I've got a budget of about £100 for a new socket set (my birthday prezzy) i would like one thats going to last - any suggestions?

Thanks all
Rob

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ST205




"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, and the earth brought forth grass and the Rastafarians smoked it."

A lot of people seem to rate the Halfords Professional range. They are doing a deal on a socket set for £99.99 inc VAT here

Mine is a Kamasa set which I've had since God was a boy and has lasted very well. Ultimate is something like Snap-On, but pricey.

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Don
GT4DC Chairman
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205WRC JDM 269bhp @ 0.9bar
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four Special GT 590bhp @ 1.8bar
1989 Van Diemen RF88/89 Formula Ford 1600
2008 Nissan Patrol GU 3.0L ZD30DDTi 154bhp

I got a nice (basic) Snap-On set for Xmas. Think good tools are an investment, hope I won't have to buy that ever again..

Low quality sux:

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René - Carlos Sainz 2433•5000
Turbocelica.nl | ST185 CS restoration and full rebuild

If it ain't broken.. it soon will be

I have a few Halfords Pro sets and they are pretty good (damn good for money) - ratchets have no warranty but sockets & extensions are lifetime apprently - I have taken an item back once (1/4 extension snapped once when I put a 3/8 adaptor and breaker bar onto lol) Halfords didn't even want to see receipt and just replaced with one off the shelf.

As above - buy teh best you can afford - it will cost you more in money & time when you round a socket/can't get on to a nut.

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JP
GT4DC Treasurer

Grey St185 RC
Silver BMW E46 M3
Multicolour yawn Honda VFR400
Silver Honda Civic Type-R

tbh i've still got pretty much a full set of halfrauds pro sockets in my toolbox, which i brought when i first started out in the trade, rachet didn't last long admittetly though. (age 16, i'm now 29) and i've only replaced those sockets which i've lost with snap on. none have broken though!

if you want the nads!, i'd recommend snap on all the way! but the halfrads pro stuff seems to last! even on 3/8th drive air tools>

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Pete
ST185
Basingstoke

I've got the Halfrauds set that Don posted the link to.
Tried very hard to break a socket on several occasions, not managed it yet.

Gets my vote, unless you buy 100 scratch cards and hope to win enough to get Snap-On tools.

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1991 Jap ST185A
ST205 Head Gasket.
Some random RV & no-name BOV
Blitz Nur-spec SS backbox
Apexi Air Filter

ST205 Front Calipers - Yes, really!

I also have the halfords socket set 1/4 and 3/8 drives. I really rate it, blatantly its not going to be the best quality but its very good for the price and you have that warrenty which I have used twice for 1/4 drive extension bars.

Snap-On may be better but can they get you a replacement at 2pm on a sunday afternoon? I think thats worth a lot.

You might also want to take a look at Teng - but I don't think your £100 will go very far.

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GT4DC Events Co-ordinator
1996 ST205 UK

Ah, but do they need to when the stuff just never breaks??

TBH Snap-On is head and shoulders above the rest, but pro-rata it still doesn't justify the price tag. Especially for us hobbyist mechanics. Maybe if your bread and butter was mechanicing you'd want that extra bit of reliability. Personally I'd go for Halfrods Pro range every time.

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JDM ST205 (286bhp and 281lb/ft)
JDM ST202 (Finally sold )
1982 Pontiac Trans Am 5.7L V8 (See my website)

I've got a mix of teng and sealey and think they are very good. Never having had anything else though my opinion is relatively useless

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Karl
white 205 jdm 1996

Doh...forgot to say that (being a freak I suppose) I get extra pleasure when working on the car from using decent tools...tried to fix a friends rx7 with his cheap and nasty tools and the whole thing was an unpleasant mess...well worth the money getting exactly what you want almost regardless of price

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Karl
white 205 jdm 1996

Totally agree there Karl - the tools make all the difference, generally if I am doing work on any of my friends cars then I get them to bring it to me so I can use my tools.

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GT4DC Events Co-ordinator
1996 ST205 UK

I used to have about 15k in snap-on tools. Nice kit but seriously pay for the name.

I now use Halfrauds Pro stuff... heres the important bit, they are made in the same factory as snap-on! So apart from the chrome quality there is hardly any difference. As a mechanic who uses these tools on a daily basis I'd actually recommend Halfords over snap-on due to the fact you can buy a complete socket set for the same price as a single snap-on ratchet.

Cheers,

Tone

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Now offering:
Servicing & light body repairs *qualified mechanic*
185 & 205 under-bonnet battery relocation kits
CT26B Turbo clocking bracket *CT20 version soon*
Metal polishing service *Up to show standards

Thats very interesting! Might help sway a few purchasing decisions

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Don
GT4DC Chairman
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205WRC JDM 269bhp @ 0.9bar
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four Special GT 590bhp @ 1.8bar
1989 Van Diemen RF88/89 Formula Ford 1600
2008 Nissan Patrol GU 3.0L ZD30DDTi 154bhp

Anyone ever heard of/anything good/bad about a tool maker by the name of Sealey (http://www.sealey.co.uk)? And no, not the beds for anyone trying to be a smartass I've seen a lot of adverts for their stuff in kit car magazines and it seems to be pretty reasonable stuff. I like the idea of buying one of those tool cabinets already filled with pro level tools for an all inclusive price There's also a manufacturere called PowerBuilt I think, though again not sure whether they're just hype or not.

Cheers,
Mark

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Mark - 94 Red Jap ST205 WRC - Gone but not forgotten
'06 Blue Merc E320 CDi v6
'89 Mica Blue MR2 Mk1b restoration project
"Don't make me come over there"

Sealey seem to offer reasonable stuff for the money, The stuff seems to be a bit better than Machine Mart stuff but is similar.

I'd definitely consider getting the actual chest and cabinet from them, I think i'd be a bit more wary about the actual tools unless I was able to see/feel before I commited to buy.

My 2p

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GT4DC Events Co-ordinator
1996 ST205 UK