Shawn Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 I've tried a few different kinds of gauges with no good success. I've tried the cheapy (<$25) ones from parts stores, an Accutire digital gauge ($50) and an analogue dial gauge (don't know the brand) that was over $100. The cheapy ones are fine for making sure there is approximately the right amount of air in the tire but that's about it. The digital one was great when it worked which was not often as the batteries died several times and of course being battery powered leaving it in the car during the winter just didn't work. Heck in cold weather if warmed up, by the time I got to the last tire the display would quit. The analogue dial gauge broke after the 2nd tire I checked. The needle swung back past zero when I removed it from the valve-stem as there wasn't a stop. Got it replaced but the replacement did the same thing. So I opened it up, put a stop in place and tried to reset it so it could be somewhat useful. It's what I am using today but I have no idea how accurate it is. So now I want to throw away some more good money. I know I can't have my cake and eat it too but would like some suggestions on what others have used and what you'd recommend. I want something that is accurate/precise without being ridiculously expensive (read: under $200 and preferably a lot less than that) and I want it to be reliable so when I need it, it will just work. Ideally I'd like to leave it in my car year round but maybe I should just keep a cheapy gauge in the car to at least get in the ballpark and have a good quality gauge that I use at home and at the track when it's not going to be below zero. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRS Joe Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Solotime/sps has good gauges well prices. I use this guy and it's been accurate and consistent. http://www.amazon.ca/Joes-Racing-32307-Pressure-Gauge/dp/B00404WDUCI paid 25$ at sps for it. I also have a longacre of the same design and it's been great too. To go a step up from these would be a liquid filled unit. http://www.longacreracing.com/products.aspx?itemid=1717&prodid=7341&pagetitle=Liquid+Filled+2%C2%BD”+GID+Quick+Fill+Tire+Gauge+0-60+psiCame across an article too:http://m.caranddriver.com/features/gearbox-tire-pressure-gauges-tested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nopistons Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 What I use with good success...MS-5510B I haven't seen the battery issues you describe. Had it for several years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRDTurko Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Not sure what brand it is but the analog one I got from Phil works awesome and only cost about $30-40 but I think I got it on sale. Had it for about 3 years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 Solotime/sps has good gauges well prices.I use this guy and it's been accurate and consistent.http://www.amazon.ca/Joes-Racing-32307-Pressure-Gauge/dp/B00404WDUCI paid 25$ at sps for it.I also have a longacre of the same design and it's been great too.To go a step up from these would be a liquid filled unit.http://www.longacreracing.com/products.aspx?itemid=1717&prodid=7341&pagetitle=Liquid+Filled+2%C2%BD”+GID+Quick+Fill+Tire+Gauge+0-60+psiCame across an article too:http://m.caranddriver.com/features/gearbox-tire-pressure-gauges-testedI was reading that same article and started looking at some of those gauges too. I could only find 1 article about using gauges in cold weather and I have found some of the websites don't specify an operating temperature for the gauges and other do. I'll start emailing some of those companies to get more info. I assume you have found your gauges to be fairly durable. Have you ever dropped them? A number of things I've ready talk about how sensitive gauges are to being bumped and to treat them like the precision tools that they are, which makes sense of course. What I use with good success...MS-5510B I haven't seen the battery issues you describe. Had it for several years now. Yeah that is exactly the gauge I had. Maybe it was just defective. I thought it was great for being able to read to 0.1 lbs but the gauge just never worked reliably especially in the cold. But again maybe I am just sticking to the wrong mentality of wanting to keep the gauge in the car even when cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRS Joe Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 I've bumped mine around, never drop more then a foot though. There all rugged with a rubberized sleeve over the gauge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justkickin Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Pm sent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Eh. Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 "Liquid" filled gauges ... Glycerin filled gauges do not like extreme cold weather.If you plan on leaving it in your DD over the winter(or out in the garage) you are better off spending the money on a silicon filled gauge if you want a liquid filled one. For a tire gauge liquid filled is not really required as there is no severe vibration enviromentally or internally when it is in use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVOXR4STi Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I've got the Joes Racing 32310 from Amazon.ca, with free shipping, $59.30. It's the same as the one below... http://www.amazon.ca/Joes-Racing-32310-Pressure-Gauge/dp/B003TQ2W44/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1430875916&sr=1-1&keywords=joes+32310 Looks to be temporary out of stock, but there's a link on the right side where you can still add it to your cart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 I just placed an order for a set of numbers and one of these:http://www.soloperformance.com/LON-52001-Magnum-3-GID-Tire-Gauge-0-60-by-lb_p_11434.html Thanks for all the input everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Hello friend, I see you already bought a fancy schmancy tire gauge. Good call. Here's my recommendation on how to not destroy it. I recommend that you keep that fancy gauge in your tool kit or autocross box, and never use it outside of racing, or in your garage in the summer. Buy a cheap POS tire pressure gauge for your DD in the winter. Treat it like the garbage it is. Throw it at brick walls often. Etc. Then when it eventually brakes, spend another $0.49 for a new one. I keep a terribly cheap Chinese made POS freebie-giveaway gauge in my glove box all year and, although I don't trust it as far as I could throw it, it's better than nothing. Funny thing is that I've had it for about 4-5 years! Basically I use it here and there to make sure I don't have a flat tire and that's about it. What precision do you really need for commuting? I'd say +/- 5 psi is probably close enough! I'm not certain, but I think most TPMS systems only give a warning if one tire is more than 10 psi under-inflated, and I think your tires will heat up enough to gain 3-5 psi on a normal drive, so being "off" by 2-3 psi is really nothing at all if you're only concerned about commuting. Just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_Earl_Spilner Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I question the calibration of some of these analog/needle gauges. Far too often on mechanical gauges, I've seen the needles differ with around with a +/- of 1 or 2 PSI if you try a couple of them side-by-side. Hardly any will give you exactly the same readings. Not sure if I'd trust them for super accurate pressures. Not that the cheapass Chinese electronic gauges are much better though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I question the calibration of some of these analog/needle gauges. Far too often on mechanical gauges, I've seen the needles differ with around with a +/- of 1 or 2 PSI if you try a couple of them side-by-side. Hardly any will give you exactly the same readings. Not sure if I'd trust them for super accurate pressures. Not that the cheapass Chinese electronic gauges are much better though. Actually this is a very good point. I know mine under-reports by about 1.5 psi compared to many others I've checked, so I wrote that on the back of my gauge. For my own car it doesn't matter, just as long as I'm consistent. As soon as there's a codriver using their own gauge on my tires or if I jump into someone else's car and use my gauge to adjust their tires, then it becomes an issue. I unintentionally sabotaged Corey at least once last year! (to no avail) How can anyone be sure that their gauge is accurate? It needs to be calibrated. Unfortunately I don't think anybody does that. The key thing is repeatability. It would be nice if there was an easy way to check your gauge once or twice each year to be sure it still reads the same, even if it's consistently low or high, as long as it's the same each time. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Need my Focusin Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Couldn't you create a valve stem attachment and hook it up to a tank of air? Sure you would need to solve the problem of not knowing if the tank of air's gauge is accurate but as you mention repeatability is more important than accuracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Eh. Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Here is a method to check calibration of a tire gauge ... http://www.carsdirect.com/car-repair/how-to-calibrate-a-tire-pressure-gauge Seems a little much. Another way is to find a tire shop with a master gauge and have then check it against yours and note the differential. A "master" gauge is a high quality calibrated gauge that is used to check all the gauges in the shop. Now to find a shop that actually has AND uses a master gauge is another thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurrayPeterson Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Simpler home brew method for calibrating your guages: http://www.panzerbasics.com/index_files/98-ST1100/Gauge.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 2% is actually pretty good for accuracy. Good digital gauges are better at about 0.5% accuracy. Both though should have repeatable results. As others have said is to check your gauge to a master gauge and note the differential. At the end of the day, if you use the same gauge all the time then it won't matter if it reads 2% high or low. I wanted to get the digital gauge for it's accuracy but then realized that it really is overkill for what I need it for and the fact that I've been burned with batteries dying while adjusting pressures at the track. That said the one gauge I was looking at used AAA batteries so that was a huge plus instead of the watch batteries that cost so much and are much harder to find in a pinch. This is what I was looking at:http://www.soloperformance.com/Longacre-53003-Semi-Pro-Digital-Tire-Gauge-0-60-psi_p_11433.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I dropped my gauge on the ground in Lincoln and now the needle is out of whack. It still seems to work (by work I mean it moves in the correct direction), but it's way out of cal. Does anyone know how/where to calibrate one of these things? I didn't look closely, but I assume there's a little screw adjuster or something, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I'd drop it one more time, but on the other side - in the bottom of a garbage can. It's going to be suspect no matter how you reset 'zero'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Yeah that's plan B. So much for the little rubber sleeve to protect against a minor fall. I figured it's worth a quick try to see if I can save $30-50. I have a backup gauge that I can use, it's just a bit of a pain to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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