What is a Good Tire Gauge

[JLawton]

My Accu-Gauge gave up the ghost after many years of service. Went and bought an Intercomp. After a weekend I realized the needle didn't zero out and I couldn't get repeat readings (let alone match borrowed gauges).

Whats a good gauge (I don't need a $200 digital with memory, blah, blah blah). Just a basic, easy to use, repeatable readings (and won't break the bank).

How are the Longacres??

[88YB1]

I went with the Longacre economy digital. $35.95. I chose to go this rought after dropping two standard gauges. All it takes is one drop to knock the analod gauge out of calibration. The digitals are more rigid, not to mention quicker to read. This is a great benefit if you only have one crew mwmber to take temps and pressures.

Chuck
ITA Fiero

[lateapex911]

Does anyone remeber the guage comparision artical a few years ago that compared the major players? The answer was in there, but I can't remeber the atrical or source. Grrrr...

[JimLill]

I remember that article and IIRC the digital stuff didn't win hands down. In fact, after seeing that article, I did a little research and concluded that the stuff on the market for tires was sort of crappy. You can buy stuff from the science and industrial market that is considerably better and still be about $100.

http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/product_...asp?sku=6895000

[lateapex911]

I will add that a few features ARE important. 1- a hose with swivel fitting, 2- rubber covered body.

Also, some sort of self resetting feature for consistency.

[JimLill]

I will add that a few features ARE important. 1- a hose with swivel fitting, 2- rubber covered body.
Also, some sort of self resetting feature for consistency.
[/b]

That thing I posted above surely doesn't fulfill the mission by itself. But accuracy/repeatability of the industrial units seem better than some of the car stuff. I wonder if anybody has tried these in a race app?

http://www.vivaperformance.com/catalog/pro...products_id=444

[lateapex911]

I've seen those. Tire Rack sells a version, and I thought it would be killer for the trailer! But...at $250, I'm not so sure.

[JimLill]

I've seen those. Tire Rack sells a version, and I thought it would be killer for the trailer! But...at $250, I'm not so sure.
[/b]

I have a set I got gratis, that I am tempted to try...........

[C. Ludwig]

I have a Longacre digital and one nagging factor will keep me from buying another digital gauge. If you let it sit in the sun the LCD panel will bleach out and the gauge becomes useless until you can cool it down again. It's never really become a huge issue for me but there is potential to ruin a practice session there.

You will probably also notice that gauges vary in reading from gauge to gauge. This can, in effect, make all previous notes useless. It's good to keep a reference gauge in a safe place at the shop for the purpose of calibration. My brother spent a good portion of a season chasing ill handling of their sprint car becuase of a new tire gauge.

[ddewhurst]

Chris, does your brother use tire bleed valves swith his sprint car ? If yes what make/model ?

One step further, do the CHAMP/IRL cars use some sort of tire bleed valve ? If yes what make/model? Bucks up I'm sure.

[JLawton]

Just a follow up:

The Longacre site has some good information including a "what to look for in a gauge" section.

Now that I have one, a couple of more thoughts.

- I like the ones that will hold the reading until you hit the button to release it. Not all of them do that
- A flexible hose makes it much easier