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Tire Gauge?



 
 
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  #11  
Old January 23rd 05, 10:16 AM
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Elle Navorski wrote:
> Is there a super-duper tire gauge on the market?


> I have been using a pocket protector tire gauge for years.
> I bought an air compressor last summer and now check my
> tires' pressure at least once a month. I have found the
> pocket gage cumbersome to use. I can't consistently
> fit it exactly on the tire valve to get a reading.


Most guages now have a long recess in the chuck to let it fit more
easily over the tire valve.

All electronic tire guages are highly accurate, virtually dead-on, and
are cheap from places like AutoZone, Pep Boys, Checker/Shuck's/Kragen,
and Wal-mart.

Pencil-type guages are the most rugged, provided they're made of metal,
but some are chrome plated, and you can't always check with a magnet
because many good guages are made of brass rather than steel. Plastic
guages are prone to cracking where the chuck fits into the tube if the
chuck is pressed in rather than screwed on.

Dial guages can be as accurate as pencil guages, but when Consumer
Reports last tested guages, in 2/1993, all of the least-accurate guages
(off by +- 4 PSI average) were of the dial type, and no pencil-type
guage erred more than +- 2 PSI. The most accurate pencil-type guages
have shims at the end of their coil spring for calibration.

Some good brands of mechanical guages are Schrader, Acme (not the
Company that sold junk to Wiley E. Coyote), NAPA, Tru-Flate, and Camel.

Some tire dealers, like Discount Tire, give out OK pencil-type guages
for free.

Ads
  #12  
Old January 23rd 05, 10:33 AM
Ted Mittelstaedt
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"y_p_w" > wrote in message
nk.net...
>
>
> Dial gauges are easier to read and likely more accurate. However -
> they might lose their accuracy, especially when treated roughly. I
> once dropped an Accugage dial gauge, and the readings were consistently
> higher. I compared it to an undamamged gauge, and the readings were
> about 40 psi when it was really around 30.
>


If you take a dial guage apart it becomes obvious how to recalibrate it.
There's a
cog there, push it to the far end so that it unlaches from the gear, turn
the spring
to the next tooth, and let the cog re-engage. Repeat until it's accurate
again.

Ted


  #13  
Old January 23rd 05, 12:13 PM
Sparky
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wrote:

> Elle Navorski wrote:
>
>>Is there a super-duper tire gauge on the market?

>
>>I have been using a pocket protector tire gauge for years.
>>I bought an air compressor last summer and now check my
>>tires' pressure at least once a month. I have found the
>>pocket gage cumbersome to use. I can't consistently
>>fit it exactly on the tire valve to get a reading.

>
> Most guages now have a long recess in the chuck to let it fit more
> easily over the tire valve.


The Snap-On one is like this (virtually never leaks) and is made of
brass as well.

> All electronic tire guages are highly accurate, virtually dead-on, and
> are cheap from places like AutoZone, Pep Boys, Checker/Shuck's/Kragen,
> and Wal-mart.
>
> Pencil-type guages are the most rugged, provided they're made of metal,
> but some are chrome plated, and you can't always check with a magnet
> because many good guages are made of brass rather than steel. Plastic
> guages are prone to cracking where the chuck fits into the tube if the
> chuck is pressed in rather than screwed on.
>
> Dial guages can be as accurate as pencil guages, but when Consumer
> Reports last tested guages, in 2/1993,


That's a long time ago, dude.

> all of the least-accurate guages
> (off by +- 4 PSI average) were of the dial type, and no pencil-type
> guage erred more than +- 2 PSI. The most accurate pencil-type guages
> have shims at the end of their coil spring for calibration.


But don't the stick type guages lend themselves more easily to being
misread (which can make the reading way off)?
  #14  
Old January 23rd 05, 02:02 PM
HLS
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"Daniel J. Stern" > wrote in message
.umich.edu...
>
> Nope. There is nothing inherent in dial-type construction that makes these
> gauges more accurate than stick-type gauges. There are good and bad
> examples of all kinds of tire gauges (digital, dial and stick).


That isn't quite accurate, Daniel. The stick type gauges have a
considerable friction component which a decent Bourdon tube gauge
will not have. The friction in a stick type gauge can vary a lot with
moisture, temperature, wear, mechanical deformation, etc. The Bourdon type
has its weaknesses too, I'll admit.

I have not seen a good quality stick type gauge in a long time, and have
certainly looked for one. Paid rather dearly for a supposedly good tractor
type gauge (because it is supposed to be resistant to water which is common
in tractor tires), and it wasn't very good either.

These little cheapo stick type gauges you pick up for a few dollars at parts
stores or Walmart are about as accurate and dependable as Stari Arbat
watches.


  #15  
Old January 23rd 05, 05:16 PM
Daniel J. Stern
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On Sun, 23 Jan 2005, HLS wrote:

> > There are good and bad examples of all kinds of tire gauges (digital,
> > dial and stick).


> That isn't quite accurate, Daniel.


It is quite accurate as stated. Good gauges are better than bad gauges,
period. There's no manufactured product that MBAs can't entice the Chinese
to make a little cheaper and a little ****tier.

> I have not seen a good quality stick type gauge in a long time,


Nevertheless, they exist. I own a few.

> These little cheapo stick type gauges you pick up for a few dollars at
> parts stores or Walmart are about as accurate and dependable as Stari
> Arbat watches.


No debate there!

DS
  #16  
Old January 23rd 05, 07:41 PM
Elle Navorski
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For the archives, along with others' reports:

I checked Autozone's, Pep Boys', and Wal-Mart's selection. I ended up with
a dial gage with 1-psi increments, ranging from 0 to 70 psi, fairly easy to
read, with purge valve and large-headed chuck. The large chuck makes all
the difference: I can fit it on my tires' valve stem, with no leakage, very
easily. It "remembers" the pressure, so when you remove it, the last
pressure reading still shows. (Press the purge valve, and it returns to
zero.) The gage is made by Campbell-Hausfeld in China. It retailed for
about $13. Pep Boys wanted about $4 more for a comparable gage.

I just tried it out, and it makes life *a lot* easier. I don't need valve
extensions to use it easily. I'm keeping it.

Dunno how the calibration will last, of course, but I appreciate the many
other posts that talk about this.

My tires seem to lose about 2 psi a month, summer and winter. Of course I
only check after the car has been sitting all night. I try to keep them at
about 28-28.5 psi on my 1991 Honda Civic LX, 160k miles. This is above the
spec of 26 psi, but I am experimenting, per many posts in the archives on
overinflating tires a bit, at the sacrifice of a smoother ride but better
mileage.

Thanks folks for all the input. It's a seemingly rinky-dink thing but I've
never had significant uneven wear on this car's tires, and hopefully,
following the protocol above, I never will.


  #17  
Old January 24th 05, 02:47 AM
y_p_w
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Daniel J. Stern wrote:

> On Sun, 23 Jan 2005, HLS wrote:
>
>
>>>There are good and bad examples of all kinds of tire gauges (digital,
>>>dial and stick).

>
>
>>That isn't quite accurate, Daniel.

>
>
> It is quite accurate as stated. Good gauges are better than bad gauges,
> period. There's no manufactured product that MBAs can't entice the Chinese
> to make a little cheaper and a little ****tier.
>
>
>>I have not seen a good quality stick type gauge in a long time,

>
>
> Nevertheless, they exist. I own a few.


I remember when a Parker Tru-Flate was a quality product. A bit
difficult to use, but generally accurate.

>>These little cheapo stick type gauges you pick up for a few dollars at
>>parts stores or Walmart are about as accurate and dependable as Stari
>>Arbat watches.

>
>
> No debate there!


Where does one find a "quality" one then? Many of the dial-type
or digital readout gauges tend to be more accurate than the easy
to find pen-type gauges.
  #20  
Old January 24th 05, 04:31 PM
HLS
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"Daniel J. Stern" > wrote in message
.umich.edu...
> On Sun, 23 Jan 2005, HLS wrote:
>



> It is quite accurate as stated. Good gauges are better than bad gauges,
> period. There's no manufactured product that MBAs can't entice the Chinese
> to make a little cheaper and a little ****tier.


The statement I quibble with is that a stick type gauge can inherently be as
reproducible and accurate as a Bourdon type, assuming equal quality of
manufacturing.

They aren't, for the reasons I mentioned. The friction component is too
variable in the common stick designs. Admittedly, quality construction can
improve the performance.

These little Bourdon type gauges used on cheap cigarette lighter compressors
are all but worthless.

'Dead weight' gauges can be very accurate and have been used to calibrate
Bourdon types, BUT a stick gauge is not a dead weight gauge
even though there are some similarities.

Electronic gauges can give impressive readouts, but the pressure sensing
device itself can be a weak point. They sometimes wander in accuracy.

But then, who wants to know the exact pressure to 0.1 psi?? It is uselessy
finicky to worry about this in passenger applications. If the tires are
within a couple of pounds of each other, it is better than good enough for
most people. If you are on the pole for Ferrari F1, you have a reason for a
bit more careful measurements.


 




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