First time working with carbon. Bought a longer compression plug, because it came with a very small one, not even covering the whole height of the stem.
I tightened it to 7 Nm. Took a while… Made already screeching noises inside the steerer tube. I loosened it (still possible with an Allen key). Checked for damage but beside the imprints of the plug inside the steerer there are no cracks.
I tightened at 6 Nm again. Still some small screeching noises. not as loud as with 7 Nm but still… Is this normal? The plug does no noise if I tighten it outside the tube…
The manufacturer wrote 9-12 Nm on their plug!!
I tried two torque wrenches, a cheap one and an expensive one. Maybe they don’t check correctly because they can’t really measure the applied torque on the plug? I don’t know much about torque wrenches apart from how to use them on regular screws. The turns I needed to tighten it seemed very much for 6 Nm… same problem with the manufacturers plug.
Also if there is no visible damage, still safe to use?
Edit: imprints - those white ones. These small silver studs that are all over the plug. They get pressed into the steerer tube and leave small white marks - I thought this is pretty normal, as they are made to prevent slipping? At least the have been caused by the manufacturer plug too before. Maybe not as hard… Otherwise the plug would be smooth I guess? But I am no pro. Measurement of my torque wrench is 2,5-25 Nm. Plug is a Deda steerer plug, for carbon steerers. I tightened it without the stem on the steerer, hope this is correct. Thank you for helping me.