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Tire gauges

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Comments

  • bottgersbottgers Member Posts: 2,030
    ....from the Tire Rack. Their's are actually made by Accutire.
  • virtusvirtus Member Posts: 1
    He measured the tire pressure cold. After you drive on the tires for more than a mile, the tire pressure goes up by ~5 psi. You want to wait at least a few hours to measure a tire cold.
  • tidestertidester Member Posts: 10,059
    Tire Rack has some good information on variation of tire pressure under various conditions.

    tidester, host
  • bottgersbottgers Member Posts: 2,030
    ....check tire pressure on cold tires.
  • glygly Member Posts: 12
    Accutire gauges are distributed by Measurement Specialties in Hampton, VA. Most are imported from China.

    My favorite gages are Accu_Gage tire gages, made, not imported, by G. H. Meiser & Co. in the U.S. since 1906. I particularly like the RH60X series dial gage with hose. (R = Rubber case, H = Hose, 60 = max psi, X = straight end, not swivel, not 90º) Has pressure bleed valve and holds reading.

    If you compare two similar gages by Accutire and Accu-Gage side-by-side, you will see the difference in quality.

    Unless you are running nitrogen, it is pointless to measure to 0.1 psi, as the pressure fluctuations with air (because of its moisture content) swamps that precision.

    Anyone who spends $100 or more for a tire gage has more money than brains, IMHO.

    Finally, you can calibrate your gage at any truck stop. It's a service most truck stops provide to truckers.
  • sthackersthacker Member Posts: 6
    http://www.getagauge.com/ItemDetail.cfm?ModelNo=EZ-AIR

    The ability to to fill the tires through the gauge looks nice.

    Any feedback out there?
  • joecarnutjoecarnut Member Posts: 215
    The accutire gauge is warrantied for 5 years. The battery(s) are warrantied for life.
    You would have to send it in to have the battery replaced postage paid and they recommend insured.
    So probably just as well to buy your own battery instead.
    Good thing about lithiums, they have an excellent shelf life. So it really should last quite a while.
  • pooiepooie Member Posts: 1
    I just lost my trusted tire gauge from Brookstone and I am looking to replace it. Not sure if it is the same one. The one I used was around 25 years old with a circular dial around 2 " and had about 6" of tubing.Can you let me know if this sounds familiar, if not does any one where I can but this. It seems Brookstone doesn't carry this old model any more. Pooie
  • waiwai Member Posts: 325
    Thanks Paul for your tip, I got one for $148 including shipping. This gauge is very good and accurate, I used to have problem in measure the tire pressure for some of the tires valve stem. This is perfectly fit for those problem tire stem and the digital reading is very large and easy to read at when you place your guauge meter at the floor. For 50 lbs it is enougth for passenger cars. Also it will auto shut the power and backlight.
  • joel53joel53 Member Posts: 1
    I have several tire gauges: some analog (circular movement), a few pen-type and an Accutire digital. Some were a little pricey ($50) and some were cheap ($5). The digital was at Target for $10 and I wasn't sure I could trust it (at that price). But when I heard Car Guys (on the radio) say most digitals were very accurate, I thought I'd try one.

    When I compared it to my others and found up to a 5 lb. difference, it dawned on me, which one do I trust and how do I calibrate the others?

    I talked to my local tire shop to see how they have theirs calibrated and was shocked to find they not only didn't calibrate theirs but recommenced a cheap $5 pen-type to use. And the tire manufacturers are the ones that stress keeping your tires filled to the proper pressure level and that even one or two lbs. can make a difference in tire performance, wear and safety!

    Does anyone out there know of a place that will calibrate tire gauges? The research that dhcopp started Jun-27-01 and completed Jul-14-2001 was excellent (thanks dhcopp!), but I'd like to locate a place where I can see how accurate the ones I already own are.

    Maybe a type of business that most of have in or near our towns, like an industrial or commercial place that deals with pressurized tanks or other pressure equipment that must be pressure tested and certified.

    Any ideas? Thanks everyone for your input!
  • pathstar1pathstar1 Member Posts: 1,015
    Just purchased a tiny digital gauge from Canadian Tire for $6 or so. It's called a "Tire Minder". I compared it to my Accugauge and they both indicate the same pressure. It fits on valve stems much easier than the Accugauge. A large gauge body can make use difficult. The "Tire Minder" is nice and small. It may not last very long as it is rather cheaply made, but at this price you can afford one for every glove box, bicycle, and lawnmower!
  • waiwai Member Posts: 325
    How do you sure that this Tire Minder is accurate? You need to compare with a more sophisticated one.(Your Accuguage might not be accurate)
  • pathstar1pathstar1 Member Posts: 1,015
    My accugauge appears to be accurate. I'm comparing to all other gauges I see, and the accugauge is supposed to be a sophisticated and accurate gauge. It got good reviews by those who test gauges (and posted in this forum). People need to chill out on this accuracy thing. If the gauge is out 10% (5% would be what I would expect with an electronic gauge) that is 3 PSI in 30 PSI. My tire pressure varies that much just from the heat of the sun. The electronic gauges could be out about 5% - I say this as this is "standard engineering accuracy". That would be 1.5 PSI in 30. That's pretty accurate. The rod type mechanical gauges can be out a lot more that that, because even a speck of dirt on the slider can stop it short of the true reading. I had one that got bent in my pocket! Imagine how inaccurate it was. Also the electronic gauges are more likely to be out the same over the full scale of pressures - for example 1 PSI high or low at any reasonable pressure it is designed to measure. The same cannot be said of mechanical gauges. The fact that the accugauge reads the same as the Tire Minder kind of gives confidence they are both close. That is, the chance they are both out the same amount is lower than the chance they are both accurate.

    As long as you use the same gauge on the same vehicle and monitor the tire performance, you can adjust for gauge accuracy. eg - if you see the outside of the tread wearing faster than the centre (even on each side), then you are probably underinflating.

    And my final word - What makes you think the vehicle/tire manufacturers pressure recommendations are the best for your use? We've already seen one case where there are questions to be raised!
  • toshtosh Member Posts: 2
    I have the same Brookstone tire gauge, and it is almost as old. I am 99-44/100% sure that it is a rebranded G.H. Meiser Accu-Gage H60X (with the rubber guard). See link title

    Brookstone still carries a similar model, also almost certainly a Meiser Accu-Gage: link title That one lacks the hose, but partially makes up for it by having a swivel chuck instead of the straight chuck of our model.
  • toshtosh Member Posts: 2
    Nextech is just a Circuit City house brand. As noted elsewhere on this thread, Accutire is the brand of the Virginia importer of a Chinese line of tire gauges. Chances are the one you see at Circuit City with Circuit City's house brand is identical. Similarly, Monkey Grip is a line of Chinese-made tire gauges you can buy at many auto parts shops, but go to an Ace hardware store, and you will find identical tire gauges there under the Ace brand: the two are identical except for the printing on the cardboard the bubble plastic is attached to.
  • dboedboe Member Posts: 69
    Personally, I think digital gauges are more hype. I have a digital (highly rated). And I have a pencil gauge from the emergency kit of a '91 Taurus. They consistently read within a pound of each other.
    I like the pencil gauge better actually. It fits better over the valve and takes an instant reading. I can do two tires in the time it takes the digital to do one. Of course, it does not have a techie digital display ;)
  • okko1okko1 Member Posts: 327
    it's been a long time since anybody posted a gauge comment so i will share with you the truth about the gauge. accuracy of the gauge is secondary based on calibration variances. the real issue is that you own one and use it once a week.
  • shortlidshortlid Member Posts: 50
    I have a small digital gauge, says Tire Minder on it. Who makes this unit, how does it work?
  • damnit1damnit1 Member Posts: 5
    I got a digital tire gauge from wal-mart, it is called a slime sport gauge, I hope it will be accurate.
  • tireman9tireman9 Member Posts: 8
    Sorry Pathstar1 but as a tire engineer with 40 years experience in design & Quality I do not consider +/- 5% to be "standard engineering accuracy".

    If you really knew how to measure tire pressure you would know that you are to measure "cold" and that does not include being warmed by the sun if you want to be accurate.

    RE Stick type gauges I have measured a number and found some to be off by 25%. Depends on how much dirt has gotten into the works.

    I do believe that in general digital gauges are likely to be more accurate than analog ones. The two digitals I use have been checked against an ISO calibrated master gauge and one was + 0.5psi and the other - 0.5psi.

    Now If you check your tire inflation at least once a month and if you never run less than the minimum specified by the vehicle manufacturer you are probably OK. Of course that assumes the vehicle mfg did not specify an inflation that only has a 1 psi margin of safety.
  • capriracercapriracer Member Posts: 906
    Tireman9,

    I agree 100%, but I hope you realize you are responding to a post that is almost 4 years old.

    BTW, we have a lot in common. Would love to talk to you. Contact me at www.barrystiretech.com.
  • carlberncarlbern Member Posts: 1
    There are a lot of Acutire Gauges, more then 1 backlit. Do you remeber the model number?
  • tireman9tireman9 Member Posts: 8
    Accutire MS-4021B Standard Digital Tire Gauge
    Currently <$9 at Amazon
  • jrodshopjrodshop Member Posts: 1
    Thanks. Very helpful. I was checking tire pressure on my wife's car yesterday and automatically grabbed the old stick gauge. 32 lbs in each tire. When i started the car back up, I cross-checked with the Impala's own built-in digital tire pressure checker. It read 35 lbs in each tire. A couple of years ago my wife bought me a Victor Talking Digital Tire Gauge. It's been in a toolbox in the barn ever since, and I forgot I had it. I think it is a V-871, but cannot find the directions. 'came with a nice leather case. When I found it and couldn't remember why I had not been using it, I pulled it out and pressed the button to turn it on -- nothing happened. Nothing on the LCD display. I brought it in the house to replace batteries. 5 tiny Phillips screws hold the back on. So, I decided research it a bit online. I found mention of digital gauges that have non-replaceable batteries. Not having access to directions I decided to not waste time until I found out if they are replaceable. This morning, I pressed the red power button one more time and the LCD display came on. Can you suggest a place to download directions for this thing? Who owns Victor? Do they have a website with customer support?
  • x17240812a9365oqx17240812a9365oq Member Posts: 1
    I am no longer a fan of digital tire gauges.

    I bought a $5 or $10 digital gauge a few years ago. Recently the case turned into sticky goo, and it quit working. I wasted an hour trying to clean it up; I then replaced all four of the batteries, to no avail. So I checked two old fashioned tire gauges (one was at least 15 years old) against the digital readout in my Mercedes. All three readings were dead-on at 34 psi.

    Moral of the story. Forget about modern "super technology" that will tell you your tire pressure to +/-0.1 psi (probably wrong). Buy two 2-dollar gauges at Harbor Freight, and keep one in each car. Every five years, make sure that they agree. If they don't, buy a new one and pitch the bad one in the trash. Save bucks and time. It doesn't matter whether you are running 34 psi or 36 psi on a given day, but 25 psi may cause a blowout and ruin your day or your life. Check your tire pressure every month, like less than one percent of all drivers do. Inflate every tire to the prescribed specification on the driver side door post. I see drivers with obvious severely low tire pressure at least a half dozen times every month. At 70 mph the tires are probably hot enough to boil an egg.

    And when you get new tires or a new car, never assume that any tire or auto dealer will bother to adjust your tires to anything remotely close to what your vehicle manufacturer recommends.

    Don't forget to check the spare. I recently bought a 20-year old Mercedes SL500 that had the original Pirelli in the trunk. It had never been on the ground. Just for laughs, I checked the pressure, and it was about 10 psi. When I tried to inflate it, the valve stem blew off. Thankfully, it's illegal for any tire dealer to sell or 'repair' a 20-year old tire.
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