m.html

http://www.halfords....tegoryId_255215

The Draper Expert has the Flexible Handle and T-bar

The Halfords Pro has the Hex and Torx bits but no T-bar, no Flexible Handle and only one size Extension Bar

I already have a good quality set of 1/4" Deep Sockets, and a cheap set of Torx bits. Don't have any Hex bits.

Edited 23 February, 201313 yr by phs12

Or do I spend even more money (1/3rd more) and buy this;

http://www.amazon.co...&pf_rd_i=468294

Looks even better quality, with soft handles and knurled sockets, but misses out on a 13mm socket (which I could've done with yesterday when I fitted a s/h caliper).

Edited 23 February, 201313 yr by phs12