Accuracy if tire Pressure gauges rant

[Por_sha911]

Have you ever heard the old adage about motorcycle helmets "Wear a ten dollar helmet if you have a ten dollar head"? There are some things that you get what you paid for. I've been told that the wider the range, the less accurate the gauge will be. To me, for most purposes, I need relative accuracy. Once I determine what the pressure should read on a particular gauge, I can measure if the pressure has changed on that same gauge. A man with one watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.

[911 Rod]

Now I have another thing on my to do list. Check my gauges relative to each other.

[afterburn 549]

A couple of my gauges are not low end, but none of them read the same.

To have a gauge read ten lbs low for a 50 lb tire is a very dangerous thing.
This might explain a lot of mine and other people's tire problems.
presumption.......never a "gooder" thing.

[speeder]

This is the one I carry around. Like I said, 100% accurate as measured against 5 other good tire gauges:

https://ktmtwins.com/products/accu-gage-60-psi-gauge

[RWebb]

when different types of gauges were tested, the digital readout ones were more accurate

not surprising as they use an electronic device similar to a load cell to measure pressure, which is easy to manf. nowadays (not a spring like the analog gauges)

[afterburn 549]

IDK, I will take your word for it , ..but I am transposed to the digital crap...in some respects.
The few digitals I have tried were dam hard to get into inconvenient areas.
Old dog.

[masraum]

Weird, I'm surprised that anyone thought that they were terribly accurate. I've generally got a few kicking around. I occasionally will compare 3+. Once I've compared 3 or more, I've got a pretty good idea of what I'm comfortable with. The TPMS in my Boxster generally reads the same as my dial gauge or not more than 1psi different, and my various gauges all read practically the same (within 1 psi) so I'm good. My car seems to perform about the same in my normal driving in a range such that a psi difference doesn't matter to me.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

IDK, I will take your word for it , ..but I am transposed to the digital crap...in some respects.
The few digitals I have tried were dam hard to get into inconvenient areas.
Old dog.

calibrate a nice fun to use big analog gauge against a digital one

a spring is constant within it's working range, so you'll be fine

[masraum]

Originally Posted by RWebb

calibrate a nice fun to use big analog gauge against a digital one

a spring is constant within it's working range, so you'll be fine

I'd start with at least 3 gauges unless you've got one that's certified as being calibrated.

Even a digital gauge can be wrong.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

What vehicle requires 50 PSI ? just curious

Same experience overall. Settled on a pricier one ($100 or so) that matches what my car's TPMS thinks it is, give or take 1 PSI so we're good. In my experience the cheapo digital ones are totally inaccurate.

Ranges vary a lot. I raced Formula Vee for years. For what it's worth, all of the folks in our pit area used Longacre analog gauges. I've had mine for years. We ran pressures in the high teens. That gauge tops out at 50psi I believe. My truck and old motorhome run pressures in the 70psi range. I had to buy a different gauge for those vehicles.

[john70t]

If it is 4WD:
Make sure all the readings are the same.

[A930Rocket]

I just check my new truck tires today. First with a cheap Kobalt air compressor with a digital gauge and then my Blue Point gauge. The Kobalt was 2 psi high. I’ll check with my Longacre tomorrow.

Edit: The new tires ranged from 32 to 38 psi. Looks like they don’t really check them.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I had a nice dial style gauge a few years ago and used it for everything. I was having issues with the TPMS light on my wife’s van, it would trigger the light with the tires at about 35 psi, if I bumped it up slightly it shut off the light. I was about to get new sensors but first had the bright idea to compare the 5 gauges I had around the house, my nice dial style gauge was reading about 12 psi high. So every vehicle in my garage had under inflated tires. Now I compare several gauges but would like to get a good reliable one.

[gary1101]

I have a Joes Pro 0-60PSI with hold valve. Very rugged. $50

[Bill Douglas]

Whichever you buy, take a wheel to a reputable tire place that gets their's regularly calibrated. All the places I know of do. Then test it against your one. And if yours is out just remember it "reads 1 psi too high" or whatever.

[Pazuzu]

If you're not lifting a known mass in a vacuum tube connected to the tire, you don't know what the actual POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH pressure is.


That being said, I just want me $40 dial gauge to be consistent, so that I'm correct left to right on an axle. If I'm too low or too high, I can figure that out driving, but left to right is hard.

[rusnak]

Jeez one more thing to worry about. Thanks interwebz.

I'll get around to checking all of mine some day. What kind of vehicle do you drive that needs tire psi to within 1? That's a stupid crazy margin. You driving Pirelli F1 tires this weekend at Paul Ricard?

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by rusnak

What kind of vehicle do you drive that needs tire psi to within 1? That's a stupid crazy margin. You driving Pirelli F1 tires this weekend at Paul Ricard?

"1" isn't cutting it nearly fine enough these days on a race car. Even Nascar guys need to read a half pound accurately.

[Rawknees'Turbo]

I have one of these and like it a lot, but can't vouch for it's accuracy (could just be a very fancy guessing device). Of course, Burner won't see it because I am on his much crowed about, ignore list for being, "too stupid".

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GCS9ZCM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[speeder]

On most street vehicles, a pound or two in either direction doesn't matter but consistency L/R on each axle is always important.