are digital tire pressure gauges the best?

Planter91C2 · 12-24-2001, 05:41 AM

is a digital pressure guage the best and most accurate? is it the most dependable? or would a high quality dail gauge be better?

GeorgeK · 12-24-2001, 06:06 AM

I'd go with the Dial type
I use the "Drager" or "Dräger" brand gauges. They are german, dial type and no longer made. I have 6 of them (I have many cars...) and everytime I check them they show the same reading as the Pro item my mechanic uses.
Try Ebay, they sometimes eurface there.
GeorgeK

makaio · 12-24-2001, 06:14 AM

I carry a digital gauge in all my cars, just for convience. They work great for just checking the tire pressure (what they are suppose to do). But for the track, I want to get a dial gauge, so I can let air out of the tires, while I'm checking if I want.

Early_S_Man · 12-24-2001, 06:54 AM

This issue goes back to the same type of argument over digital vs analog multimeters! The real issue is rated accuracy vs displayed resolution. The digital gauges display in increments of either 0.1 psi or 0.5 psi, but most are typically rated at no better than +/- 1 psi +/- 1 least significant display digit, which means there is an uncertainty of up to 1.1 psi!!! And, some of the cheaper digital tire gauges in the $15 and under category have no published specifications ... just an instruction sheet which may, or may NOT tell you how to change the battery, and what type of battery it takes!

I have a couple of the Drager's, and a digital in my mountain bike tool kit ... the Dragers never have a dead battery, and always agree! Bicycle tires aren't as critical on their tire pressures as Porsche's! One of my Drager's is '69 vintage and the other a '79, and though the paint finish is a little scarred, they both still work perfectly!

The sad thing is that most of the digital tire gauges on the market today are made in China, and have no stated accuracy! I guess if you have $12 tires ... it is OK to have a $12 digital tire gauge from China!

Theoretically, of course, a digital gauge COULD be more accurate (to around +/- 0.01 psi) than the best of the analog gauges, but it would have to have an expensive $35-$50 sensor, and an equally expensive A/D converter ... and pretty quickly it would cost $150 just to build, and have to sell for $249, so it wouldn't have much of a market ... even among Pelicanheads! Anybody remember the 'Neotech' digital tire gauge that sold for $129 ... about 15 years ago?

bhaubold · 12-24-2001, 07:25 AM

I have both. My dial gauge which I had calibrated, seems to match the digital type right on. Makes me think the digital is not that bad. Like others said, I keep one in the glove box for on the road.

tobluforu · tobluforu's Garage

About 6 months back I was thumbing through a car mag-can't remember which, and I came accross an article that compared about 15 differnet types of guages. To make a long story short, the digital guages came out on top. Accutire got a great score but, there was one digital guage that was better-can't remember which-sorry. I still carry both my self. My digital measures to a half psi, has a battery and a solar cell. Wasn't cheap.

911pcars · 12-24-2001, 11:26 AM

tobluforu,
That would be an article in European Car magazine from a few months ago. Surprisingly, the "cheap" gauges were just as accurate as the more expensive versions. Unknown, however, is their accuracy in the long run and the consistency from unit to unit.

I agree with Mr. S Man. I'd stick with a good analog meter from any source. Seems like they would be a little more robust around the pavement, especially the rubber-wrapped, cushioned units.

Happy holidays,
Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

speeder · speeder's Garage

I have a snap-on(blue point) dial guage, rubber cover and release-valve. Can't remember exact price, but not too ridiculous. Maybe $35.00? I think it is very accurate, don't know how you check that, definitely well-made and somewhat shock-proof.

targa88 · 12-24-2001, 04:22 PM

I am just an old fashioned type of guy. I prefer the analog gauges. Also the model I have seems to be more user friendly (longer "attachment hose").
For convenience - and smaller - I have an accutire. Whichever you use- check your tire pressure frequently. An ounce of prevention can save you a costly tire replacement.
Either way (analog or digital) they tend to last forever. The only thing with digital is that you have to change the battery periodically.

Don Wohlfarth · 12-26-2001, 05:49 AM

I remember the article in European Car on tire gauges. As with most of their articles on anything

it was a semi at factual information.
Having said that, the digital gauges won. They didn't test "all" the analog nor "all" the digital. Half of the analog were either giv-a-ways or had been at the bottom of someone's tool box for a couple years.
I bought 2 of the digitals, $20-25 each. I tested them against each other on a tire and both read 37.5 while the 3 analog gauges read 37,37, 39.
The only draw back for me was that none of them have a pressure bleeder. Minor pain to adjust pressures but not to the point of profanity.

Harold_89_911 · 12-26-2001, 08:16 AM

I just got my first digital one from Santa (Accutire $15 at Costco with .5 psi resolution). I have always been using mechanical ones to date. I don't necessarily think that the digital is any better than the mechanical one but it is easy to read and it looks pretty. If you take 10 subsequent readings on the same tire and get the same result, you have a pretty precise gauge. Accuracy is within 1 psi according to the spec sheet. For road use, this is good enough. Actually, you might get too much info (if you get a reading of 36.5 and the pressure spec is at 36, are you going to adjust?). I have no experience with appropriateness for track use.