Whats a good tire gauge?

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Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
The most important is DO NOT DROP THE GAUGES. Had a nice gauge dropped it and noticed it was sticky, totally inaccruate, but retruned to zero.... and the dealership yelling at me for over pressurizing my tires.


Yelling?!? Yeah that wouldn't work with me... Anytime my tires are rotated, balanced, etc. I always check over what the dealership or Sears Auto adjusts the tires to as they both inflate several lbs. higher than I do (placard specs) and I have checked with 3 different gauges just to be sure my go-to gauge was close.

When the topic of preventive maintenance comes up I tell them I check my tire psi twice daily to adjust for temp. changes. You should see the puzzled looks I get. I do check/adjust twice monthly on average, especially with drastic temp. changes.
 
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Originally Posted By: gaijinnv
Accuracy to 0.1%, temperature compensated, humidity compensated, barometric pressure compensated, when you want to know what your tire pressure really is Intercomp is the one I use and recommend: Intercomp Digital Tire Pressure Gauge


Ain't no way I'll ever spend $300 on a tire pressure gauge!
 
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Made my own sort of. Got the Hadborfreight setup and switched out the useless gauge for a quality one that has a useable range. I got 0-80 psi. You can get whatever range suits your vehicles.
 
If you buy a new gauge....theres no guarantee it will be accurate with your TPMS. Just figure how much your gauge is off and add some.
 
Okay, so I just bought 2 new Milton gauges, a regular pencil style and a "truck" style that better fit around the Camry's wheel trim. Now I have 3 gauges that don't' agree!! All 3 show different psi readings on 8 different tires. They're not even close. The old gauge reads low (no surprise there), the new pencil gauge is higher (~ 4-6 psi above the old) and the truck style is in between. I'll use the truck gauge now as it was within 1 psi of the TPMS readout on both the Camry & Pilot. I may still splurge on one of the dial readout gauges folks were high on. Otherwise I pretty much hate tire gauges now.
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If you are buying a pressure gauge for your tires make sure its range is appropriate.

If you are filling your tires to 32psi do not buy a 0-600 psi gauge, not even 0-100, but a 0-60 psi gauge. That 32psi lands right in the middle and the most accurate region of the gauge. Buy a gauge so that the pressure you are reading falls into 25-75% of the gauges range for best results.

I personally have https://www.amazon.com/JACO-ElitePro-Tire-Pressure-Gauge/dp/B015HURK64/ ($20) works well and is certified to meet ANSI B40.1 and again 0-60 psi (recommended ~30psi) is the correct range for me.

0-100 psi here https://www.amazon.com/JACO-ElitePro-Tire-Pressure-Gauge/dp/B016R9KKCU ($20) recomended for ~50psi

ANSI B40.1 Percents are Error Range (+/-)
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Also if you are spending more than 10-20$ on a gauge make sure it conforms to a Spec otherwise pass on it.
 
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Originally Posted By: Roger
Okay, so I just bought 2 new Milton gauges, a regular pencil style and a "truck" style that better fit around the Camry's wheel trim. Now I have 3 gauges that don't' agree!! All 3 show different psi readings on 8 different tires. They're not even close. The old gauge reads low (no surprise there), the new pencil gauge is higher (~ 4-6 psi above the old) and the truck style is in between. I'll use the truck gauge now as it was within 1 psi of the TPMS readout on both the Camry & Pilot. I may still splurge on one of the dial readout gauges folks were high on. Otherwise I pretty much hate tire gauges now.
confused.gif



Roger what are the PSI ranges for your gauges? And what pressure are you reading?

ANSI standard I mentioned above allows for +/- 3% error, its likely the cheap gauge you have is for too large a range,does not conform to a standard, and or broken.

(Grade C allows for +/- 3-4%) so between two measurements you can have a total of 8% error (Grade C) or 6% (Grade B)
 
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Originally Posted By: thescreensavers
If you are buying a pressure gauge for your tires make sure its range is appropriate.

Your posts are much appreciated thescreensaver. The old gauge is 0-120. The truck styled gauge is also 0-120. The new pencil gauge is 0-70 (which had the highest reading of all 3 gauges).

The Camry cold tire pressure should be 35 psi. The TPMS read 33,34,34 & 35 when the outside temp this morning was about 60 degrees. System does not identify psi by tire. Old gauge read 32,32,33 & 33. New gauge read 36,36,37 & 38. Truck gauge read 32,33,34 & 34. In some cases I checked the readings twice and got the same measurement each time. There was only one occurrence where two gauges showed the same tire pressure. Otherwise the difference in readings was from 1 to 6 psi per tire for these 3 gauges on this car.

The Pilot cold tire pressure should be 32 psi. The TPMS read 32 for all 4 tires, and does identify psi by tire. Old gauge reads 30,30,30 & 32. New gauge read 34 for all 4 tires. Truck gauge read 31,31,31, & 32. Once again there was only one occurrence where two gauges showed the same reading. Otherwise the gauges differed by 1-4 psi per tire

If my math is right, a 3% error range should only generate about a 1 psi difference at 32-35 psi.

Looks like the ANSI B40 standard is the way to go. Right now I have no idea what the actual true psi is on these two vehicles.
 
An update, of sorts. Had to run some errands, so on a lark stopped by the Toyota dealer and related my tire pressure concerns. They were kind enough to plug some special machine into the car's computer and take a read out of the tire pressure that the car's computer was detecting. All readings were within 1 psi of what the dash showed. If the machine showed 35.56 psi, the dash showed 35. Another tire showed 36.6 psi and the dash showed 36. When I checked my 3 tire gauges against the 36 psi tire, the old gauge and the "truck" gauge both read 35 psi. My brand new Milton 920 pencil-styled gauge measured 38 psi on that tire.

So at this point I have more confidence in the Camry's dash readings at least, and will try to return the Milton gauge for a refund if I can. Then I think I'm going to pop for one of those Ansi compliant gauges ... since "inquiring minds" like mine want to know.
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A 38 psi reading on a 36.6 psi tire isn't completely awful. It's not great, either. Your brand new Milton is probably just tight right now. You just need to break it in with some high ZDDP straight 30 weight
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Just use a Tire Thumper and be done with it. Either its flat or it has air in it. Or if you like use a ball peen hammer.
 
Originally Posted By: jhellwig
Originally Posted By: sloinker
This is accurate to .1% of inches of water column over the full span of device. get out your money.
http://lgstatic.transcat.com/media/pdf/AMETEK-XP2i-Digital-Pressure-Gauge-Brochure.pdf


I use those at work. It would be overkill using a 3000 psi gauge for 35psi though.


Overkill? Yes! Accurate? Yes!
I have a personal one at work that only goes to 100psi max. We use Fluke transducers in the appropriate range for more critical applications or the good old manometers.
 
1st reading taken by autometer
2nd reading milton middle
3rd reading milton left
same tire

Autometer is kept inside the house for stable temps.
One milton is in the tool box garage, the other inside the car with varying temp swings.

o0EI7fZ.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: kgb007stb
1st reading taken by autometer
2nd reading milton middle
3rd reading milton left
same tire


I'd die to have 3 gauges that consistent. Here is the issue I'm facing:




Not sure why the photos are sideways, but the top gauge is a new Milton pencil-style, middle is new Milton truck-style, and bottom one is old gauge. Same tire. Have ordered a new Jaco dial gauge and am awaiting delivery from Amazon. So we'll see how it goes ...
 
Originally Posted By: eyeofthetiger
A 38 psi reading on a 36.6 psi tire isn't completely awful. It's not great, either. Your brand new Milton is probably just tight right now.

That's almost 4% out of range. ANSI spec says 2-3% is allowable. I say toss that one.
 
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