Tire gauges - test results

[wingnut60]

les.warden,
Can't see where the Amazon ad lists the pressure range? Or did I just mis-read it?
Also, in details, says it is discontinued?
Thanks,
Joe

[xrated]

If you are interested in a really accurate gauge, check out the Longacre brand.
I bought a Longacre 53003 last summer for checking tire pressures on my track bike tires. It is guaranteed to be accurate to 1/2 of 1%. I had it checked out after I received it with a government certified/calibrated machine (costs like $20,000 for the machine) and it never was off more than the advertised parameters, 1/2 of 1% So stop and think about how little that is. An example of 50 psi.... 10% would be 5 psi. 1% would be .5 psi. 1/2 of 1% would be .25 psi. The model that I listed above, would not work to well on trailer tires/motorhomes, etc. as it only goes to 60 psi, but this model.. 53028, is guaranteed to 1/2 psi and goes from 0 to 125 psi.

Longacre Pro Digital Tire Pressure Gauge 53028

Disclaimer: I am not associated with Longacre in any way, just a very satisfied consumer of a very accurate tire gauge.

When dealing with race tires on my bike, the difference of even a 1/2 psi will make a difference in how the tire performs and wears and the amount of available grip, thus the need for a very accurate gauge for me.

[Mac99]

Here is the one that I use, and have had for 7 years.

Dual Head Straight Chuck Inflator Gauge - Inflator - Gauges | Miltonindustries.com

X2 on the question of "is the TPMS" accurate ?

[soonerdave]

I use my TPMS but only rely on it to detect a leak, not to monitor actual pressure. TPMS is supposed to be accurate but I trust my gauge more for an accurate reading.

[Sandy Swede]

Originally Posted by Petersr58

All this means nothing. Until you have a calibrated master gauge you are only assuming. Who says the TPMS is accurate?

1. Where would you suggest I find a master gauge? Several months ago I went to ask my local Goodyear tire store if I could compare their master gauge with a couple of my gauges. They stated that they did not have a master gauge. Your reminder about comparing with a master gauge is very timely. Until I find a master gauge with which to compare, I will go with the Accutire as per #2 below.

2. Although my EEZTire TPMS on the MH is thought to be very accurate, I did not claim that is was. I did, however, state that the readings on the TPMS on the MH and the GMC Acadia's internal TPMS corresponded within 1 psi of the reading of the Accutire gauge. I take that as meaning that it is highly probable that those three are giving accurate readings and, conversely, that it is a low probability that all three are giving the same, inaccurate reading.

[les.warden]

Originally Posted by wingnut60

les.warden,
Can't see where the Amazon ad lists the pressure range? Or did I just mis-read it?
Also, in details, says it is discontinued?
Thanks,
Joe

Seems Amazon does not list all the specs. I didn't see any discontinued notice. Here is the specs for it. 3-175psi +-1.2-2.0 depending on psi range. And their link..
http://www.astrotools.com/index.php/...-inflator.html

[soonerdave]

The Tire Minder digital gauge is very high quality and about as accurate as you can get, has two different heads and a light, available on Amazon for reasonable price.

[soonerdave]

I think the most important thing is to check your tires before every trip, use the TMPS to monitor for problems during your trip.

[texkayaker]

About 10 or so years ago Dale Inman (Richard Pettys crew chief when he won all those NASCAR races). When he was asked about the modern crew chiefs making pressure adjustments of less than 1 .psi to correct handling he replied "hell we didn't have two gauges that would read within 2 psi of each other. I have the Slime gauge and go with its reading. If a pound or 2 wrong did not worry Inman I am OK with it.

[xrated]

Do a quick google search, you can find companies that specialize in gauge calibration.

[SpaceNorman]

I was having trouble filling my tires with the fill extension I had - as well as had the hose come off the cheap "stopwatch" style tire pressure gauge I had broke. I decided to upgrade and ended up purchasing one of these. Having used it a bit I've found - the "clip on" fill connector hose works well, the throughput of air thru the "gun" is greater than that with my old fill device. The time required to "move the needle" is a fraction of what it was with the old fill connector. Finally, the digital LED display leaves no doubt about what the gauge says.

[10Boomer]

Originally Posted by Sandy Swede

I had used 4 different tire pressure gauges and obtained 4 different readings. I had heard good things about the Accutire gauge, so that became #5. I got out my Viair 400RV air compressor and decided to find out which was most accurate. But first, I compared each reading to my TPMS. The reading from the Accutire was identical to that of the TPMS. Of course, "two wrongs don't make a right." I then compared the Accutire to the internal TPMS readings in my Acadia. Again, the Accutire agreed with the TPMS. Ok, now am 95% convinced I have a winner. However, I wanted to compare the reading of the Accutire with readings from my other 4 gauges after checking all 6 Goodyear G670's on my MH.

TPMS 105 psi

Accutire digital 105 psi
Slime analog 104 psi
Milton pencil analog 102 psi
Viair air gun analog 110 psi
No-name digital 98 psi

I was chagrined to find out that the analog gauge on the air gun which came with my expensive Viair compressor was off by 5 psi.


From right to left: Accutire, Slime analog w/extension, Milton pencil, Viair air gun, no-name digital.

I am now using the Accutire as my go-to gauge. It is $13.24 each or a two-pack for $24 on Amazon.

You can calibrate your Viair gauge mine was off by 8lbs.

[Dtwallace]

Originally Posted by Fred and Bonnie

I agree, used a digital gauge in the past, however the digital readout drove me crazy trying to get all the tires equal. On the dial gauge, "Close enough for Government Work".

Fred

You have to understand, most of the off the shelf gauges are only calibrated to within +- 5PSI. That's the standard for tires gauges because as quoted above, that's close enough.

There are too many variables to hold a certain pressure value to any tighter tolerances than that. If you have a 5PSI difference between your two steer tires, you would be hard pressed to notice the differences on a flat road, straight ahead driving.

Find a gauge that is easy for you to use, and use only that one. You will learn the gauge as you monitor your tire wear, ride quality, and temperature ranges under loads.

I'd like to share a little trick I use to equalize my tire pressure from side to side.
I have a two outlet air hose with locking air chucks.
In the middle I have these two hoses connected to a block with an air valve steam installed, used for filling and checking pressure in both wheels at one time.

When the air chucks are locked on each wheel and no leaks, the pressure will always equal, and I can add or delete as required from one point for both wheels.

DTW

DTW

[Arch Hoagland]

Interesting discussion. Last week I ordered 4 different tire gauges as my good digital one bit the dust.
Unless you have access to the $20,000 machine mentioned earlier there is no way to know how accurate your gauge is so my plan is to compare the 4 and see what the average is.
I did this same thing about 10 years ago and gradually my gauges went bad...one that was pretty accurate started reading too high by about 15lb. That goofed me up for a while.
I shoot my tires every stop with an IR gun and check pressures in the morning before pulling out.