The importance of a good tire gauge!

[Peter7307]

Many years ago I bought my gauge set (gauge , valve tool and tread depth gauge ) based an a report in the Australian consumer magazine Choice.
There is no doubt a similar organisation where ever you are.

Still accurate and NO ONE uses it except me.

Pete.

[instarx]

Originally Posted by gascort

Re: 28.50 psi:

Typically, zeroes between nonzero digits or zeroes to the right of the decimal are considered significant in my experience/usage.

I was going to argue, but you are right. That decimal point tripped me up.

[j12piprius]

Can someone comment on which of these might be better. Basically one has a dial and the other is digital. They're about the same price. I like the dial one as it pushes straight on, and the digital because specific pressures are easy to read.

[gone-ot]

...one of the first things I did when we got our Cruze with its TPM readout on the dash was compare the dashboard readout numbers to actual gauge readings for each tire.

...they were all pretty much "right on" as only one dash reading was slightly less than the gauge reading...and that tire was on the "shade" side of the car as it was parked.

[discovery]

Use two guages and take the averige number.

[California98Civic]

I also had this surprise. I thought I had gone to 44 but had gone to 53! Yikes. Imagine if I had tried to go to 60... I would possibly have been near 70 and certainly a blowout. I bought an eleven-dollar digital gauge that works very well.

[j12piprius]

Originally Posted by johnlvs2run

one has a dial

I got the $3.75 monkey grip gauge.

It works well and is easy to read.

[user removed]

I just get a cheap one, sometimes at a yard sale (good old made in the USA), and check it against one I know is good as well as my air compressor. I fill with one of those old style ones that reads your pressure as soon as you let off the air valve and use the same method to calibrate it. Since both cars have TPM systems I check about once a month.

The Altima held air for almost a year without the TPM system coming on, and the pressures hold very well except when fall hits and the temps fall. In spring it warms up and the pressure is more consistent for those months.

regards
Mech

[BrianAbington]

I don't know if they still make it but auto meter makes a dial style APG that is supposed to be very accurate.

I personally have a $10 dial type. The old push out guages I find too much of a pain because I have to put them on 3 or 4 times just to get a reading.

A friend of mine got her car stuck on a curb one day so another friend and I had to help her get her car unstuck. While we were pushing her backwards over the curb the wheel was turned and I saw that the tires were cracked between the tread blocks.

I asked her if she minded if I checked the pressure for her. My gauge immedeatly went to its 80PSI max on all 4 tires.

I explained how dangerous this is and showed her how being that over inflated was splitting her tires apart.

She said her brother always filled them up for her when she went back home.

I asked if he was one of those guys to knows the tires have enough pressure in them by pounding on them with a fist while filling it up?

She said yes.

Good to have an accurate gauge.

[BrianAbington]

That reminds me...I was filling my car up once and this guy pulled in with a low tire on his saturn. He started doing the pound it to check it method once the side wall firmed up.

I filled my car and started cleaning my windows...he he was still going still pounding.

I finished cleaning my windows and grabbed my pressure gauge to go ask if he wanted to use it. While walking towards him I was greeted with the loudest non explosives boom I have ever heard from about 10 feet away.

I walked over to the guy who had the most frazzled stunned look on his face. Asked if he was okay. He said yes and that he had no idea what happened. I looked under the car and showed him that the tires bead had blown off the rim on the inner side of the wheel.

It was kind of funny hearing the screams and watching people duck for cover as they thought somebodies car had exploded.