Go BottomIs there an accurate tire Pressure gauge
 | DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada 
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2006-04-20 128066
I feel like the guy with three watches who never knows what time it is.
With gas prices heading to $4.00 a gallon I am trying to do everything I can to squeeze out the best mileage from my vehicles.
Optimum tire pressure certainly helps in that pursuit, but as I discovered while switching from winter to summer tread the other day, none of my tire pressure gauges agree with one another.
The discrepancy is about 8 PSI spread over three different gauges and I had obviously overinflated my winter tires as they are wearing down much faster in the center of the tread.
So the question I wish to float: Is there a reasonable way to check the calibration of a given gauge, or is there a high quality tire gauge out there that has a guaranteed accuracy standard?
Any comments and input appreciated.
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 | SG8NUC
Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 579 g 
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2006-04-20 128067
Get the most expensive unit they have, and about three cheap ones. Try a tire with all the units and buy the best cheap one that is close to the expensive unit. I have never found any tire gauge to be on the dot what ever that might be. I guess you must take an average that is what I do. This method works great with levels, in the store you can put the levels beside each other and buy a cheap one that is the same as the expensive one. ....
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 | kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2006-04-20 128068
When I worked at the tire store we all used Schrader brand pencil gauges. I now have both an expensive accutire gauge and my old Schrader pencil gauge that's 20+ years old. They both read the same. If you can find a Schrader brand pencil gauge you'd probably be happy. IIRC they were about 8 bucks 20 years ago. ....
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 | DennisCTB
Join Date: Nov 1998 Posts: 2709 NorthWest NJ
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2006-04-21 128074
I just bought a Campbell Hausfeld attachment for my air compressor that has a built in guage and pressure relief, has a snap on Schrader so it is hands free while you set the pressure. The dial on the guage is a little small, but it is wonderful to use,done in a flash. ....
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 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2006-04-21 128075
I was told some years back that there is no such thing as an accurate tire gauge, some get close though.
This is because of how they work, their design basically, there is a hole through which air pushes against a small piston, the piece with the numbers on it that comes out. The problem is, if the seal is too tight, it has friction losses, if it's too loose, it has pressure loss, if it's dirty, well, you got the idea.
I was told, and we have used since, a small dial guage with a short piece of hose connected to it and tipped with a tire fitting. It cost about the same as a decent guage ~$20 to make up, but it is very accurate. Not pencil small though.
We also have several of the combo. fillers / guages that Dennis mentioned, they are great, just release the trigger and it tells you the tire pressure, squeeze the trigger and it reads line pressure.
Best of luck. ....
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 | Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2006-04-21 128079
I have a dial gauge like Murf. Most truckers use these. I had a digital, but they don't last. ....
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 | shortmagnum
Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 848 Wisconsin 
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2006-04-21 128081
Are you guys saying that kickin the tires aint good enough? :)
Dave ....
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| Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2006-04-21 128084
Actually Dave, you're getting pretty close to the best gauge we use. The eyeball.
When we are doing something which requires maximum traction, we park the machine on a smooth flat surface loaded for the task, and then adjust the tires to obtain full coverage of the contact patch.
The tire pressure is then set as per Popeye's famous line "I am's what I am's!!".
Best of luck. ....
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 | Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 955 Central Iowa
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2006-04-21 128095
You may want to look at some of the racing parts outlets. For racing, a good tire gage is important. I used them when I was tire engineer for a team. I miss those good gages.
There are many places to look. Summit racing's link is below. ....
Link: Summit Racing Products
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 | AnnBrush
Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 463 Troy OH 
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2006-04-24 128199
You can take this as far as you want to go - NIST traceable standard pressure guages are available starting at about $700 each, of course you don't always need a certificate of accuracy guranteeing the result, and $700 will probably buy the gas that the 2psi offset will cost you. Also when and under what conditions to measure: STP - 101.3 kPa, at 25 °C at sea level - if you dont have those conditions well you will need to make some calculated adjustments to your readings. Bottom line: just because 2 pressure guages give the same result does not mean it's correct. It's more likely to be closer that a guess but definately not the last word. ....
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