Our high school shop instructor (a retired Mercedes Benz and Navy mechanic) told us to never "back off" the nut to the next slot. He said that was the "old man" way. He always told us to tighten it up while rotating the tire and pounding on it with the palm of your hand (use the torque spec if you want) and then tighten it to the next lined up slot. It's always worked for me so that's how I continue to do it.